Folsomia amplissima Potapov & Babenko 2000

Folsomia amplissima Potapov & Babenko, 2000

Discussion. A species of F. taimyrica complex (' quadrioculata ' group) which is defined by the combination of ms formula (11/100), presence of ocelli and absence of median macrochaetae on Th.III. Specimens of Buryatia often have ms present on either Abd.II or Abd.III (with ms formula 11/101 or 11/110), which make them closer to F. borealis Potapov & Babenko, 2000 (ms formula 11/111). This similarity is supported by the presence of only one ocellus (usually two in F. amplissima). Unlike in F. borealis, the specimens of Buryatia have no medial band without chaetae and with irregular granulation on Abd.V so then we treat the specimens as F. amplissima until more material from surrounding areas of Siberia is analyzed.

Distribution and ecology. The species is distributed widely in the East Palaearctic, including the northernmost part of the Russian Plain (Babenko & Fjellberg 2006). In our material it is recorded from damp sites of alpine and taiga belts of the Barguzin Range (northern Buryatia) (Fig. 1: loc. 7, 8). Morphological heterogeneity has been shown for this species before and our observations indicate that geographical forms may exist.