Species of Mesaphorura are very small (typically 0.7 mm in length) soil-dwelling Collembola. Until relatively recently, most Mesaphorura were recorded under the name Mesaphorura krausbaueri but following work by Rusek and others, it is clear that there are several species 'hiding' under this name. Mesaphorura critica is a recent addition to the Irish checklist (it has not yet been found in Britain). The only known site is sand dunes on Bull Island near Dublin (Sterzynska & Bolger, 2004).
     The dorsal PSO formula of
Mesaphorura critica is 11/011/10011. Other diagnostic characters include five setae in tibiotarsal 'B' ring, seta a2 present on th3, distance between p1 setae on abd4 greater than the distance between the p2 setae, seta m0 on abd4 absent and only 2+2 short setae on abd5 between the long a4 setae.

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