Systematics of Lepidocyrtinus boneti Denis, 1948 (Collembola, Seirinae) reveals a new position for the species within Seirinae

Abstract

Seira boneti Denis, 1948, comb. nov. is examined and redescribed based on syntypes and by a newly discovered Chinese population. Lectotype and paralectotypes were designated, and the type locality of the species has been fixed to Câuda, near Nhatrang, Vietnam. The species was first described in the genus Lepidocyrtinus, but based on morphological and molecular evidence it is here transferred to Seira. For the phylogenetic placement of Seira boneti comb. nov., its mitogenome was included in a dataset comprising 19 species of Seirinae. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inferences clustered the species next to Seira sanloemensis Godeiro & Cipola, 2020 from Cambodia, forming a distinct Seira clade from the Old World, confirming the hypothesis of the existence of a different basal lineage of Seirinae in Southern Asia.