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Springtail (Dicyrtomina saundersi) The collage above actually represents two separate species of globular springtail, to follow up my recent posting of a linear springtail &#039;Entomobrya intermedia&#039;.<br /> <br /> One of the images above is &#039;Dicyrtomina saundersi&#039; while the other is &#039;Dicyrtomina ornata&#039;.<br /> <br /> To find out which is which, and to view footage of both species, watch this clip on YouTube, where details can be found in the accompanying commentary.<br /> <br /> <section class="video"><iframe width="448" height="282" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/UpAteTESAnA?hd=1&autoplay=0&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></section> Dicyrtomina saundersi,Geotagged,United Kingdom Click/tap to enlarge Country intro

Springtail (Dicyrtomina saundersi)

The collage above actually represents two separate species of globular springtail, to follow up my recent posting of a linear springtail 'Entomobrya intermedia'.

One of the images above is 'Dicyrtomina saundersi' while the other is 'Dicyrtomina ornata'.

To find out which is which, and to view footage of both species, watch this clip on YouTube, where details can be found in the accompanying commentary.

    comments (2)

  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Interesting that you also found them walking on the water surface of a pond, that's how I first discovered them as well:

    Dicyrtoma fusca + Dicyrtoma dorsosignata + Dicyrtomina ornata Here's the value pack, bulk discount shot of last weekend's springtail session. It shows all 10 individuals collected in a petri dish in a single 5:1 shot, cropped. I didn't even position them, they drifted to the middle on their own. I did take some 50 shots to get them aligned and somewhat in focus. Kind of like a group shot of people, always somebody blinking.<br /> <br /> Let's discuss species, with credit to Frans Jansen for the help (http://collembola.org/). <br /> <br /> In the bottom right corner, the dark red/purple individual is Dicyrtoma fusca. It is significantly larger than the others. Here it is isolated:<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104971/dicyrtoma_fusca_lateral_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104974/dicyrtoma_fusca_frontal_netherlands.html<br /> At 9 o' clock, you see a pair of muddy green/yellow individuals with a distinctive pattern. This is Dicyrtoma dorsosignata, which as of yesterday is confirmed to be the first known report of the species in the Netherlands:<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104964/dicyrtoma_dorsosignata_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> All 7 remaining individuals are the commonly found Dicyrtomina ornata, at different stages in their life cycle. Simplified: the larger the older, the darker the older. <br /> <br /> Another interesting thing I learned from Frans is the taxonomy history, and how this affects naming. As you can see from my photo, a singular species can have a wildly different appearance based on its life stage. Early taxonomists sometimes categorized them (incorrectly) as a separate species. For example, this one...<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104612/dicyrtomina_ornata_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> ...was once considered to be the species Forma couloni. Then, taxonomists realized it really is a particular variant of Dicyrtomina ornata instead. To fix this mistake, they use the old (incorrect) species name and reuse that name to name the variant. The above photo therefore shows a Dicyrtomina ornata forma couloni. Which you can read as "variant of Dicyrtomina ornata, once considered as species forma couloni".<br /> <br /> Collembola usually have 5 juvenile instars, and several adult instars, with females having more instars than males.<br /> <br /> As said, credit to Frans for this info. Europe,Extreme Macro,Netherlands,Springtail,World

    Could be that you know the below site already, but want to be sure:
    http://www.collembola.org/index.html     Posted 2 years ago, modified 2 years ago
  2. View Philip Booker's profile
    Philip Booker
    Lion
    View Lion class
    I was aware of them previously, but I was surprised to find them on water, twice in two days, in different places.

    Alas, I didn't have a water filter lens close at hand and forgot to switch my video mode from 4k, which doesn't have stablisation, to HD 1080.     Posted 2 years ago

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The Dicyrtomina saundersi

Dicyrtomina saundersi is one of the small "globular" Springtails (Collembola) from the family Dicyrtomidae. Within its distribution range it is easily found in leaf litter from late fall to early spring. It can be confused with other species of Dicyrtomina, most notably with D. ornata.

Info 8 1
Similar species: Symphypleona
Species identified by Philip Booker
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By Philip Booker

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Uploaded Jan 1, 2023. Captured in 65 Crespin Way, Brighton BN1 7FL, UK.
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