Sphyrotheca multifasciata (Reuter, 1881)

Sphyrotheca multifasciata (Reuter, 1881) View in CoL ( Fig. 7)

Material examined. 4 specimens, India, West Bengal, Coochbehar district, Torsha river embankment, collected from Banana garden soil, 26 ° 18'15.48''N, 89 ° 26'48.12''E, 32.9 m a.s.l., 07-II-2023, leg. P. Mandal., reg. no.- 3389/H14 GoogleMaps ; 2 specimens, West Bengal, Coochbehar district, Cooch Behar Rajbari Park , 26 ° 19'41.88''N, 89 ° 26'22.56''E, 45.11 m a.s.l., 07-II-2023, leg. P. Mandal, reg. no.- 3440/H14 GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. Adult body length up to 0.87 mm. Head diagonal 0.34 mm. Body colour pale yellow with deep violet-blue patches present all over the body and head, darker on the ventral side. Legs with diffused pigment patches and a horizontal blue band present near the fore part of each tibia. Furcula uniformly pigmented ( Fig. 7A). Antennal segment ratio I: II: III: IV– 1: 1.4: 2: 3.7. Head with 4+4 frontal spine-like chaetae and 4+4 median thick chaetae ( Fig. 7B), 8+8 ommatidia present in a circle patch. Labial chaetotaxy is 4,5,5. Md with 5 apical teeth. Most dorsal abdominal chaeta are modified thick and rough, numerous on the posterior part, thin smooth chaetae scattered sparsely. Trochanter with a strong spine ( Fig. 7C). Unguis with a median internal and a small external tooth with pseudonychia, Emp. with a thin filament and small spine, hind leg Emp. smaller than the others ( Fig. 7D). Bothriotricha B, C, D clearly visible. App. an. elongated, apically curved towards the anus. Mucro: dens ratio as–1: 2.36. Dens dorsally with 18 smooth chaetae in 3 rows. Mucro elongated, lamellate with basal serrations ( Fig. 7E).

Distribution in India. West Bengal (Coochbehar).

General distribution. North Eurasia, Sino-Japanese, Mediterranean countries, North America, and South-West Australia ( Bellinger et al., 1996 –2024).

Remarks. This species is collected from the soil samples extracted from those specific locations, covered in a layer of moss along with leaf litter. It is the first time this species recorded from India.