Anacroneuria pallida Jewett, 1958

Mayorga, Alfredo, 2016, A New Species Of Anacroneuria Klapálek (Plecoptera: Perlidae) And Complementary Descriptions Of Three Additional Species From Mexico, With Comments On The Current Knowledge Of Mexican Species Of The Genus, Illiesia 12 (12), pp. 64-73 : 67-69

Anacroneuria pallida Jewett, 1958

( Figs. 7-10 )

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Plecoptera .speciesfile.org: TaxonName:1806

Anacroneuria pallida Jewett, 1958: 161 . Holotype ♀ ( FMNH), Yepocapa , Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Material examined. MEXICO: Chiapas, Cacahuatán, B. Juárez, El Plan, Cascada “Sangre del Tacaná”, 23 February 2011, B. Gómez, 1♀ ; Oaxaca, Puerto Ángel , 16 June 1982, A. Ibarra, M. García, E. Barrera, L. Torres, 1♀ ; Tabasco, Mpio. Huimanguillo, Ejido Villa de Gpe, Cascada Cerro de las Flores , 17°21´39” N, 93°37´29” W, Rta. Malpasito-Carlos A. Madrazo, 26 June 1999, J . Bueno, R. Barba, 1♀ ; Veracruz, San Andrés Tlalnelhuayocan , arroyo “Aguita Fría”, 19°31´9” N, 96°59´27” W, 1400 m.a.s.l., 1 April 2008, L. Cervantes, 1♀ .

Adult habitus. Body and head ground color pale yellow ( Fig. 7 ). Head without dark pigment between ocelli; M-line almost indistinguishable; lappets yellow, small, indistinct, and triangular. Pronotum with paler, moderately wide mesal stripe; present brown irregular rugosities over the mediolateral and lower area of discs ( Fig. 8 ); elongate pale bands at border of lateral margins. Wing membranes transparent-yellowish with darker yellow veins. Fore leg yellow with small spots and band at apex of femora; tibia clothed with small fine setae along the surface and becoming darker at base ( Fig. 7 ).

Male. Unknown.

Female. Forewing length 19-24 mm (n=4). Subgenital plate ( Fig. 9 ) weakly 4-lobed with posterior margin slightly curved; lateral margins of lobes shorter than their width; two sclerotized and elongated plates present at lateral margins; mesal notch V-shaped with scattered bristles and bearing above a transparent circular membrane. Sternum 9 without transverse sclerite, but with darker median V-shaped sclerite that has a combination of long and short hairs, center of sclerous area membranous with only short hairs; lateral areas of sternum 9 membranous, their corners pointed posteriorly ( Fig. 9 ).

Egg. General color yellow-brown. Length: 0.45-0.48 mm. Width: 0.24-0.26 mm (n=3). Outline typical for genus, spindle shaped, anterior pole rounded, collar a low, rounded process; collar end wider than anterior pole; lateral margins almost straight and convergent to anterior pole ( Fig. 10 ).

Larva. Unknown.

Distribution. Guatemala and Mexico (Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Veracruz).

Diagnosis. Stark & Kondratieff (2004) mentioned that the adult female of this species is similar to that of A. naomi Needham & Broughton, 1927 (Figs. 93 & 94 in Stark & Kondratieff, 2004). In A. naomi , the anterior margin of lobes in the subgenital plate is more curved and the median notch is narrower and deeper in A. naomi than in A. pallida ( Fig. 9 ). The pigment pattern of the head of A. naomi seems to distinguish both species. In the case of A. naomi , the posterior part of head has a dark pigmentation reaching the occiput, whereas, A. pallida lacks this pigmentation ( Figs. 7, 8 ).

Comments. Adult specimens of this species from the CNIN were remarkable for the yellowish coloration and large size ( Fig. 7 ), features frequently uncommon for Mexican Anacroneuria . Additionally, the brown pigmented mediolateral and posterolateral areas of the pronotal disc were found only in the Tabasco, Oaxaca and Veracruz specimens ( Fig. 8 ). These pigment patterns were not reported by Jewett (1958) or Stark & Kondratieff (2004), perhaps due to the age of the material being examined or it may be an intraspecific variation of the Mexican specimens. The smallest A. pallida was from Tabasco (19 mm), whereas specimens from Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz (23, 24, 24 mm) and the Guatemalan types (22-23 mm) were larger ( Jewett 1958). It looks as if there is a large range of body size, however, the specimens revised in this work are close to the Guatemalan types. Body coloration and subgenital plate shape were diagnostic for determining female specimens ( Fig. 9 ), although male characters should provide more diagnostic features to identify this species. The presence of this species in Chiapas is confirmed, as reported by Jewett (1958). First records are presented for the species in Oaxaca, Tabasco and Veracruz.

Figures

Figs. 7-10. Anacroneuria pallida. 7. Female adult habitus. 8. Head and pronotum. 9. Female subgenital plate. 10. Outline of egg.