Worldwide about 8, 000 species of Collembola have been described (Bellinger et al. 1996–2012). Most Collembola species have been reported from Europe or North America but little literature or taxonomic keys are available from Asian countries especially from those of the Middle East.

Iran is a country in southwest Asia with an area of 1, 648, 195 km². It spans several different climatic zones and biomes, therefore the diversity of animals is high and this presumably also applies to those living in soil. According to biogeographic zonation, Iran has been considered part of the Palearctic region by most authors. However, some parts in the southern Iran, such as Khuzestan Plain and Persian Gulf coast, have been considered as Ethiopian (Cox 1982). The study of Collembola fauna of Iran is poor and most attention has been paid to crop pest species, which are few.

Farrahbakhsh (1961) was the first to provide information on Iranian Collembola. He reported Sminthurus viridis Linnaeus, 1758 from wheat and alfalfa fields in Khuzestan (Southern Iran). The most comprehensive study on Collembola was carried out by Cox (1982) who travelled to Northern, West and Central provinces in Iran and collected and identified 70 species of 30 genera and five families. The scientific names of some species recorded by Cox were changed later and their modern names are used in Appendix: Cyphoderus ambigua was changed to Oncopodura ambigua according to Christiansen (1957); the genus Cryptopygus Willem, 1902 was changed to Hemisotoma Börner, 1903 according to Rusek (2000). The species Folsomia litsteri Bagnall, 1939 was changed to Folsomia candida (Willem, 1902); Folsomia multiseta Stach, 1947 was changed to Folsomia penicula Bagnall, 1939; Neanura echinata (Kos, 1940) was changed to Thaumanura echinata (Kos, 1940); the genus Xenyllodes Axelson, 1903 was changed to Axenyllodes Stach, 1949; Xenyllodes lamellifera was changed to Superodontella lamellifera (Axelson, 1903); Onychiurus pseudogranulosus Gisin, 1951 was changed to Onychiuroides pseudogranulosus (Gisin, 1951); Onychiurus rectopapillatus Stach, 1933 was changed to Orthonychiurus rectopapillatus (Stach, 1933). Also Sminthurus marginatus Schött, 1893 which is recorded by Kahrarian et al. (2012) was changed to Caprainea marginata (Schoett, 1893). Recently, some master and doctoral students started to work on the Collembola fauna of several regions of Iran and therefore the list of species certainly will increase.

Here we provide an update to the list of Iranian Collembola published from 1961 to 2013 mainly from the northern Iran. Obviously, the fauna of large parts of Iran is unknown and there is a need for additional research on the distribution of species but also on other aspects of these animals such as ecology, biology and their role in ecological processes in different ecosystems. It is the intention of the paper to encourage young entomologists to become aware of these gaps of knowledge and direct their interest towards Collembola fauna of this country.

The updated Iranian Collembola list was provided from two resources. First, it is based on bibliographic references and unpublished records from different regions (taxa not ascribed to species are not included in the total number of species). Second, results of sampling campaigns of Collembola by authors from different regions in Iran during 2009–2012 years are included. In the latter studies, soil and litter samples were collected from various habitats in Sari, Gorgan (Northern Iran) and Kermanshah (Western Iran). The samples were placed in dark polythene bags. Collembola were extracted from soil and leaf litter by Berlese funnels (Figure 1). Animals were collected in water and separated under a dissecting microscope. The extracted specimens were preserved in 75% ethanol. Permanent microscopic slides were prepared using Hoyer medium; for immediate identification, a mixture of lactic acid and glycerin (5:1) was used. For observing detailed structures of specimens, a 100×oil immersion objective was used. The specimens were identified by taxonomic keys such as Gisin (1960), Fjellberg (1980, 1998, and 2007), Bretfeld (1999) and Potapov (2001). Identification of species was confirmed by Collembola experts such as Dr. Mikhail Potapov (Russia), Dr. Hans-Uergen Schulz (Germany), Dr. Ulrich Burkhart (Germany) and Dr. Louis Deharveng (France).

The number of Iranian Collembola species recorded until March 2012 is 112, belonging to 18 families and 57 genera. A systematic list of species according to the modern classification for the class Collembola (Deharveng, 2004) and details of species collection are shown in Appendix. The distribution of the species in the different provinces is shown in Figure 2. Most recorded species belong to Isotomidae (24%) and Entomobryidae (21%) (Figure 3). Collembola taxa for which species were not identified and which were reported as sp. was not included in this checklist. In addition to the genera shown in Appendix, some specimens from the genera, Pachyotoma (Bagnall, 1949), Prodrepanura (Stach, 1963), Isotomodes (Linnaniemi, 1907), Gnathofolsomia (Deharveng & Christian, 1984), Protaphorura (Absolon, 1901) (distributed in Kermanshah) by Kahrarian et al. (2012), Orchesella Templeton, 1835 (distributed in Kermanshah and Golestan) by Falahati et al. (2011), Stenacidia Reuter, 1881, (distributed in Gilan) by Daghighi (2012) were reported for Iran fauna but the species were not identified. Some species belonging to Symphypleona were recorded by Falahati et al. (2013b) with dubious identification, for example the photo illustrated the species Sminthurinus reticulatus seems to be belonging to Arrhopalitdae. The species listed in this paper include Dicyrtomina ornate, Sminthurides aquaticus, Smynthurinus signatus, Smynthurinus transvernalis, Smynthurinus reticulatus and Smynthurinus elegans. Additionally Dr. Bretfeld didn’t confirm the identifications. For these reasons the species recorded in this paper are excluded from present checklist.

The results of this paper indicate that study of Collembola is at an early stage in Iran but recently interest in the group is increasing.