Neonemura copa, Stark & Morse, 2013

Stark, Bill P. & Morse, John C., 2013, A New Species Of Neonemura (Plecoptera: Notonemouridae), And Records Of Stoneflies From Aisén Province, Region Xi, Chile, Illiesia 9 (10), pp. 110-115 : 112-114

Neonemura copa sp. n.

( Figs. 1-4 )

Material examined. Holotype ♂ from CHILE: Provincia Aisén, Municipalidad Cisnes, Area Protegida Lago Copa : S side E Lago Copa, springbrook at Cliffs Preserve , 44.89227 ° S, 72.62291 ° W, elevation 25-35 m, 8-9 December 2009, ultraviolet trap, H 2 O 6 ° C, J. Morse, G. Vazquez, N. Gonzalez ( NMNH).

Adult habitus. General color brown with scattered pale areas. Head dark brown over most of surface, but with a pair of parenthesis-shaped pale spots anterolateral to posterior ocelli, and with three additional pale spots on anterior region of frons ( Fig. 1 ); pronotum brown with pale median band and lateral margins. Femora banded, hind femora each with dark basal and apical bands, fore- and midfemora each without basal band; all tibiae dark at knee, hind tibiae also with apical dark band. Wing membrane pale brown, veins brown.

Male. Macropterous. Forewing length 6.5 mm. Tergum 10 divided into a pair of lateral sclerites and a median posterior one; median sclerite covered over much of surface with small spines ( Fig. 2 ). Epiproct a slender, curved, hook-like process, thick basally and barely visible in dorsal aspect at the base of median sclerite. Cerci each bearing a low dorsal ridge in apical third and a pale membranous area anterior to ridge; cerci not markedly bilobed in lateral aspect ( Fig. 4 ). Sternum 9 prolonged into an upwardly curved subgenital plate, bifid at tip in dorsal or caudal aspect ( Figs. 2-4 ); margins of plate broad in basal third, then significantly narrowed, but width variable to apex ( Fig. 3 ). Paraprocts mostly membranous but bearing slender sclerite extending almost to apex; tips of paraprocts not exceeding apex of sternum 9. Vesicle relatively long and slender, club-shaped and narrowly attached to base of subgenital plate ( Fig. 3 ).

Female. Unknown.

Larva. Unknown.

Etymology. The species name is based on the type locality, a small springbrook entering Lago Copa, and is used as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis. Neonemura currently includes only three species (Froehlich 2010), all known from Chile or Chile and Argentina. Neonemura copa lacks the spiny dorsal patches found on the bases of the paraprocts of N. illiesi Zwick ( Zwick 1972) , and it is a much paler species than N. maculata Vera ( Vera 2008a) , however it is similar to the widely distributed species, N. barrosi (Navás) ( Aubert 1960; Stark et al. 2009). Males of these two species have similarly shaped subgenital plates in ventral aspect but the paraprocts exceed the subgenital plate apex in N. barrosi and the cerci are strongly bilobed in lateral aspect in that species.

Habitat. The type locality is a shallow, first order rheocrene springbrook providing water for the Cliffs Preserve Lodge beside Lago Copa. The light trap was located over the springbrook about 70 m west of the lodge, about 30 m from the edge of the lake and about 10-20 m below the spring head. Water temperature at the time of collection was 6 ° C.

The forest surrounding the Cliffs Preserve Lodge consists of Bosque siempreverde laurifolio (Evergreen Laurel-leaf Temperate Rainforest). The forest is original growth and consists of a canopy overwhelmingly dominated by Laureliopsis philipiana (Looser) R. Schodde , and Weinmannia trichosperma Ruiz & Pav. Smaller numbers of Nothofagus betuloides (Mirb.) Blume and N. nitida Ann. K.K. Hofmus are found in areas immediately adjacent to the lake, or directly adjacent to its larger tributary rivers where disturbance is frequent (P. McMillan, personal communication).

Figures

Figs. 1-4. Neonemura copa. 1. Head and pronotum. 2. Male terminalia, dorsal. 3. Male terminalia, ventral. 4. Male terminalia, lateral.