Novas espécies de Collembola (Arthropoda, Hexapoda) de áreas de transição Caatinga Cerrado no Piauí, Brasil

Abstract

Springtails are essential arthropods in the soil's edaphic fauna, widely distributed across the planet. Ranging in size from 0.12 to 17 mm, they feed mainly on fungi, bacteria and decaying plant material, playing a vital role in soil enrichment and nutrient cycling, crucial factors for the sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems. The state of Piauí stands out for being home to an extensive area of transition between two important Brazilian biomes: Cerrado and Caatinga. This region is characterized by a diverse mosaic of vegetation types, forming an ecotone rich in biodiversity and endemism. Currently, there are about 9,600 species of springtails described worldwide, of which only 507 are known from Brazil. Although interest in taxonomic studies of springtails has grown in the country in recent decades, the state of Piauí still has scarce and punctual research. This study presents the description of three new species of Collembola from the state of Piauí with a bibliographic review of their respective genera. The specimens were previously collected between 2019 and 2023 using pitfall traps and entomological aspirators in two areas of Piauí, Palmares National Forest and Urubu-Rei Waterfall. For identification and taxonomic description, the specimens were analyzed under an optical microscope with phase contrast following specific bibliography, drawn and vectorized for the preparation of anatomical plates. The type material of the three new species is deposited at the Collembola Collection of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and at the Invertebrate Collection of the National Institute for Amazonian Research. Our results include the description of three new species: one of Mastigoceras, a genus endemic to Brazil, being the second species described to the genus after a hundred years from the first description. In this study we also provided morphological and systematic updates to the genus; the description of the fourth species of Adisianus, a genus which until now had only been recorded from northern Brazil and Mexico; and finally, the description of the second species of Lepidosira from the Neotropical Region. We hope that some of this data will be useful for the administrations of the Conservation Units from where the material was collected.