Globular Springtail - Ptenothrix marmorata

Moved

… Ken Wolgemuth, 18 January, 2022 - 10:17pm

Ptenothrix marmorata

Sorry to disappoint you Vitaly. But after checking in detail all the pictures that you have sent me it became clear that it was P. marmorata. Thx to your pictures this species will become one of the better documented species now :-)

… Frans Janssens, 6 January, 2022 - 10:56am

marmorata

this is good! I was puzzled how to distinguish them just by ornament... couldn't :)
Thank you!

… Vitaly Charny, 6 January, 2022 - 2:52pm

The problem...

with IDing Collembola based on their pigmentation pattern is the high diversity in patterns of the same species. Oversimplified we can say that a Collembola species has 5 juvenile instars and 10 adults instars. Each instar has its own pattern. So we have 15 different patterns. In sexually dimorphic species the patterns of males and females are different. In which case we have 30 patterns. The art of identifying Collembola species from habitus pictures is based on finding the common denominator of all patterns of all instars of a species. In your particular collection of pictures of P. marmorata I did find 3 different instars. So it is a begin ;-)

… Frans Janssens, 6 January, 2022 - 3:28pm

Ptenothrix sp.

A new species : will call it tentatively sp.15 at collembola.org
Happy 2022, Vitaly!

… Frans Janssens, 31 December, 2021 - 10:20am

sp.15

I have more pictures of this kind and others and would be glad to pass it to you when necessary. Happy 2022, Frans!

… Vitaly Charny, 31 December, 2021 - 10:50am

Great!

Pictures that are 'missing' :
1. frontal aspect shot with the midfacial unpaired setae in focus;
2. caudal aspect shot to see the circumvental setae on the anal valves around the anus
3. lateral 'low level' shot of the small abdomen to see the external genital organ of male and female
4. lateral 'low level' shot of the sub-anal appendages of the female (these are modified macrosetae on a papilla; there are 2 of them : 1 ventrally on each ventral anal valve)
5. a close-up of the eyepatch with the ocelli in focus

… Frans Janssens, 31 December, 2021 - 11:00am