Sminthurinus bimaculatus Axelson, 1902

Mandal, Pritha, Mandal, Guru Pada, Suman, Kusumendra Kumar, Bhattacharya, Kaushik Kumar & Kumari, Simran, 2024, Taxonomic insight on some newly recorded species of the springtails (Hexapoda: Collembola) from North Eastern and Eastern states of India, Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 10 (2), pp. 215-229 : 221-224

Sminthurinus bimaculatus Axelson, 1902 ( Fig. 6)

Material examined. 4 specimens, India, Arunachal Pradesh, Tawang district, 500 m from Cona County Crossing , collected from leaf litter, 27°34'34.0"N, 91°52'37.7"E, 2552.7 m a.s.l., 02-IV-2023, leg. G. P. Mandal, reg no.-3391/H14 ; 11 specimens, Odisha, Kendujhar district, Bolani, Hayarpur , 22°7'22.8''N, 85°20'24"E, 2876 m a.s.l., 17-VII-2021, leg. A. Rameshkumar., reg no.-3402/H14 .

Diagnosis. General body length 0.85 mm. Body colour deep brown with differential black pathches. A white patch present postero-laterally on both sides of the globular abdomen. Head with brown-black lateral transverse bands ( Fig. 6A). Apex of Ant. I–II and Ant. III–IV completely deep brown pigmented. Tita of each leg covered with brown pigment. Trochanter and femur of leg and furcula are pale. Antennal segment ratio as Ant. I: Ant. II: Ant. III: Ant. IV-1: 1.72: 2.4: 6.2; fourth antennal segment annulated. 8+8 ommatidia with two chaetae on each side, C and D smaller ones. Unguis with basal teeth, an internal tooth and a lateral tooth; Emp. I larger, Emp. II–III broader than Emp. I ( Fig. 6B). Tita of each leg with 2–4 spatulate chaetae. App. an. with 3–4 hair-like branches ( Fig. 6D). Abd. V fused with other Abd. segments and with Bothriotrichum D. Neosminthuroid chaetae present near the furca ( Fig. 6E). VT smooth with 1+1 anterior setae. Manubrium with 12 chaetae, dens dorsally with 12+12 chaetae. Ratio of Manubrium: dens: mucro- 2.13: 2.27: 1. Mucro elongated, lamellate, inner side with serrated edges ( Fig. 6C).

Distribution in India. Arunachal Pradesh (Tawang), Odisha (Bolani).

General distribution. Arctic and Subarctic region, Europe, West and Central Asia, Mediterranean region ( Bellinger et al., 1996 –2024).

Remarks. The examined species has a small inner tooth in unguis, however Bretfeld (1999) mentioned that teeth may or may not be present in some examples. This species is collected from leaf litter mainly of pine and rhododendron forest.