Procloeon (Oculogaster) silvicola Gillies 1997

Kluge, Nikita J., 2020, Review of Oculogaster Kluge 2016 (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae, Procloeon Bengtsson 1915), Zootaxa 4820 (3), pp. 401-437 : 420-422

Procloeon (Oculogaster) silvicola Gillies 1997

Procloeon silvicola Gillies 1997: 247 (♂ subimago, ♀ imago, larva).

Procloeon (Oculogaster) cylindroculum silvicola: Kluge 2016: 505 .

Comments. This species is placed in Oculogaster based on the original description, according to which it is similar to P. (O.) cylindroculum and its «stigma normally with a single crossvein» ( Gillies 1997: 248). Other characters of Oculogaster (the setation of labrum, the apical setae of femur, the viviparity) are not described for this species. In a previous paper ( Kluge 2016), I suggested silvicola [ Procloeon ] to be treated as a geographical form or subspecies of P. (O.) cylindroculum . But taking into account the existence of such distinct sympatric species as P. (O.) barnardi sp. n. and P. (O.) niger sp. n. (see below), species status of P. (O.) silvicola should be assumed as well.

Comparison. According to the original description, winged male and female stages of P. (O.) silvicola differ from P. cylindroculum by more extensive hypodermal marking on abdominal tergum IV, which in P. (O.) silvicola represents «a complete band of pigment across the posterior part of tergum IV» ( Gillies 1997: figs 3, 5), being in male «a broad red band across posterior 2/5 of segment»; in contrast to this, in P. (O.) cylindroculum markings of abdominal tergum IV in male are either small or absent, and in the female they are not connected medially. In this respect, P. (O.) silvicola is similar to P. (O.) barnardi sp. n., but differs from it by the absence of unpaired median stripes, which in P. (O.) barnardi sp. n. are developed at least on tergum IV of the male and female.

Distribution. West Africa ( Gillies 1997).