Paraphlebia flinti Ortega-Salas & González-Soriano, 2022

Ortega-Salas, Héctor, González-Soriano, Enrique & Jocque, Merlijn, 2022, Untangling the waterfall damsels: a review of the Mesoamerican genus Paraphlebia Selys in Hagen, 1861 (Odonata: Thaumatoneuridae) with descriptions of 11 new species, Zootaxa 5089 (1), pp. 1-66 : 13-14

Paraphlebia flinti Ortega-Salas & González-Soriano sp. nov.

Figs. 7 (head ♂), 20 (thorax ♂), 33 (abdomen ♂), 43 (wings ♂), 78, 96 (appendages ♂), 103, 105 (posterior lobe of prothorax ♂), 149 (map), 156 (habitus ♂).

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:069F6A61-9139-4E0B-A75C-50442D077311

Holotype. MEXICO • 1 ♂; Chiapas, Jitotol, Km 177.5 carretera federal Mex-195, 8 km al N de Jitotol; 17.115°N, 92.862°W; 1630 m; 1 Aug 2016; H. Ortega-Salas, C. Raieli & I. Ángeles-Munguía leg.; IBUNAM; IBUNAM: CNIN:OD23061.

Paratypes. MEXICO • 1 ♂; Chiapas, Jitotol , Rt. 195, km. 67, 2.9 mi. S of Jitotol; [17.020°N, 92.840°W]; 1700 m; 11 Aug 1967; O.S. Flint Jr. & M.A. Ortiz B. leg.; TWD; IBUNAM:CNIN:OD22912 • same data but 1 ♂; USNM; SNMNH_383611 .

Etymology. Named flinti /ˈflɪnti/ (L. noun genitive), after the late Dr. Oliver Simeon Flint Jr., renowned world expert on caddisflies and avid Odonata collector who first discovered this species.

Description of holotype

Head. Chiefly black, labrum dark glossy blue; postclypeus pale blue; frons pale blue; vertex with two pale spots anterolateral to lateral ocelli; occiput with complete pale occipital bar; eyes dark brown to black, black in life; antennal scape with pale spots on distal margin; pedicel pale on distal 0.3; flagellum first segment pale, distal segments black.

Thorax. Prothorax: chiefly black; continuous pale stripe on lateral edges from anterior to posterior lobe, this pale area widening medially on posterior half of middle lobe, medial pale longitudinal stripe on anterior and middle lobe ending at posterior margin of middle lobe, these two stripes connected by dim line along suture between middle and posterior lobes; see Figs. 103 , 105 for morphology. Pterothorax: chiefly black with diffuse green metallic reflections over dark colouration on mesepisternum and mesepimeron; see Fig. 20 for colour pattern; sternum pale; femora light brown becoming black distally; tibiae brown; tarsi dark brown; claws reddish.

Wings. Hyaline, slightly tinted amber; FW with one post-quadrangular cell, the vein that descends from the subnodus at the first post-quadrangular Vx; CuA in HW not forked, field between CuA and posterior margin with one supplementary vein on right wing. Px: FW 34/34, HW 31/31.

Abdomen. Black with pale areas as follow: S1 with a transverse basal line that does not reach ventral carina; S2 with ventrolateral horizontal lines; S3–7 with basolateral spots; base of cerci pruinose on dorsum.

Caudal appendages. Cerci: see Fig. 78 for morphology. Paraprocts: well-developed, clearly forked at apex, with well-defined upper and lower branches.

Measurements. Abdomen: 38, FW: 37, HW: 35.

Variation in males.

Measurements. Abdomen: 41–42, FW: 36–37, HW: 35–36; Px: FW 30–35; Px: HW 26–29.

Description of female. Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Paraphlebia flinti belongs to a characteristic group of species with erect lateral edges on the posterior lobe of the prothorax which includes P. kinich and P. hunnal . ( Figs. 98–99, 103 ). Paraphlebia flinti appears more closely related to P. kinich , as the particular morphology of their prothorax singles them out from all other species ( Figs. 105–106 ). Both species present corniform projections on the laterodorsal corners of the posterior margin and can be differentiated by their shape, in P. flinti their tips are directed dorsally and are higher than the medial section of the posterior margin ( Fig. 105 ), while in P. kinich they are directed laterally and are lower than the medial section of the posterior margin ( Fig. 106 ). The main character separating P. hunnal from P. flinti and P. kinich is the convex posterior margin of the posterior lobe, the lobe seeming trifoliate in dorsal view instead of with dorsolateral corniform projections ( Figs. 98 , 107 ). The shape of the paraprocts also sets these species apart; in P. flinti they are clearly forked, with well-developed upper and lower branches ( Fig. 96 ), while in P hunnal the inferior lobe is small and pointed at the rear with a shallow groove possibly indicating the presence of a superior lobe ( Fig. 89 ). Finally, in P. kinich the paraproct is reduced to a single somewhat angled lobe, the posterior margin lacking any projection ( Fig. 86 ).

Natural history. This species has been found on medium-sized streams (1–2 m wide) within pine-oak forest. To our knowledge this is the only species inhabiting streams in terrestrial habitats other than tropical rainforests or montane cloud forests.

Distribution. Southeast Mexico: known only from two locations in the municipality of Jitotol in Chiapas from 1630–1700 m.a.s.l.

Figures

FIGURES 2–11. Paraphlebia spp. colour pattern of head, frontal view.

FIGURES 95–104. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages and posterior lobe of prothorax. Caudal appendages lateral view (95–97); posterior lobe of prothorax dorsolateral view (98–100); lateral view (101–104).

FIGURES 105–116. Paraphlebia spp. posterior lobe of prothorax frontal view (105–107); dorsal view (108–116).

FIGURES 20–27. Paraphlebia spp. colour pattern of thorax.

FIGURES 73–78. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages. (a) dorsal view; (b) mediodorsal view. W – maximum width of mediodorsal flange, w – maximum width of the distal lobe.

FIGURES 85–94. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages lateral view.