A New Species of Bristletail of the Genus Ctenolepisma (Zygentoma, Lepismatidae) from Southwestern Kazakhstan

A new species of bristletail Ctenolepisma capsicum sp. n. is described, which is closest to the congeners common in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, such as C. mauritanicum (Lucas 1846), C. turkestanicum Kaplin & Shakula 2022, and C. przewalsky Kaplin 1982. They all share a medium-sized and weakly to moderately pigmented body, two pairs of abdominal styli, the absence of bristle combs from abdominal sternites I and II and of medial combs from all other sternites, and the presence of 1 + 1 sublateral bristle combs on urosternites III–VIII and the posterior margin of the thoracic tergites. The first tergite of their abdomen bears 1 + 1 lateral; the second, 2 + 2 or 3 + 3; terga III–VII, 3 + 3 each; and tergite VIII, 2 + 2 bristle combs. These species are clearly distinguished from each other by the number of sensory papillae on the apical article of the labial palps, the ratio of the length of the distal portion of the prosternum occupied by bristle combs to the total length of the prosternum, the chaetotaxy of the second tergite of the abdomen and thoracic sternites, and the number of ovipositor articles.