47/150: I’m a very tiny decomposer but play a vital part in making sure plants grow!

Animalia: Arthropoda: Diplura: Rhabdura: Campodeidae

Diplurans, also known as two-pronged bristletails, are commonly found in moist soil or leaf litter. They are sometimes mistaken for earwigs, but can be distinguished from one another because diplurans have no eyes! They have two anterior antennae and two posterior cerci, both serving as sensory organs, but some species also use cerci as pinching weapons or as organs of copulation. If you look closely, you might be able to see sac-like structures on their abdomens. These are called eversible vesicles and help with their water balance by absorbing moisture from the environment. Their diet includes a variety of other soil-dwellers, including collembolans, mites, insect larvae, and detritus. While these tiny creatures might not seem very significant, they are part of the community of decomposers that help break down and recycle organic nutrients to release nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which help plants grow. Therefore, they may be small but are crucial players in our ecosystems. There are currently 103 specimens with barcodes on BOLD. #Canada150 #Biodiversity150

Here’s the barcode sequence information for this species:

Process ID:  SSROB7365-14

nucleotide sequence

GACTATATATTTTATTTTTGGGGCCTGAGCAGCTTTAGTTGGAACTGCTTTAAGTATANTGATTCGAGCAGAANTAGGACAAAC—AGGAAGTCTAATTGGAGATGATCAAATTTATAATGTTATTGTAACAGCACATGCTTTTGTAATAATTTTTTTTGTAGTCATACCAATTATAATTGGAGGGTTTGGAAATTGGTTAGTCCCCCTAATACTAGGGGCACCAGATATAGCTTTCCCTCGAATAAATAATATAAGATTTTGACTCCTCCCCCCATCCCTTACACTTCTTCTCTTTAGAAGAATGGTTGAAAGTGGAGCTGGAACGGGATGAACAGTTTACCCGCCACTATCTTCTAACTTAGCTCATATGGGGGCATCAGTTGACCTAACTATTTTCTCCCTTCATTTAGCTGGGGTCTCATCTATCTTAGGGGCAATTAACTTTATCACAACAATAGTAAATATACGATCTACTGGTATAACCTTAGAGCGAACTCCCCTATTTGTATGGTCAGTGGTAATTACCACTATTCTCTTATTACTATCCCTTCCTGTGCTCGCAGGAGCTATTACTATATTATTAA——————————————————-

amino acid sequence

TMYFIFGAWAALVGTALSMXIRAEXGQXXGSLIGDDQIYNVIVTAHAFVMIFFVVMPIMIGGFGNWLVPLMLGAPDMAFPRMNNMSFWLLPPSLTLLLFSSMVESGAGTGWTVYPPLSSNLAHMGASVDLTIFSLHLAGVSSILGAINFITTMVNMRSTGMTLERTPLFVWSVVITTILLLLSLPVLAGAITMLLX——————

Learn more about it’s BIN (Barcode Index Number): BOLD:ACP3162

Title Image: Specimen BIOUG14144-C11 – Rouge National Urban Park, Ontario – 9-Jun-2013 – Pitfall Trap
Photo Credit: CBG Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics