Neelidae

Neelidae
Megalothorax
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Collembola
Order: Neelipleona
Family: Neelidae

Neelidae is a family of springtails in the order Neelipleona. There are at least 4 genera and more than 30 described species in Neelidae.

Neelus murinus

Genera

These four genera belong to the family Neelidae:

Description

Members of the family Neelidae are generally minute, averaging around 500 μm. They possess globular bodies superficially like that of the Symphypleona, with relatively long legs and a well-developed furca compared to other soil-dwelling springtails.

Phylogeny

Neelidae was initially considered to have a close affinity with Symphypleona, based on morphological characteristics shared between the two groups such as a globular shape, neosminthuroid setae and others. However, molecular data places them as a basal group to all other Collembola.

References

  1. ↑ "Neelidae Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  2. ↑ "Neelidae". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  3. ↑ Schneider, C.; Zon, S. D.; D'Haese, C. A. (September 2018). "Megalothorax laevis (Neelipleona, Neelidae): Account of a neglected springtail widely distributed in the intertropical zone". International Journal of Tropical Insect Science. 38 (3): 168–191. doi:10.1017/S1742758418000024. S2CID 90165716.
  4. ↑ Ma, Yao; Huang, Cheng-Wang; Luan, Yun-Xia; Chen, Wan-Jun (3 August 2021). "The mitochondrial genome of a minute springtail species Megalothorax incertus (Collembola: Neelipleona: Neelidae)". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 6 (8): 2430–2432. doi:10.1080/23802359.2021.1955637. PMC 8291067. PMID 34350357.

Further reading