Lepidosira apigmenta, Qian & Jing & Ma, 2025

Qian, Xiaowei, Jing, Meidong & Ma, Yitong, 2025, First report of Lepidosira (Collembola, Entomobryidae) from China, with description of four new species under the aid of COI barcoding, Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 72 (2), pp. 341-365 : 341-365

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.3897/dez.72.153961
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E4AB50E6-895B-44FC-A994-078B3FF27271
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17532323
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/0E7B5072-5ADB-5633-9294-6D3772B75CD0
treatment provided by	Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift by Pensoft
scientific name	Lepidosira apigmenta
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Lepidosira apigmenta sp. nov.

Figs 2 View Figure 2 , 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6 , 7 View Figure 7 , Table 3 View Table 3

Type material.

Holotype. CHINA • ♀ on slide; Chongqing Municipality, Wuxi County, the Yintiaoling National Nature Reserve , the Guanshan Protection Station , the Stone Pillar ; 2,168.92 m a. s. l.; 31 ° 32 ' 15 " N, 109 ° 41 ' 54 " E; 28 Jul. 2024; Y. T. Ma leg.; sample number 1321 ( CQWX 0717 ). GoogleMaps

Paratypes. CHINA • 3 ♀ on slides, same data as holotype GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis.

Each segment of Ant. I – III distally violet pigmented; Ant. IV and base of Ant. I with scattered violet pigment; Ant. IV with bilobed apical bulb; head with one mac on Gr. II; Th. II with one medio-medial, two medio-sublateral and 15–16 posterior mac; Th. III to Abd. IV respectively with 10, 4, 4, 2, and 9–11 central mac; Abd. III with four lateral mac.

Description.

Body (head + trunk) length up to 1.92 mm, holotype 1.92 mm.

Color pattern: ground color pale yellow; eye patches dark blue; each segment of Ant. I – III distally violet pigmented, Ant. IV and base of Ant. I with scattered violet pigment; a little violet pigment present in post-ocular region and on legs (Fig. 2 A, B View Figure 2 ).

Scales: ciliate type, present on head, Ant. I – II, legs (Fig. 3 A View Figure 3 ), both faces of ventral tube, ventral side of manubrium and dentes (Fig. 3 B, C View Figure 3 ), and terga (Figs 3 D View Figure 3 , 4 A View Figure 4 ).

Head: antenna not annulated and 0.45–0.56 ( holotype 0.50) times length of body. Ratio of Ant. I – IV as 1.00 / 1.35–1.82 / 1.20 – 1.67 / 2.25 – 3.00 ( holotype 1.00 / 1.78 / 1.65 / 2.67). Distal part of Ant. IV with many sensory chaetae and normal ciliate chaetae, apical bulb bilobed (Fig. 4 B View Figure 4 ). Ant. III sense organ with two rods, two spiny guard sensilla, smooth blunt sens, and ciliated chaetae (Fig. 4 C View Figure 4 ). Ant. II with two rods apically (Fig. 4 D View Figure 4 ). Eyes 8 + 8, G and H smaller than others, interocular chaetae as p, q, r, s, t mes, and r absent in one specimen. Dorsal chaetotaxy of head with 10–14 antennal (An) mac or mes, four anterior (A 0, A 2, A 3, A 5), four median (M 1–4), eight sutural (S 0–7) mac, one post-sutural mac (Ps 2) and mes (Ps 5), 12 posterior mac plus one (Pa 1) in Gr. II (Fig. 4 E View Figure 4 ). Prelabral and labral chaetae as 4 / 5, 5, 4, prelabral chaetae ciliate and other smooth, a 2 and b 2 slightly shorter than middle ones, labral papillae not clearly seen (Fig. 4 F View Figure 4 ). Basal chaeta on maxillary outer lobe almost as thick as apical one; sublobal plate with four smooth chaetae-like processes (Fig. 4 G View Figure 4 ). Lateral process (l. p.) of labial palp E finger-shaped with tip not or almost reaching apex of papilla E (Fig. 4 H View Figure 4 ). Labial base with M 1 M 2 REL 1 L 2, all ciliate (Fig. 4 I View Figure 4 ).

Thorax: tergal ms formula on Th. II – Abd. V as 1, 0 / 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, sens as 2, 2 / 1, 2, 2, 2, 3 (Figs 5 A View Figure 5 , 6 A – C View Figure 6 ). Th. II with about ten anterior, one medio-medial (m 1), two medio-sublateral (m 4, m 4 i), 15–16 posterior mac. Th. III with ten central and six lateral mac (Fig. 5 A View Figure 5 ). Coxal chaetal formula as 7–10 / 8 – 11 (anterior), 9–12 (posterior) / 9–14 (Fig. 5 B – D View Figure 5 ). Trochanteral organ with 36–46 smooth chaetae (Fig. 5 E View Figure 5 ). Tenent hair smooth and clavate, 1.27–1.30 length of inner edge of unguis; unguis with a pair of laterobasal outer teeth and four inner teeth, basal paired inner teeth located at 0.38–0.43 distance from base of inner edge of unguis, distal unpaired inner teeth at 0.67–0.70 and 0.84–0.85 distance from base, respectively; unguiculus lanceolate, outer edge slightly serrate (Fig. 5 F View Figure 5 ).

Abdomen: range of Abd. IV length as 4.77–5.50 ( holotype 5.50) times as dorsal axial length of Abd. III. Abd. I with four (m 2–4, m 4 i) mac. Abd. II with four (a 2, m 3, m 3 e, m 3 ep) central, one (m 5) lateral mac. Abd. III with two (a 2, m 3) central, four (am 6, pm 6, m 7 a, p 6) lateral mac (Fig. 6 A View Figure 6 ). Abd. IV with two normal sens, 9–11 central and about 13 lateral mac (Fig. 6 B View Figure 6 ). Abd. V with three sens (Fig. 6 C View Figure 6 ). Anterior face of ventral tube with 3 + 3 large and about 13 small ciliate chaetae, line connecting proximal (Pr) and external-distal (Ed) mac oblique to median furrow (Fig. 6 D View Figure 6 ); posterior face with two apical smooth chaetae besides about 60 ciliate chaetae of different sizes (Fig. 7 A View Figure 7 ); each lateral flap with 5–6 smooth and 9–10 ciliate chaetae (Fig. 7 B View Figure 7 ). Manubrial plate dorsally with 12–17 ciliate mac and 3–4 pseudopores (Fig. 7 C View Figure 7 ); ventrally with 21–28 ciliate chaetae on each side (Fig. 7 D View Figure 7 ). Mucro bidentate; tip of basal spine reaching apex of subapical tooth; distal smooth section of dens almost equal to mucro in length (Fig. 7 E View Figure 7 ).

Etymology.

The name is composed of the Greek word “ a, ” meaning absence, and the Latin word “ pigmentum, ” meaning color. Thus, “ apigmenta ” refers to the unpigmented trunk.

Habitat.

Found in litter of subtropical forests, mainly composed of leaves of Buxus sinica , Ilex yunnanensis , Pinus armandii and Rosa corymbulosa .

Remarks.

According to Fig. 1 View Figure 1 and Table 3 View Table 3 , the new species is close to Lepidosira wuxiensis sp. nov. Their antennal color pattern and the chaetotaxy of the dorsal head, Th. II, Abd. I, and Abd. III – IV are also very similar. However, the color pattern of Abd. IV and the chaetotaxy of Th. III and Abd. II are different. The new species is also similar to the Vietnamese species L. alba ( Nguyên, 2005) in color pattern, but labral papillae and smooth setae on the posterior face of the ventral tube are present in the former and absent in the latter. The main differences among the three species in chaetotaxy are listed in Table 3 View Table 3 .