Cenozoic colonization of the Lesser Antilles by Nicoletiid insects (Zygentoma, “Apterygota”) and a new species of Anelpistina from Mustique Island

Abstract Mustique Island in the Lesser Antilles is inhabited by Nicoletia phytophila Gervais, 1844 ( = Nicoletia meinerti Silvestri 1905) and by a new species of Anelpistina, described herein. Morphology and 18S rRNA sequences indicate that the new species of Anelpistina shares affinities with a species from Aruba Island, and both islands appear to have been colonized in the middle to late Cenozoic, possibly helped by low sea levels during glaciations. Nicoletia phytophila is of more recent origin and humans probably facilitated dispersion over the seas.