Redescription of Baijal’s Entomobrya species from Indian Himalayan Region (Collembola, Entomobryidae)

Abstract

During preparation of ‘Capbryinae & Entomobryini’ (Jordana 2012) for the series Synopses on Palaearctic Collembola (Volume 7, Part 1), many specimens were studied from museums within and outside the study area. Even so some important collections could either not be found or borrowed at the time. One was the Baijal’s collection, which was rediscovered in the Zoological Survey of India. In the present paper we present the results of our examination of paratypes of the four species of Entomobryadescribed by this author from the Indian Himalayan region. The original descriptions of these species were limited but adequate for that time, and the age of the specimens did not allow observation of all the details necessary for a complete description as currently required, including macrochaetotaxy. Here descriptions of these species are given in more detail , especially regarding the distribution of the macrochaetotaxy, currently considered necessary for the identification of species. The species studied are: Entomobrya kultinalensis Baijal, 1958, Entomobrya longisticta Baijal, 1958, Entomobrya nigrita Baijal, 1958 and Entomobrya rohtangensis Baijal, 1958.