Hobby culture
Dimorphic
Trade name Probable
A culture sold as Dimorphic. The working identification is Entomobrya atrocincta.
Read this first
Males and females look different. Keepers sometimes give them separate names.
What the name stands for
Three different things share one name. A culture is not a species, and a species is not the animals in your tub. Keeping them apart is how this site avoids repeating the trade's mistakes.
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The culture
A lineage kept in tubs and passed between keepers under one name. The name comes from the trade.
- Name type
- Trade name
The origin of this stock is not documented.
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The species it matches
The working identification, and how it was reached.
Entomobrya atrocincta- Name form
- Exact name The name has been matched against the published description.
- How sure
- Probable More likely than not, with gaps left.
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The animals checked
No specimen has been examined. The name rests on the trade label.
- Basis
- Trade label only
- Review
- Reviewed by a curator
Care advice follows the working identification. Check it against what you see.
What would settle it
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Identification Needs a specialist
Why it matters. The 2015 revision found that the colour pattern and setae of these two overlap, and it treats North American records of Entomobrya multifasciata as questionable. A hobby culture sold under the Tiger name has not been published as checked.
What would help. Slide-mounted adults of both sexes, scored against the character table in the revision, with a COI barcode where possible.
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Which species is this culture, checked by a specialist?
Identification Needs a voucher specimen
Why it matters. Hobby cultures are mostly named from a seller's label or a photograph. A wrong name spreads from seller to keeper and then into care advice.
What would help. Preserved vouchers from the culture in 80 to 95 percent ethanol, mounted specimens examined by a springtail specialist, and a DNA barcode where a reference exists. Deposit the voucher with a museum or a university collection.