Taxonomy of the Cryptopygus complex. I. Pauropygus - a new worldwide littoral genus (Collembola, Isotomidae)

Abstract. In this paper, we describe the new genus Pauropygus gen. n. which includes three minute species, blind and unpigmented, living in interstitial littoral habitats in tropical or subtropical countries. Two of these species are new to science (type species Pauropygus projectus sp. n. from New Caledonia and Pauropygus pacificus sp. n. from China); the third one, originally described in the genus Cryptopygus (Cryptopygus caussaneli Thibaud, 1996), has a larger pantropical distribution. We synonymize here Cryptopygus riebi Barra, 1997 from South Africa with Pauropygus caussaneli. Two paratypes of the Mexican species Cryptopygus axayacatl Palacios & Thibaud, 2001 turned also to be Pauropygus caussaneli, while the holotype and remaining paratypes of this species support its placement in Proisotomodes. Among the Cryptopygus complex, Pauropygus gen. n. is easily recognized by characters of mouthparts (presence of two large projections on pleural fold, basolateral field with 6 chaetae, modified mouthparts) and reduced sensillar chaetotaxy (tergal sensilla 2-3,0-1/0-1,0-1,1-2,1-2,1-3, microsensilla reduced in number: 00/0-100, with sensilla situated in p-row on the abdomen). Small size, absence of eyes and pigment are also shared by all its species. The three species belonging to the genus differ by sensillar chaetotaxy.