A NEW CAVE GENUS AND SPECIES OF SPRINGTAILS ( COLLEMBOLA , SMINTHURIDAE ) FROM HERZEGOVINA .

near Trebinje, Herzegovina, one of us (IMK) collected two male specimens of a peculiar sminthurid taxon which, after a thorough study, appears to be a new genus and species. The new form is phenetically closest to the genus Disparrhopalites Stach, 1956 (otherwise present in Europe; C a s s a g n a u and D e l a m a r e D e b o u t e v i l l e, 1953; F a n c i u l l i et al., 2005). Additionally, it exhibits some similarities with another genus, Pararrhopalites Bonet and Teler, 1947, which inhabits Africa, Asia and the Americas. In the present paper, we describe a new genus and species of these sminthurid collembolans. This is their first finding both in Herzegovina and on the Balkan Peninsula. The type specimens are housed in the collection of the Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.

Description.-Body pigmentation absent.Head with no eyes (Fig. 1).Antennal length to head diagonal ratio = 5.05.Antennae I and II with 2 and 10 setae, respectively.Antennae III with 20 setae and apical sensory organ.Antennae IV with 32 articles.Head chaetotaxy as presented in Figs. 1 and 2. Abdominal chaetotaxy as in Fig. 3. Tibiotarsus III longer than tibiotarsus I or II, without tenent hairs (Fig. 4).
Foot complex: claw elongated, with no tunica, nor with inner or outer teeth, and without setae.Claw empodium with lamellae, without teeth and terminal filament (Figs. 1 and 4).Mucro with both inner and outer edges serrated, without setae (Fig. 5).Retinaculum with three teeth and with no setae (Fig. 1).Ventral tube without filament (Fig. 1).

Galeriella liciniana
Head chaetotaxy as in Fig. 1.Large abdomen with the trichobothria A, B, and C, small abdomen with trichobothrium D (Fig. 3).
Remarks.-The new taxon is an endemic relic form which inhabits caves in Herzegovina, in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula.Since its close relatives inhabit either Mediterranean or tropical regions, it is probable that Galeriella liciniana or its ancestor originated in a period and geographic area with a tropical climate.After several dramatic climatic subversions, it is assumed that its predecessors colonized soil, humus, or underground habitats.
n. g., n. sp. also differs from Disparrhopalites (inhabiting Central Europe, the Northern Mediterranean area, the Azores and the Canary Islands) in many important respects, such as: life preference (troglobitic vs. epigean, endogean, or troglophilic) (C a s s a g n a u and D e l a m a r e -D e b o u t e v i l l e , 1953; F a n c i u l l i et al., 2005); and the number of antenna IV articles (32 vs. 12-14), head diagonal length, antennal length to head diagonal length ratio, claw structure, and distribution area (F a n c i u l l i et al., 2005).The new taxon is monotypic; its only known species to date is G. liciniana from Herzegovina, Bosnia-Herzegovina.GALERIELLA LICINIANAĆURČIĆ & LUČIĆ, NEW SPECIES (Figs. 1-5) Etymology.-After Licinius (Valerius Licinianus Licinius), the last Roman tetrarch to rule over the Balkan and Danube countries (from 308 to 324 A. D.).Material examined.-Holotype male and paratype male, from a cave near the Mušnica Gorge (Avtovac Mulje), near Trebinje, Herzegovina, Bosnia-Herzegovina; 10 September 2006, collected by Ivo M. Karaman.The type series is housed at the Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.