Sminthuridae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

springtail Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called En ...

s of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Symphypleona The order Symphypleona is one of the three main groups of springtails (Collembola), tiny hexapods related to insects. When the springtails were still believed to be an order of insects, the Symphypleona were ranked as a suborder. They can be ...

. Sminthurids are commonly referred to as globular springtails.

Description

Like other Symphypleona, Sminthuridae are globular in shape and have a

furcula The (Latin for "little fork") or wishbone is a forked bone found in most birds and some species of non-avian dinosaurs, and is formed by the fusion of the two pink clavicles. In birds, its primary function is in the strengthening of the Thorax, ...

that allows them to jump. Members of this family have four-segmented antennae in which the basal segment is short and the rest successively increase in length. The terminal antennal segment has about 20 whorls of hairs and is divided into numerous subsegments. Sminthuridae also have well-developed

tracheae The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all air- breathing animals with lungs. The trachea extends from the ...

. The dens has many

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for " bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

, unlike in Mackenziellidae where it has 3 setae. Females have subanal appendages.

Ecology

Sminthuridae occur in surface litter layers, on vegetation and in tropical forest canopies. They may be collected using Tullgren funnels or

pitfall traps A pitfall trap is a trapping pit for small animals, such as insects, amphibians and reptiles. Pitfall traps are a sampling technique, mainly used for ecology studies and ecologic pest control. Animals that enter a pitfall trap are unable to esca ...

, or by sweeping through grass with a pan. Additionally, Sminthuridae is one of the springtail families that includes species living in freshwater.

List of genera

Ten

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

are placed within the Sminthuridae: * ''

Arrhopalites ''Arrhopalites'' is a genus of springtails in the family Sminthuridae. Species * '' Arrhopalites acanthophthalmus'' Broll, G., Merbach, W., & Pfeiffer, E.-M. ''Wetlands in Central Europe: Soil Organisms, Soil Ecological Processes, and Trace Gas ...

'' Borner, 1906 * ''

Bourletiella ''Bourletiella'' is a genus of springtails of the family Bourletiellidae of the suborder Symphypleona The order Symphypleona is one of the three main groups of springtails (Collembola), tiny hexapods related to insects. When the springtail ...

'' Banks, 1899 * '' Collophora'' Richards, 1964 * '' Dicyrtoma'' Bourlet, 1842 * '' Neosminthurus'' Mills, 1934 * ''

Ptenothrix ''Ptenothrix'' is a genus of globular springtails in the family Dicyrtomidae Dicyrtomidae is a family of Collembola in the order Symphypleona, and it is the only family of the superfamily Dicyrtomoidea. It includes more than 200 species in eig ...

'' Borner, 1906 * '' Sminthurides'' Borner, 1900 * '' Sminthurus'' Latreille, 1802 * '' Sphyrotheca'' Borner, 1906 * '' Vesicephalus'' Richards, 1964

Notable species

* ''

Allacma fusca ''Allacma fusca'' is a species of springtail. This species is endemic to western areas of Continental Europe and the British Isles, where it lives in the surface layers of the soil in moist habitats such as among leaf litter. Description ''Al ...

'', a common European species * ''

Sminthurus viridis ''Sminthurus viridis'' is a member of the Collembola, the springtails, an order in the subphylum Hexapoda. The species is known by common names such as clover springtail, lucerne flea, or lucerne earth flea. Common names such as lucerne flea a ...

'', the lucerne flea, an introduced

pest species A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...

in Australia

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1031503 Collembola Arthropod families