Parisotoma notabilis is the most common species of Collembola in Europe and is currently designated as ubiquist. This species has been extensively used in numerous studies and is considered as well characterized on a morphological ground. Despite the homogeneity of its morphology, the sequencing of the barcoding fragment (5′ end of COI) for several populations throughout Europe and North America revealed four distinct genetic lineages. The divergence found between these lineages was similar to the genetic distance among other species of the genus Parisotoma included in the analysis. All four lineages have been confirmed by the nuclear gene 28S. This congruence between mitochondrial and nuclear signals, as well as the geographical distribution pattern of lineages observed in Europe, supports the potential specific status of these lineages. Based on specimens from the type locality (Hamburg), the species name was successfully assigned to one of these lineages. This finding raises several problems as Parisotoma notabilis has been widely used in many ecological studies. Accumulation of new data for the different lineages detected, especially ecological information and life history traits, is needed to help resolve this situation.

Louis Deharveng, Cyrille A. D'Haese, Philippe Grandcolas, Jean-Marc Thibaud, and Wanda Maria Weiner (2017) Judith Najt A Life dedicated to Collembola and research support for systematics. Zoosystema: Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 5-14. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5252/z2017n1a1

Springtails (Collembola) are very small terrestrial arthropods commonly found to be associated with edaphic environments

Collembola were studied in a well-preserved riverine section of the Prut River in the Republic of Moldova. The study was focused on species diversity and habitat preferences of the particular species at two localities. Riparian habitats of the Prut River near Braniste included open river bank, forest belt and meadow, and the shore of Lake Costesti-Stanca included meadow, pasture and shrub vegetation. In total 77 collembolan species were recorded, of which Neanura moldavica and Arrhopalites prutensis were endemic to Moldova. Comparative analyses showed a specific community composition at Braniste, with Anurida ellipsoides and Mesaphorura macrochaeta being abundant on the river bank and Hemisotoma thermophila in the meadow. In contrast, the forest plantation at the same locality was similar to the shrub-land in Costesti, with the common species Mesaphorura critica, M. yosii, Deutonura albella and Isotomiella minor. Hygrophilous species preferred the habitats of the river section in Braniste, with quiet backwaters, to the artificial shoreline of the large lake. Species diversity was relatively high in the natural meadow and forest in Braniste and also in shrub-land on the lake shore. The present study documented relatively high collembolan species diversity at the shoreline and running water sections in the upper catchment area of the Prut River in Moldova that involve naturally valuable inundated habitats of Eastern Europe.

SzeptyckithecaBetsch & Weiner is a genus of Sphyrothecinae (Sminthuridae) similar toSphyrothecaBörner, with 13 nominal species. Most descriptions ofSzeptyckithecataxa lack valuable data in face of the current taxonomy of Symphypleona. In this study the previously described species of the genus were surveyed, aiming to provide updated diagnoses for them. Three species were also transferred toSzeptyckitheca:Sphyrotheca karlarumPalacios-Vargas, Vázquez & Cuéllar, 2003,S. peteriPalacios-Vargas, Vázquez & Cuéllar, 2003, andS. koreanaBetsch & Weiner, 2009, based on trochanteral and/or dental chaetotaxy. Two new Brazilian species of the genus are described and illustrated,S. andrzejiMedeiros, Bellini & Weiner,sp. nov., with a remarkable reduced ventral dental chaetotaxy not seen in other Neotropical species, andS. cyaneaOliveira, Medeiros & Bellini,sp. nov.with a distinctive large set of head vertex spines (18). Finally, an updated key to all the valid species of the genus is presented.