Orchesellidae

Antipova, M. D. & Babenko, A. B., 2022, An annotated checklist of the springtails (Hexapoda: Collembola) recorded from the foothill and mountain parts of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, North Caucasus, Russia, Russian Entomological Journal 31 (4), pp. 331-345 : 339

Family Orchesellidae

** Heteromurus sp. Apparently, a new species differing from other congeners by the presence of a strong spiny macrochaeta at the base of the dens, similar to that observed in the recently described genus Falcomurus Mandal. 2018 . The species has been found in rhododendron thickets near the Skazsky Glacier (2490 m a.s.l). Only two species of the genus have been recorded earlier from the Caucasus and Transcaucasia: H nitidus (Templeton, 1835) and H. major (Moniez, 1889) , as well as H. caucasicus Tshelnokov, 1974 , subsequently synonymized ( Mari Mutt, 1980) with H. major .

Orchesella cf. caucasica Stach, 1960 . This species has been found in the Tsey foreland at the early successional stages of overgrowing (from meadow to young mixed forest), being especially abundant in the meadow stage at 2320 m a.s.l. Originally, O. caucasica was described by Stach [1963] from the Karaugom Gorge, located next to the Tsey Gorge. We have found some individuals of the form similar in body colouration to the typical variety as given in the original description of O. caucasica . However, the high intraspecific colour variability and the absence of a chaetotactic analysis in the original description, neither allows us to establish the identity of these forms.

O. cf. irregularilineata Stach, 1960 . A Caucasian species described from the Karaugom Gorge. In the nature reserve, it has been found in the Tsey Gorge at the late succession stages, represented by various forests (pine, maple, beech). The published list of the springtails in the nature reserve [ Kuchiev, 2006] includes a similarly coloured species, O. orientalis Stach, 1960 , described from western Ukraine. In our opinion, the probability that these records belong to the same species is high enough.

There are also some published records of closer unidentified representatives of Orchesella from North Ossetia: the vicinity of Nar and Verkhniy Tsey [ Kuznetsova et al., 2019]. Nothing definite can be said about their status.