The first hypogean dipluran from Portugal: description of a new species of the genus Litocampa (Diplura: Campodeidae)
Litocampa mendesi Sendra & Reboleira, 2010
ABSTRACT
A new species of subterranean campodeid dipluran of the genus Litocampa mendesi n. sp. is described. Despite the presence of this genus in Spain, this is the first record in Portugal, and it is also the first Portuguese species of hypogean Diplura. The new species combines unique characters absent in the European and American species of the genus. Litocampa mendesi n. sp. was collected only in one part of a cave of the Jurassic karstic massif of Algarve, the southwesternmost part of the Iberian Peninsula. The morphological features of this species show some adaptations to hypogean life but not a progressive troglobiomorphy, typical to the Campodeidae that live only in deep subterranean environments.
Reference:
Reboleira A.S.P.S., Sendra A., Gonçalves F. & Oromí P. (2010). The first hypogean dipluran from Portugal: description of a new species of the genus Litocampa (Diplura: Campodeidae). Zootaxa, 2728, 50-56.
Read about it:
Bióloga descobre espécie de insecto com milhões de anos em gruta algarvia - Público
A new species of subterranean campodeid dipluran of the genus Litocampa mendesi n. sp. is described. Despite the presence of this genus in Spain, this is the first record in Portugal, and it is also the first Portuguese species of hypogean Diplura. The new species combines unique characters absent in the European and American species of the genus. Litocampa mendesi n. sp. was collected only in one part of a cave of the Jurassic karstic massif of Algarve, the southwesternmost part of the Iberian Peninsula. The morphological features of this species show some adaptations to hypogean life but not a progressive troglobiomorphy, typical to the Campodeidae that live only in deep subterranean environments.
Reference:
Reboleira A.S.P.S., Sendra A., Gonçalves F. & Oromí P. (2010). The first hypogean dipluran from Portugal: description of a new species of the genus Litocampa (Diplura: Campodeidae). Zootaxa, 2728, 50-56.
Read about it:
Bióloga descobre espécie de insecto com milhões de anos em gruta algarvia - Público
The new species Litocampa mendesi is dedicated to the portuguese entomologist Dr. Luís Mendes, outstanding authority in thysanuran insects.
At left, Dr. Luís Mendes during the II Iberian Meeting of Subterranean Biology, organized in the University of Aveiro, 2011.
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