Entomobrya varia Schott 1917

Entomobrya varia Schött, 1917

(Figs 3K, 6B, 42 A–G)

Lectotype. Female, NHRM 1206 marked specimen, Logan village, QLD.

Paralectotype (s) NHRM 1206 marked specimen; NHRM 1027; SAMA 10 specimens (in alcohol); MONZ ca. 6 specimens (labelled paratypes by J.T. Salmon), same locality as Lectotype.

Type locality. QLD, Logan Village, - 27.76848°S, 153.1076°E, 18m asl, Oct 1912.

Material examined. Female on slide 29, NSW, Wog Wog; 1 specimen broken on slide 100; NSW, Wog Wog, - 35.268143°S, 150.0354°E, pitfalls; male, on slide 29, C. Margules leg.; juvenile, NSW, 50 km E Armidale, open area in woodland, - 32°S, 147°E, 980m asl, sweeping grasses, 11.v.1974, PG leg.; 2 females, NSW, S of Nundle, 9.v.1974, - 31.4628°S, 151.126°E, 600m asl, sweeping, PG leg.; NSW, Blue Mountains, Mount Wilson Road, Mount Wilson, 28.xii.1975, - 33.5063°S, 150.3791°E, 1000m asl; NSW, 10 km S Richmond, Blacktown Forest Reserve, 19m asl, in litter, 30.xii.1975, PG leg; 2 females, 1 male, NSW, Styx River, Nothofagus forest, - 30.497°S, 152.396°E, 1390m asl, canopy fogging, 23.i.1990 and 23.i.91, - 30.497°S, 152.396°E, 1390m asl, Sutrisno leg.; 6 slides, numerous specimens in ethyl alcohol, male; NSW, Monga State Forest, rain forest gully, - 35.6630°S, 149.971°E, 700m asl, pyrethrum knock down, Leakewood, 18.xi.1991, IC, PG leg.; male, juvenile in other slide, QLD, Lamington NP, O’Reilly’s, Jan, 1995, - 30.497°S, 153.138°E, 935 m asl; female, QLD, Indooroopilly, Brisbane, - 27.4984°S, 152.9712°E, 50m asl, in pollen of Hoop Pine, 1.vi.1995, G. Buchanan leg.; QLD, juvenile, Mount Coot-Tha, Brisbane, - 27.4688°S, 152.9428°E, 200m asl, sweeping grasses under Eucalyptus, PG leg., 20.v.1988; 5 specimens, QLD, Lamington NP, pitfall, Oct 2006, Kitching leg.; 1 juvenile QLD, Lamington Plateau, O’Reillys, - 30.497°S, 153.138°E, 935m asl; canopy fogging, bark spray, 10.i.90, 17.i.1990, 7.vii.1996, R. Kitching leg.; male, QLD, Lamington Plateau, O’Reilly’s, - 30.497°S, 153.138°E, 935m asl, 7–8 10.xii.1989, canopy fogging; female, QLD, Westcliff track, Lamington NP, - 28.225°S, 153.112°E, 838m asl, 5.xi.1989, PG leg.; QLD, Lamington N. P., O’Reillys, - 30.497°S, 153.138°E, 935m asl; canopy fogging, - 30.497°S, 153.138°E, 935 m asl, 17.i.1990, Jan 1995, R. Kitching leg.; 6 slides, QLD, Lamington NP, O’Reilly’s, - 30.497°S, 153.138°E, 935m asl, canopy fogging, 17.i.1990, 10.xii.1989, R. Kitching leg.; female, male, QLDM, Mt Superbus, Main Range National Park, - 28.219°S, 152.459°E, 1350m alt. 8–9.ii.1990; female, male; QLD, Brisbane, - 27.4698°S, 153.0251°E, 33m asl, female, 23.iv.1933, on foliage; female, QLD, Brisbane, - 27.4698°S, 153.0251°E, 33m asl, 5.ix.33 eucalypt bark; SA, Kangaroo Island, Snake Lagoon, - 35.9525°S, 136.6566°E, 8.ix.72, 33m asl, PG leg; male, female, SA, Kangaroo Island, Rocky River, Gallery Forest, - 35.9655°S, 136.6530°E, 100m asl, under bark, near bridge, 5.ix.72, PG leg.; male, SA, Kangaroo Island, Flinders Chase, Koala area, - 35.9655°S, 136.6530°E, 100m, 14.i.73, PG leg.; 1 specimen, juvenile in other slide, SA, Kangaroo Island, Flinders Chase, near bridge, - 35.9655°S, 136.6530°E, 100m asl dense mallee, pitfall traps, January, 1973, PG leg.; female broken, TAS, Tasman Peninsula, Pirates Road, - 43.01°S, 147.92°E, canopy fogging Nothofagus, Feb. 1990, A. Yen, P. Lilleywhite leg.; male, WA, Denmark, 28.ix.32, 5.ix.32, - 34.9749°S, 117.3561°E, 11m asl, HW leg. [all SAMA].

Redescription. Size. Length 2.252 mm (n=10).

Colour. Dorsally whitish yellowish with some dark blue bands on anterior part of Th II, and almost the whole Th III; dorso–lateral longitudinal stripes on Abd I and II; Abd II with posterior transversal band and a central posterior spot; Abd III with lateral longitudinal stripes, a posterior band and a central spot; Abd IV with a medial transverse irregular band and a narrow band in its posterior edge; Abd V and VI with lateral spots. (Fig. 3K, 6B).).

Head. Apical bulb of antennal segment IV bilobed. Prelabral and labral chaetae 4/554. Prelabral chaetae clearly ciliated, labral chaetae smooth. Labral papillae multispinate (Fig. 42A). Dorsal head chaetotaxy as figure 42D; Mc An’ 0, A 6, A 7, S’ 0, S 1, always absent, S 0,S 2, S 3, S 4i, S 4, S 5i and S 5 present (S 4i absent in three specimens); M 2 and M 4 present; Ps 2 sometimes absent or mes, Ps 5 always present. Eyes G and H small and subequal. Ant / head=2.99 (n=10). Ratio Ant 1:II:III:IV=1:2.3:2.2:2.3. Lateral process of labial papilla E reaching at the papilla tip. Labial posterior row with MREL 1 L 2 chaetae, all ciliated and R smaller than M.

Thorax and abdomen. Thoracic chaetotaxy with one Mc (m 1) on T1 area on Th II, T2 area with Mc a 5 and m 4 ( m 4i present only in 4 specimens) (Fig. 42E). Trochanteral organ with 26–35 smooth, spiniform chaetae. Unguis (Fig. 42C) with 4 inner teeth; paired teeth located at approximately 45% (n=23) of inner unguis length, dorsal tooth basal. Two clear unpaired teeth on the internal edge of the unguis; unguiculus long, acuminate and smooth on external edge. Womersley (1939) described tenent hair pointed, instead of blunt and longer than the unguis. Abdominal chaetotaxy reduced. Abd II with a 2, a 3, m 3 and m 3e Mc present (Fig. 42F); Abd. III with m 3 Mc; Abd. IV with 12 central posterior Mc A 5 –A 6, B 5 –B 6 and E 1 (Fig. 42G). Abd IV/III ratio=4.5. Manubrial plate with 4–5 chaetae and 2 pseudopores. Mucro as Figure 42B. Chaetotaxy simplified formula; 3,1,0,2,1(2)/1,2(3)/2,2/0,0,1/0,1,1,2,2.

Remarks. Entomobrya varia was described by Schött (1917) as follows: “white colour or yellowish-white; pigmentation blue/black. Morphology generally as in the European forms. Length 1–2 mm. Locations. Various specimens from Glen Lamington and Logan Village, South Queensland, October 1912 also from Atherton, North Queensland, March to May 1913 ”. Remarks from Schött. “All these specimens were included under the collective name of E. varia even though they are not a natural colour series. With further material, perhaps at least two species will be distinguished. This is indicated by u. a. as individuals have different forms of unguiculus, but this character may vary intraspecifically. The material here is too limited to decide on the true status of Schött’s five “ types ”. For instance, two individuals had the same colour pattern but a different form of u nguiculus. Others he distinguished on colour pattern and size, specimens from different localities are included. In type I, the accepted varia here, the spots are apparently not regular; in type II the lateral spots on the third and fourth abdominal segment slope obliquely forward and downward in bands; type III (now aa with type IV) is similar with the lateral patterns similar on thoracic segments; in type IV and partly also in the type V, the rows are posterior. On thoracic segments they are coalesced into longitudinal stripes. Types IV and V are also distinguished on size.

Logan Village was selected as lectotype locality (Greenslade 1974) without giving any justification except that it was the best specimen. It is likely that the specimens from Glen Lamington are the same species as this location is close, at 65 km further north.

Womersley (1939) recorded E. varia from SA at Morialta Gorge, under bark; in WA at Kings Park, on low vegetation; also from Denmark WA on Karri bark, and from TAS, Launceston. Womersley’s (1939) description gives no more information on the species morphology except for that already given by Schött (1917). Womersley’s specimen from Kings Park, Perth, WA (5.ix.31), that Womersley originally described as E. mitchelli, was later determined by him as E. varia but the specimen is overcleared so identification is impossible. However, the unguis is not as is described in its paper as truncate nor is the unguiculus. In material used here to identify E. varia, there were two types of unguiculus, a normal, long one (near 60%) and specimens with a truncate one

Entomobrya varia is well represented in the East, South and Western Australia. In the northeast, another species is present. Specimens with different forms of unguiculus also had a different colour and were from different localities. They have been described as E. additae sp. nov. Entomobrya varia is similar to E. peregrina sp. nov. in some aspects. See remark in description of E. additae sp. nov. to separate these three species.