Cave-adapted campodeids (Hexapoda, Diplura, Campodeidae) from the Dinarides and adjacent karst regions

Abstract

Five new species are described, Plusiocampa (Didymocampa) cvijici Sendra & Antić, sp. nov., Plusiocampa (Plusiocampa) atom Sendra & Antić, sp. nov., Plusiocampa (Stygiocampa) barethae Sendra & Rađa, sp. nov., Plusiocampa (Stygiocampa) dulcici Sendra & Rađa, sp. nov. and Plusiocampa (Venetocampa) pirnati Sendra & Borko, sp. nov. This brings the number of cave-adapted species of campodeids known from the Dinarides, Eastern Alps, Balkan System and Rodope Massif to 28 (one species in the genus Campodea and 27 in Plusiocampa). Among Plusiocampa, four out of five subgenera are present (Pentachaetocampa is not present in the region studied): Didymocampa (one species), Plusiocampa s. str. (15 species), Stygiocampa (eight species) and Venetocampa (three species), whereby Stygiocampa and Venetocampa are endemic to the studied region. These results reveal the importance of the Dinarides karst region as a centre of diversification for campodeids and for cave animals in general. A monophyletic subgroup, consisting of Stygiocampa, Venetocampa and Plusiocampa s. str. and characterized by the absence of medial posterior thoracic macrosetae, presumably colonized the Dinaric plate during the middle of the Cenozoic and occurs in that area since then.