Thraulodes alegre, Raymundo & Almeida & Do Nascimento & Salles, 2021

Raymundo, Thayna Da Silva, Almeida, Taís Barbosa, Do Nascimento, Jeane M. C. & Salles, Frederico Falcão, 2021, Thraulodes Ulmer 1920 (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae) from Espírito Santo state, Brazil, Zootaxa 5076 (1), pp. 7-20 : 15-18

Thraulodes alegre sp. nov.

( Figures 16–22 )

Diagnosis. The male imago of Thraulodes alegre sp. nov. can be distinguished from other species of Thraulodes by the following combination of characteristics: 1) forewings with three cross veins basal and 17 distal to bulla ( Fig. 20a ); 2) abdominal color pattern of terga I–VI whitish translucent, II–VI with subrectangular dark brown mark near posterior margins and with midway spots ( Fig. 17 ); 3) styliger plate triangular and whitish ( Fig. 19 ); 4) penes light yellow, with lateral pouch ( Fig. 1 ); 5) apicolateral area of the penes forming an “ear-like” projection; 6) penes spines long and tapered, with robust bases ( Figs. 1 –19 ).

Description.

Male imago ( Figs. 10–14 ). LENGTH (mm). Body:.1–.5; Fore wing:.9; hind wing: 1.9. Caudal filaments broken and lost.

General coloration whitish, with light yellow and dark brown areas. Wings hyaline. Head. White, with dark brown and light brown areas. Antenna with scape and flagellum whitish yellow, pedicel dark brown. Ocelli white, surrounded by dark ring at base. Eyes dark brown, upper portion orangish brown ( Figs. 16–17 ). Thorax. Pronotum whitish yellow, with small dark brown spots. Meso- and metanotum whitish yellow, with dark brown marks. Prosternum white; meso- and metasternum light brown ( Figs. 16–17 ). Pleura with membranous areas whitish; sclerotized areas grayish brown and dark brown. Legs: broken and lost. Wings: Membrane of wings hyaline, with dark brown mark at base; veins whitish. Forewing with three cross veins basal and 17 distal to bulla ( Fig. 20a ). Hind wing with 9–11 cross veins ( Fig. 20b ). Abdomen. Terga I–VI whitish translucent, terga VII–X yellowish white. Tergum I with dark brown diffuse mark close to anterior margin; terga II–VI with subrectangular brown mark near posterior margins and midway spots; terga I–VII with stigmatic dots close to anterolateral margins. Terga VI–IX with posterior margins dark brown; tergum X with two spots apically. Sterna I–VIII each with pair of ventral dots, near posterolateral margin ( Figs. 16–17 ). Caudal filaments broken and lost. Genitalia ( Figs. 1 –19 ). Styliger plate white, triangular, with dorsal extension developed. Forceps white, segment I medially constricted; inner margin with several short setae basal to constrition. Penes light yellow, with lateral pouch present, apicolateral area with apex rounded, with “ear-like” projection; penes spines long, tapered and with bases robust.

Female imago (figs. 21–22). LENGTH (mm). Body: 9.; Forewings: 10; Hind wings: 1.9. Caudal filaments missing.

General coloration white, with light yellow and dark brown area. Wings translucent. Head ( Figs. 21–22 ). White with some dark brown and whitish yellow areas. Antenna with scape and flagellum whitish yellow, pedicel dark brown. Ocelli white, surrounded by black ring at base. Thorax. Pronotum whitish yellow, except medial and posterior margins blackish; with small dark brown spots submedially. Meso- and metanotum whitish yellow, with dark brown marks. Prosternum white; meso- and metasternum light brown. Pleura with membranous areas white; sclerotized areas grayish brown and dark brown. Legs. All legs white. Foreleg: femora with apical yellow band with basal area surrounded by dark brown line, and with submedian dark brown mark; tibiae with apical dark brown mark; tarsi whitish. Mid and hind legs similar to foreleg, except with less evident mark on hind tibia ( Fig. 21 ). Wings. Membrane of wings hyaline, with dark brown mark at base; veins white. Forewing with four cross veins basal and 19 distal to bulla. Hind wings with 11 cross veins. Abdomen. Terga I–VI and IX–X yellowish white; distal half of tergum VII and tergum VIII whitish. Terga I–VII with stigmatic dots close to anterolateral margins; terga II–VI with sublateral mark near anterior margins; terga III–VII with central marks, forming circle increasing progressively towards tergum VII. Sterna V–VIII each with ventral dot near posterolateral margin. Apex of female sternum IX cleft, V-shaped. Caudal filaments broken and lost ( Figs. 21–22 ).

Female subimago. Similar to female imago, but with paler color and smaller body. Caudal filaments broken and lost.

Nymph. Unknown.

Biology. Specimens were collected at an altitude of 450 meters above sea level. The area belongs to a state conservation park, but the surroundings of the park and the river itself are impacted by anthropogenic activities, such as farming, and the river is subject to degradation and silting to the extent that it can prevent the availability of food, ideal substrate and other resources for the species.

Etymology. The specific epithet of the new species is a reference to Alegre, the name of the municipality where the species was found. This name is used in apposition.

Distribution. Brazil, Espírito Santo: Alegre ( Fig. 23 ).

Material examined. Brazil, Espírito Santo: Holotype: Alegre, Parque Estadual da Cachoeira da Fumaça, Rio Grande , 20º 37’ 52.2’’ S / 41º 36’ 12.9’’ W, 450 m, 28.v.2011, 1 ♂ imago ; Paratypes: same data, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ imago and 1 ♀ subimago .

Discussion. The new species has an abdominal coloration commonly found in several species of Thraulodes , with some segments whitish or translucent. This can be found in species such as T. calori Campos & Mariano in Campos & Mariano (2019); T. sternimaculatus Lima, Mariano & Pinheiros in Lima et al. (2013); T. rodrigoi Boldrini, Dantas & Lima in Boldrini et al. (201); and T. sinuosus Mariano & Flowers in Mariano et al. (2011). Among the species in the genus, T. alegre sp. nov. appears more similar to T. bonito because both have similar marks on the first abdominal segments. However, in T. alegre sp. nov., these marks are rectangular and are located near the posterior margins of terga II–VI; whereas in T. bonito these marks are diffuse, poorly defined and are located medially on terga II–VI. Furthermore, the genitalia of these two species are distinct: in the new species the penes and spines are longer than that in T. bonito (see Figure 5 in Gonçalves et al. 2013 and Figures 1 and 19 of the present study).

Figures

FIGURE 23. Map of South America, with the eastern portion of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo in detail showing the distribution of the genus Thraulodes analyzed in this study. Thraulodes itatiajanus (yellow dot); Thraulodes luisae (purple dot); and Thraulodes alegre sp. nov. (red dot).

FIGURES 16–20. Thraulodes alegre sp. nov., male imago: 16) habitus, lateral view; 17) habitus, dorsal view; 1) general aspect of genitalia showing the colors in the dorsal view; 19) general aspect of genitalia, ventral view; 20) wings (a- fore and b- hind).

FIGURES 21–22. Thraulodes alegre sp. nov., female imago, habitus: 21) lateral view; 22) dorsal view.

FIGURES 1–3. Thraulodes itatiajanus, female imago: 1) habitus, lateral view; 2) habitus, dorsal view; 3) legs (a- foreleg; bmid leg; c- hind leg).

FIGURE 7–10. Thraulodes itatiajanus, abdomen, ventral view: 7) female nymph;) male nymph; 9) male imago; 10) partial region of the genitalia with penes in detail.

FIGURES 11–12. Thraulodes luisae, nymph: 11) habitus, dorsal view; 12) mouthparts (a- labrum; b- details of the distal margin of the labrum; c- left mandible; d- hypopharynx; e- right mandible; f- left maxilla; g- labium; h- right maxilla).

FIGURES 13–15. Thraulodes luisae, nymph: 13) legs (a- foreleg; b- mid leg; c- hind leg); 14) tarsal claw of foreleg showing the denticles; 15) gill.

FIGURE 4–6. Thraulodes itatiajanus, female imago: 4) wings (a- fore; b- hind); 5 and 6) abdomen before and after oviposition in ventral view showing details of the sterna (arrow).