Sminthuridae (Lubbock, 1862) is a family of springtails of the order Symphypleona. Sminthurids are commonly referred to as globular springtails.
Description Like other Symphypleona, Sminthuridae are globular in shape and have a furcula that allows them to backflip the fastest of any animal. 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 dens has many setae, 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, 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 Thirteen genera are placed within the Sminthuridae: Allacma Borner, 1906 Arrhopalites Borner, 1906 Bourletiella Banks, 1899 Caprainea Dallai, 1970 Collophora Richards, 1964 Dicyrtoma Bourlet, 1842 Lipothrix Borner, 1906 Neosminthurus Mills, 1934 Ptenothrix Borner, 1906 Sminthurus Latreille, 1802 Spatulosminthurus Betsch & Betsch-Pinot, 1983 Sphyrotheca Borner, 1906 Vesicephalus Richards, 1964
Notable species Allacma fusca, a common European species Sminthurus viridis, the lucerne flea, an introduced pest species in Australia
References