| Checklist of the Collembola: Some notes on cave dwelling Collembola from Belgium |
Samenvatting
Collembola werden verzameld in twee grotten in Rochefort, in het zuiden van België. In totaal werden 17 exemplaren gevonden die behoren tot 4 soorten.
Keywords: cave Collembola, troglophilic, faunistics, Belgium
Caves are very interesting from a biogeographical point of view as they provide refugia
during glaciations and are home to relict species. Recent work divides cave Collembola into
three main categories: troglobites, which are only found in caves, troglophiles, which live in
caves, soils and related environments and trogloxenes which are only occasionally found in caves
and do not normally live there (Hopkin, 1997 and refs. therein).
The history of the Belgian research on cave dwelling Collembola began with Willem (1902) who described several Collembola collected in the caves of Han and Rochefort. Also Denis (1937) collected Collembola and other 'Apterygota' in the 'Grotte de Goyet'. Leruth (1936, 1939) did not confine his searches to 'Apterygota' in one cave and collected many other taxa in a whole range of caves. More than 30 years later, Delhez & Kersmakers (1973) made a faunistic inventory of the 'Grotte du Pré-au-Tonneau' and found a total of 7 collembolan species.
| Ordo Poduromorpha Börner, 1913 | ||||||||
| Familia Hypogastruridae Börner, 1906 | ||||||||
| Schaefferia Absolon, 1900 willemi (Bonet, 1930) Gisin, 1960 | ||||||||
| Country | Region | Place | UTM | Date | Quantity | Legit | Determinator | Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BE1 | Nam2 | Rochefort | FR55 | 1998.05.22 | 1a3 | Henderickx H | Jacobs W & Janssens F | KAVE4 |
| Ordo Entomobryomorpha Börner, 1913 | ||||||||
| Familia Entomobryidae Schött, 1891 | ||||||||
| Heteromurus Wankel, 1860 nitidus (Templeton, 1835) Handschin, 1929 | ||||||||
| Country | Region | Place | UTM | Date | Quantity | Legit | Determinator | Collection |
| BE | Nam | Rochefort | FR55 | 1997.10.25 | 1a | Henderickx H | Jacobs W | KAVE |
| BE | Nam | Rochefort | FR55 | 1998.05.22 | 7a | Henderickx H | Janssens F | KAVE |
| Lepidocyrtus Bourlet, 1839 curvicollis (Bourlet, 1839) Bourlet, 1841 | ||||||||
| Country | Region | Place | UTM | Date | Quantity | Legit | Determinator | Collection |
| BE | Nam | Rochefort | FR55 | 1997.10.05 | 1a | Henderickx H | Jacobs W & Janssens F | KAVE |
| BE | Nam | Rochefort | FR55 | 1997.10.25 | 4a1j5 | Henderickx H | Jacobs W & Janssens F | KAVE |
| BE | Nam | Rochefort | FR55 | 1998.05.21 | 1a | Henderickx H | Janssens F | KAVE |
| Familia Tomoceridae Schäffer, 1896 | ||||||||
| Tomocerus Nicolet, 1842 minor (Lubbock, 1862) Schäffer, 1900 | ||||||||
| Country | Region | Place | UTM | Date | Quantity | Legit | Determinator | Collection |
| BE | Nam | Rochefort | FR55 | 1997.10.25 | 1a | Henderickx H | Janssens F | KAVE |
Collembola were collected by Hans Henderickx in two caves:
'Grotte du Pré-au-Tonneau' (1997.10.05, 1997.10.25 and 1998.05.21)
and 'Grotte de Lorette' (1997.10.25 and 1998.05.22 (Salle du Cataclysme)) in Rochefort (south
of Belgium). The specimens of the Grotte du Pré-au-Tonneau were captured at 10 m depth in
a moist bypass covered with clay pellets and in the 'Galerie glasieuse' that has also been
visited by Delhez & Kersmakers (1973).
Collections were made using a powerful hand vacuum cleaner. Additionally, Collembola were collected by hand under previously placed pieces of bark and stones. They were stored in 96% ethanol and identified based on the keys of Gisin (1960), Fjellberg (1980) and Palissa (1964). The specimens are stored in the collection of the Royal Entomological Society of Antwerp.
Schaefferia willemi (Bonet, 1930) was found by Willem in 1902
and described by him as Octomma longispina.
One specimen (a male of 0.8mm) was found in the 'Grotte de Lorette'
in the 'Salle du Cataclysme' on 1998.05.22.
Heteromurus nitidus Templeton, 1835 is a troglophilic species that is also found in wet meadows (Gisin, 1960) and mull-humus profiles with pH-values higher than 5 (Ponge, 1983). It is found throughout Europe (Gisin, 1960). One specimen was found in the 'Grotte de Lorette' on 1997.10.05 and another 7 specimens were found in the same cave in the 'Salle du Cataclysme' on 1998.05.22.
Of Lepidocyrtus curvicollis Bourlet, 1839,
7 white specimens were found in the 'Grotte du Pré-au-Tonneau':
1997.10.05: 1 ex., 1997.10.25: 5 ex. and 1998.05.21: 1 ex.).
Note: Willem (1902) described a white Lepidocyrtus börneri(sic) nov. spec.
from the caves of Han and Rochefort, closely related to
Lepidocyrtus paradoxus and Lepidocyrtus insignis.
Based upon the recently found specimens of Lepidocyrtus curvicollis
we will show evidence in a separate publication (in prep.)
for the temptative synonymy
of Lepidocyrtus börneri(sic) with Lepidocyrtus curvicollis
by Leruth (1939:199),
that was also adopted by Gisin (1964:661,662).
Tomocerus minor (Lubbock, 1862) is a hygrophilic and troglophilic (Kopeszki & Meyer, 1996) species that has also been collected in a previous faunistic study in the 'Grotte du Pré-au-Tonneau' (Delhez & Kersmakers, 1973). It is also found in forests with a moist mull humus profile (Ponge, 1983, 1993). It is a holarctic species (Kopeszki & Meyer, 1996). Hans Henderickx collected 1 specimen in the 'Grotte du Pré-au-Tonneau'.