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Folsomides parvulus is a rare species with a very distinctive body shape (Fig. 1). It is white in life, has 2+2 ocelli (Fig. 2), and a mucro with two teeth fused to the dens which has 3 dorsal setae (Fig. 3). There is one slide in the NHML collection bearing the Hartland Moor specimen) but I have seen individuals collected by Peter Shaw from Box Hill in Surrey which are definitely this species. The other literature records are from a chalk quarry in Yorkshire (Parr, 1978) and manure in the rose garden at Kew Gardens (Lawrence, 1967). Folsomides sp. are well-known for their ability to withstand extreme dryness and can survive for long periods in a cryptobiotic state.
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