A new relictual and highly troglomorphic species of Tomoceridae (Collembola) from a deep Croatian cave

Tritomurus veles sp. n. (Tomoceridae) is described from a Croatian cave. It is characterized by troglomorphic features (absence of eyes, reduced pigmentation, slender claw, pointed tibiotarsal tenent hairs) that only compare, among Tomoceridae, to the microendemic species T falcifer from the Pyrenees. Tritomurus odes also shares with T falcifer the absence of macrochaetae on head, a presumably non-adaptive character that within Tomoceridae is unique to these two species. Both species have no known epigean relatives in their,respective distribution areas and can be considered as relictual.