Xenylla corticalis is a rare species with a distinctive furca in which the mucro/dens are not separate and the mucro has a spoon-like tip (Fig. 1). Several specimens of 'Xenylla corticalis' in the NHML collection are in too poor a condition to identify, or lack locality information. This is rather frustrating as there are a few excellent specimens of what are clearly Xenylla corticalis but we have no idea of the location from which they were collected. In other countries, this species occurs under bark so should be looked for in similar habitats here. In Xenylla corticalis and Xenylla grisea, seta m3 is absent from th2 and th3 (present in other Xenylla species). The differences in the shape of the mucro serve to separate Xenylla corticalis from Xenylla grisea.

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Fig. 1 (above) : Furca of Xenylla corticalis collected from the UK (exact locality and date of collection unknown). The identity of this specimen was confirmed by M.M. da Gama.