Untangling Lepidocyrtus (Collembola, Entomobryidae): new molecular data shed light on the relationships of the European groups.

European Lepidocyrtus species are usually grouped into five species-groups within two subgenera, Lepidocyrtus s.s. and Lanocyrtus, defined by the distribution of scale covering and dorsal head and body macrochaetotaxy. The discovery of several Lepidocyrtus populations with morphological characters intermediate between two species-groups suggested the need for the present study to test whether molecular data provide support to these groups. The morphology and gene sequences of 110 specimens belonging to 19 species of European Lepidocyrtus have been studied. Our molecular results are congruent with the distribution of the European species into the five groups established in the literature on the basis of morphological characters, but also indicated that subgenus Lanocyrtus is paraphyletic while subgenus Lepidocyrtus s.s. is monophyletic. A new species, Lepidocyrtus intermedius, is described, and a redefinition of European species-groups is proposed based on chaetotaxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]