Eubasilissa asiatica Betten, 1909 : 242

Parey, Sajad H. & Saini, Malkiat S., 2012, Two new species of the genus Eubasilissa Martynov (Trichoptera: Phryganeidae) from the Indian Himalaya, Zootaxa 3403, pp. 61-68 : 65

Eubasilissa asiatica Betten, 1909: 242

( Figs. 15–22 , 25 )

Head and thorax brownish. Labrum brown, labial palpi yellowish. Colour pattern of male and female wings as in Figs. 21–22 .

Male genitalia ( Figs. 15–18 ): Segment IX subrectangular in lateral view; U-shaped, narrow at centre, and broadened near sides in dorsal view; posteroventral portion upturned and concave, produced into slightly dentate lobe. Segment X subtriangular in dorsal view, apically pointed. Preanal appendages reduced to pair of basolateral protrusions on segment X. Inferior appendages each elongate, subrectangular in lateral view, truncate apically, with subapicoventral notch with basal edge pointed, curved inwards. Phallotheca with slender, sclerotized posteroventral projection curved ventrad; membranous endotheca with pair of slender, sinuous sclerites.

Female genitalia ( Figs. 19–20 ): Subgenital plate with median lobe deeply divided, both ends closely approximate apically with small elliptical, median gap between them; lateral lobes narrow, triangular; median lobe appearing spoon-shaped, and lateral lobes slender in lateral view. Segment IX apicolaterally with club-shaped lobe. Vaginal sclerites highly modified, main sclerite extending into segment VIII, broad and with small opening near anterior end; pair of triangular submedial sclerites; and long transverse sclerite with rounded ends. Vaginal pouches long with rounded ends.

Material examined. INDIA: Jammu & Kashmir: Gurez, 2400 m, 05-ix-2010, collectors Parey & Pandher, 13 1Ƥ; Apharwat, 4000 m, 30-vii-2010, collector Rifat H Raina, 13. INDIA: Himachal Pradesh: Punjpullah, 1600 m, 12-07-2010, collectors Parey, Muzamila A Dar & Vikram S Rathor, 13 1Ƥ; Kothi, 2300 m, 06-vii-2009, collectors Parey & Pandher, 1Ƥ.

Distribution. Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh).

Comments. This species was described by Betten (1909) from Sibsagar, Assam. Schmid (1962) questioned that E. asiatica or any phryganeid would live in the hot climate at the 1000 ft. elevation of the type locality of Sibsagar in Assam, and concluded that the holotype was labeled incorrectly. Despite intensive collecting in Assam, Schmid could not find E. asiatica in this region, but he did collect specimens in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The present authors also could not find this species in Assam or its adjoining states Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland, and West Bengal. However, we collected this species from Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Male genitalia of E. asiatica collected from Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are slightly different in morphology from those of the specimen described by Wiggins (1998). However, the phallic apparatus of our specimen almost matches that of E. asiatica , so we consider this specimen to be a variant of the same species.

Figures

FIGURES 15 – 22. Eubasilissa asiatica Betten. 15 – 18, Ə genitalia: 15, left lateral; 16, dorsal; 17, phallic apparatus, left lateral; 18, caudal. 19 – 20, Ƥ genitalia: 19, left lateral; 20, dorsal. 21 – 22, wings: 21, Ə right fore- & hind wings; 22, Ƥ right fore- & hind wings.

FIGURES 23 – 25. Collection sites of Eubasilissa spp. 23, E. sikkimensis sp. nov.; 24, E. schmidi sp. nov.; 25, E. asiatica Betten.