Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13
Type material. Holotype female, Brazil, Paraíba, Areia, Mata do Pau-Ferro, 24–27.xi. 2011. Bellini, B.C. col. Paratypes 2 male and 3 female, same data as holotype. Type material deposited at Collembola Collection of DBEZ / UFRN.
Description. Total body length of holotype 3.075 mm. Habitus entomobryid (Fig. 10 A). Colour of mounted specimens pale yellow with dark blue pigment covering eye patches (Fig. 10 A). Well-developed mesothorax, projecting over the head dorsally (Fig. 10 A). Rounded brownish scales covering all Ant. I and II, basal halves of Ant. III and IV, head, thorax, abdomen, legs, manubrium (dorsally) and dentes (ventrally) and posterior side of ventral tube. Ant. IV not annulated, with a single apical bulb, several multiciliated setae, some small smooth setae and some blunt s-setae (Fig. 10 B). Eye patches oval with 8 + 8 lenses, the biggest B and smallest G (Fig. 10 C). Four interocular multiciliated mesochaetae (‘p’,‘q’, ‘r’, ‘s’), ‘t’ as microseta, external to eyepatch. Prelabral and labral setae smooth. Labial triangle ‘M 1 ’, ‘M 2 ’ and ‘E’ multiciliated, ‘r’ reduced (Fig. 10 D), ‘L 1 ’, ‘L 2 ’ multicilated (not drawn). Trochanteral organ with approximately 24 short spines (Fig. 10 E). All ungues with four teeth, two basal paired and two apical unpaired (Figs. 10 F–H). Unguiculi lanceolate, with slightly serrated posterior edges (Figs. 10 F-H). Tenent hair capitate with slightly serrated edges. Ventral manubrium with 7 + 7 subapical setae. Approximately 11 + 11 finger-like blunt macrochaetae present on distal manubrium and proximal dentes (Fig. 10 I). Mucro typically falcate (Fig. 10 J).
Dorsal head chaetotaxy. ‘An’ series with 9 + 9 macrochaetae; three super-numerary microsetae near An 3; ‘A’ series lacking A 4; A0, A 2 and A 5 as macrochaetae; A 1 and A 3 as microsetae; ‘M’ series with 4 + 4 setae; M 2 and M 4 as macrochaetae; M 3 and M 4 i as microsetae; ‘S’ series lacking S 3 and S 4; S0, S 1, S 2, S 5 and S 6 as macrochaetae; Interocular series with 5 + 5 setae; p, q, r, s as mesochaetae, t as microsetae, lateral to eyepatches; ‘Ps’ series with 3 + 3 microsetae, Ps 4 absent (typical of Seira); Ps 5 in a abnormal posterior disposition (see Soto- Adames 2008); ‘Pa’ series with 5 + 5 setae, Pa 4 absent; Pa 1, Pa 2 and Pa 3 as microsetae; Pa 5 as macrochaeta and Pa 6 as post ocular trichobothrium; ‘Pm’ series with 2 + 2 microsetae, Pm 2 absent (typical of Seira); ‘Pp’ series with 6 + 6 microsetae, one super-numerary seta near Pp 3; Pe 3 (microsetae) and Pe 4 (?) (macrochaetae) present (Fig. 11).
Dorsal mesothorax chaetotaxy. ‘a’ series (without anterior setal collar) with 9 + 9 setae; a 2 p and a supernumerary seta near a 5 as microsetae, a 5 i 2, a 5 i 2 p, a 5 ip, a 5 i, a 5, a 5 p plus two super-numerary setae near a 5 i 2 as macrochaetae (one of them appears as microsetae in one specimen); ‘m’ series with 12 + 12 setae, m 1 i 3 absent; m 1 i 2, m 4, m 5 a, m 5, m 5 p; m 1 i, m 1, m 2 i, m 2, m 4 ip, m 4 i, m 4 p as macrochaetae; m 5 and m 5 p distant from other ‘m’ series setae, near ‘p’ series (see Soto-Adames 2008); ‘p’ series with 11 + 11 to 16 + 16 setae, p 1 i 2 p and p 2 e absent; p 1 i, p 1, p 2 a, p 2 ea, p 2 ep, p 3 p, p 3, p 4, p 5, p 6 and p 6 e as microsetae; p 1 i 2, p 1 ip,p 1 p, p 2 and p 2 p as macrochaetae; p 2 ea, p 2 ep, p 3 p, p 3, p 4 group of setae totally absent in one specimen. Three super-numerary macrochaetae near p 6 (not drawn–see Soto-Adames 2008) (Fig. 12 A).
Dorsal metathorax chaetotaxy. ‘a’ series with 9 + 9 (a 1 a, a 1, a 2, a 3, a 4, a 5, a 6, a 7 and a super-numerary seta next a 4) microsetae; ‘m’ series with 5 + 5 setae; m 4, m 5, m 6 p and m 7 as microsetae; m 6 as macrochaetae; accessory seta present, near m 7; ‘p’ series with 9 + 9 setae; p 2 a, p 2 e, p 3, p 4, p 5, p 6 as microsetae; p 1 i, p 1 and p 2 as macrochaetae (Fig. 12 B).
Dorsal Abd. I chaetotaxy. ‘a’ series with 8 + 8 (a 1, a 1 a, a 1 e, a 2, a 3, a 5, a 6 and a super-numerary seta (a 7?) near a 6) microsetae; ‘m’ series with 5 + 5 setae, m 4 i absent; m 4, m 5 and m 6 as microsetae; m 2 and m 3 as macrochaetae; ‘p’ series only represented by p 5 microseta, p 6 absent; accessory seta present near m 7 (Fig. 12 C).
Dorsal Abd. II chaetotaxy. ‘a’ series with 7 + 7 setae; a 2 p, as, a 6, a 7 and a super-numerary seta near a 5 as microsetae; a 2 as macrochaetae; a 5 as trichobothrium with 5 surrounding fan shaped scales; ‘m’ series with 7 + 7 setae; m 3 ei, m 3 e, m 3 ea and m 6 as microsetae; m 3, m 3 ep and m 5 as macrochaetae; m 2 as trichobothrium with 4 surrounding fan shaped scales; ‘p’ series with 3 + 3 setae; p 5 and p 7 as microsetae; p 6 as mesochaeta; el and se setae present, as microsetae (Fig. 12 D).
Dorsal Abd. III chaetotaxy. ‘a’ series with 8 + 8 setae; as and a 3 as microsetae; am 6 as macrochaeta; a 1, a 2 and a 6 as fan shaped scales; a 7 as mesochaeta; a 5 as trichobothrium with 5 surrounding fan shaped scales; ‘m’ series with 7 + 7 setae, m 3 ea absent; m 2 as trichobothrium with 4 surrounding fan shaped scales; m 5 as trichobothrium with 3 surrounding fan shaped scales around; m 4 as fan shaped scale; m 7 and two super-numerary setae near em as microsetae; m 3 as macrochaeta; ‘p’ series with 6 + 6 setae; p 3, p 5, p 7 i and p 7 as microsetae; pm 6 and p 6 as macrochaetae; em, se as microsetae; c 3 and emp as fan shaped scales; d 2 as accessory seta, near p 5 (Fig. 13 A).
Dorsal Abd. IV chaetotaxy. ‘A’ series with 8 + 8 setae; A 1 and a super-numerary seta near A 1 as microsetae (A 2 a?); A 2-6 as macrochaetae; Ae 7 present as macrochaetae near B 6; ‘B’ series with 6 + 6 setae; B 1-6 as macrochaetae; ‘C’ series with 5 + 5 setae; C 1 and C 4 as macrochaetae; C 1 p, C 2 and C 3 as microsetae; ‘T’ series with 7 + 7 setae; T 1, T 3, T 5 and T 6 as microsetae; T 2 and T 4 as trichobothria with 4 surrounding fan shaped scales on each; T 7 as mesochaeta; ps present as accessory microseta near T 7; ‘D’ series with 5 + 5 setae; D 1 and D 2 a as fan shaped scales; D 2 as microseta; D 3 as trichobothria with 3 surrounding fan shaped scales; D 3 p as mesochaeta; ‘E’ series with 7 + 7 setae; E 2 a, E 2, E 2 p, E 3 and E 4 p as macrochaetae; E 4 and E 4 p 2 as microseta; ‘F’ series with 6 + 6 setae; F 1, F 2, F 3 and F 3 p as macrochaetae; F 2 p as microseta; an super-numerary mesochaeta near F 3 p; ‘Fe’ series with 4 + 4 setae; Fe 3 as macrochaetae; Fe 4 and Fe 5 as mesochaeta; Fe 6 as microseta (Fig. 13 B).
Distribution of dorsal macrochaetae of whole body as in Figure 13 C.
Etymology. The species was named after the type locality, Areia municipality. From the Latin, harena = sand.
Remarks. The presence of blunt modified setae apically on dentes and distally on the manubrium places S. harena sp. nov. in a subgroup of Seira originally described in the subgenus, Lepidocyrtinus Börner (Yosii 1959). This taxon, as the other subgenera of Seira, has not been used recently in descriptions, but specimens with this character are easily recognised, especially among the Brazilian fauna of Collembola (Soto-Adames et al. 2008, Bellini & Zeppelini 2011 b). In Brazil, only three species with this morphology were previously known: Seira prodiga (Arlé 1959), S. xinguensis (Arlé 1959) and S. nigrans (Arlé 1959). Seira harena sp. nov. has some morphological similarities with these species, such as the fourth segment antennal not annulated, unguiculi acuminate, four inner ungual teeth and the general habitus. However, because the short descriptions of S. nigrans and the possibility that S. xinguensis and S. prodiga are the same species, only S. prodiga could be compared in detail with S. harena sp. nov. (Arlé 1959, Christiansen & Bellinger 2000). Seira harena sp. nov. differs from S. prodiga and other species of Seira in its unique combination of macrochaetae presented in Jacquemart’s cephalic regions 1 and 4 C, Jacquemart’s (1974) region 3 of the mesothorax and regions A and B of the metathorax. Seira harena sp. nov. also has fewer blunt setae on the furcula compared to S. prodiga. A detailed comparison between the cited species of Seira is presented in Tables 2 and 3. The new species was collected at the beginning of the wet season, from litter and dead wood. The climate of Areia is ‘As’ according to Koeppen system (Kottek et al. 2006).