New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts
New Zealand’s giant Collembola: new information on distribution and
morphology for Holacanthella Börner, 1906 (Neanuridae:
Uchidanurinae)
Mark I. Stevens
David J. Winter
Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology & Evolution
Massey University
Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
and
School of Biological Sciences
Monash University
Clayton 3800
Victoria, Australia
M.I.Stevens@massey.ac.nz
Rod Morris
Rod Morris Productions
57 Irvine Road, The Cove
RD2
Dunedin 9021, New Zealand
Jay McCartney
Ecology, Institute of Natural Resources
Te Kura Màtauranga o ngà Taonga à Papatuanuku
Massey University
Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
Penelope Greenslade
Department of Botany and Zoology
Australian National University
Australian Capital Territory, 0200
Australia
Abstract The New Zealand collembolan fauna
currently includes five described species of the striking endemic genus
Holacanthella (springtails). Holacanthella species are
saproxylic decomposers of cool temperate forest ecosystems, and they
contribute to nutrient cycling of coarse woody debris. All species of
the genus have the dorsal and lateral surfaces furnished with
conspicuous red, orange, -yellow or white digitations. They are among
the largest Collembola known, with some individuals reaching 17 mm in
length. We examined new material of the five species from throughout
New Zealand, as well as existing museum material, to understand more
fully their distributions. We provide an updated key to the five Holacanthella
species and discuss the conservation of rare/range restricted species,
and propose hypotheses to explain their distributions. One species, H.
laterospinosa, is known only from Cuvier Island and the Coromandel
Peninsula, North Island, but the distributions of the remaining four
species appears to reflect the turbulent geological history of New
Zealand during the Pliocene. Intraspecific variation in several gross
morphological characters was observed in all species. We provide a
comparison of characters with the other genera within the Uchidanurinae
in order to characterise the genus more fully with respect to allied
genera. Holacanthella species are particularly vulnerable to
human-mediated disturbance by forest modification because of their
strict habitat requirements and low mobility, and we stress that
conservation efforts should focus on protecting critical habitats for
each species.
Keywords biodiversity conservation;
biogeography; forest management; saproxylic communities; springtails
Z06030; Online publication date 28 February 2007; Received 19 September
2006; accepted 18 January 2007
New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 2007, Vol. 34: 63 - 78
0301 - 4223/07/3401 - 0063 © The Royal Society of New Zealand
2007
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