Sminthuridae is a
family of
springtails of the
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
Symphypleona
The order Symphypleona is one of the three main groups of springtails (Collembola), tiny hexapods related to insects. When the springtails were still believed to be an order of insects, the Symphypleona were ranked as a suborder.
They can be ...
.
Sminthurids are commonly referred to as globular springtails.
Description
Like other Symphypleona, Sminthuridae are globular in shape and have a
furcula that allows them to jump. Members of this family have four-segmented
antennae in which the basal segment is short and the rest successively increase in length. The terminal antennal segment has about 20 whorls of hairs and is divided into numerous subsegments. Sminthuridae also have well-developed
tracheae
The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all air- breathing animals with lungs. The trachea extends from the ...
. The dens has many
setae, unlike in
Mackenziellidae
Mackenziellidae is a family of springtails belonging to the order Symphypleona
The order Symphypleona is one of the three main groups of springtails (Collembola), tiny hexapods related to insects. When the springtails were still believed to b ...
where it has 3 setae. Females have subanal appendages.
Ecology
Sminthuridae occur in surface litter layers, on vegetation and in tropical forest
canopies. They may be collected using
Tullgren funnels or
pitfall traps
A pitfall trap is a trapping pit for small animals, such as insects, amphibians and reptiles. Pitfall traps are a sampling technique, mainly used for ecology studies and ecologic pest control. Animals that enter a pitfall trap are unable to esca ...
, or by sweeping through grass with a pan. Additionally, Sminthuridae is one of the springtail families that includes species living in freshwater.
List of genera
Ten
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
are placed within the Sminthuridae:
* ''
Arrhopalites
''Arrhopalites'' is a genus of springtails in the family Sminthuridae.
Species
* '' Arrhopalites acanthophthalmus'' Broll, G., Merbach, W., & Pfeiffer, E.-M. ''Wetlands in Central Europe: Soil Organisms, Soil Ecological Processes, and Trace Gas ...
''
Borner, 1906
* ''
Bourletiella''
Banks, 1899
* ''
Collophora''
Richards, 1964
* ''
Dicyrtoma
''Dicyrtoma'' is a genus of globular springtails in the family Dicyrtomidae. There are at least 30 described species in ''Dicyrtoma''.
Species
References
springtail genera
{{springtail-stub ...
''
Bourlet, 1842
* ''
Neosminthurus
''Neosminthurus'' is a genus of globular springtails in the family Sminthuridae
Sminthuridae is a family of springtails of the order Symphypleona. Sminthurids are commonly referred to as globular springtails.
Description
Like other Symphypl ...
''
Mills, 1934
* ''
Ptenothrix
''Ptenothrix'' is a genus of globular springtails in the family Dicyrtomidae
Dicyrtomidae is a family of Collembola in the order Symphypleona, and it is the only family of the superfamily Dicyrtomoidea. It includes more than 200 species in eig ...
''
Borner, 1906
* ''
Sminthurides
''Sminthurides'' is a genus of globular springtails in the family Sminthurididae. There are more than 30 described species in ''Sminthurides''.
Species
These 32 species belong to the genus ''Sminthurides'':
* ''Sminthurides annulicornis'' Axel ...
''
Borner, 1900
* ''
Sminthurus
''Sminthurus'' is a genus of springtails described by Pierre André Latreille in 1802.
Species
These 31 species belong to the genus ''Sminthurus'':
* '' Sminthurus adirondackus'' Maynard, 1951
* '' Sminthurus anomalus'' Betsch, 1965
* '' Smin ...
''
Latreille, 1802
* ''
Sphyrotheca
''Sphyrotheca'' is a genus of globular springtails in the family Sminthuridae. There are seven described species in ''Sphyrotheca''.
Species
These seven species belong to the genus ''Sphyrotheca'':
* ''Sphyrotheca confusa'' Snider, 1978
* ''Sphy ...
''
Borner, 1906
* ''
Vesicephalus
''Vesicephalus'' is a genus of globular springtails in the family Katiannidae
Katiannidae is a family of Collembola
Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (th ...
''
Richards, 1964
Notable species
* ''
Allacma fusca'', a common European species
* ''
Sminthurus viridis
''Sminthurus viridis'' is a member of the Collembola, the springtails, an order in the subphylum Hexapoda.
The species is known by common names such as clover springtail, lucerne flea, or lucerne earth flea.
Common names such as lucerne flea ar ...
'', the
lucerne flea, an
introduced pest species in Australia
[
][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1031503
Collembola
Arthropod families
