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 pongei is a recent addition to the Irish checklist (it has not yet been found in Britain). The only known sites are salt marsh and dunes on Bull Island near Dublin (Sterzynska & Bolger, 2004).
     The dorsal PSO formula of Mesaphorura pongei is 11/011/10011. Other diagnostic characters include five setae in tibiotarsal 'B' ring, seta a2 absent on th3, distance between p1 setae on abd4 less than the distance between the p2 setae, seta m0 on abd4 absent and 3+3 short setae on abd5 between the long a4 setae. A unique character is the absence of setae a2 from the dorsal row on abd 1.

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