Epipleoneura venezuelensis Rácenis, 1955

Pessacq, Pablo, Anjos-Santos, Danielle, Carvalho, Fernando Geraldo, Calvão, Lenize Batista, Mendoza-Penagos, Cristian Camilo & Juen, Leandro, 2022, A new Epipleoneura Williamson, 1915 (Zygoptera, Coenagrionidae) from northern Brazil and notes on E. venezuelensis Rácenis, 1955, Zootaxa 5219 (2), pp. 153-164 : 160-163

Epipleoneura venezuelensis Rácenis, 1955

( Figures 1e , 3 , 4 )

Rácenis 1955: 59–61, figs. 4a–b (new species, description of male, illustration of male S 10 in lateral and posterior view, type material at MIZA).— Santos 1957: 187–190, figs. 1–11 (description of female, redescription of male, illustration of male S 10 in lateral, dorsal, ventral, and posterior view, male and female prothorax in dorsal and lateral view, genital ligula in ectal and lateral view, female S8–10).— Rácenis 1960: 25–26 (included in the species list, recorded for Brazil and Venezuela). Lencioni 2005: 183 (references, type locality, distribution, described stages).— Garrison et al. 2010: 352, 355, fig. 2355 (included in list of species, illustrations of epiproct in posterior view).— Pessacq et al. 2012: 5 (included in list of Brazilian “ Protoneuridae ”, new record for Brasilia, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Espirito Santo States).

Material examined. 79 ♂♂, 23 ♀♀. Brazil: 16 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀, Paraná State, Paraná River, “Das Sete Quedas” National Park (about 25º24′45″ S, 54º35′39″ W), leg. N.D. Santos, J.M. Costa & L.F. Reys, 24–25.ii.1979 . 21 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, Rio de Janeiro State, Rio Claro, Duilio point (about 22º37′44″ S, 43º53′52″ W), leg. N.D. Santos, 15.iii.1978 . 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Rio de Janeiro State, Silva Jardim, Capivari River (22º39′03″ S, 42º23′31″ W), leg. N.D. Santos, 28.i. 1978.15 ♂♂, 10 ♀♀, same data as previous but São Vicente, CEDAE, channel of São João River (about 22º39′03″ S, 42º23′31″ W), leg. N.D. Santos & H. Mesquita, 7.viii.1980 . 5 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Goiás State, Itumbiara (18º25′12″ S, 49º13′04″ W), leg. N.D. Santos, L.F. Netto & H. Mesquita, 18.ii.1981 . 3 ♂♂, Mato Grosso State, Chapada dos Guimarães (about 15º27′39″ S, 55º45′00″ W), Casca River , leg. L.F. Reys, 17.vii.1983 . 2 ♂♂, Mato Grosso State, Acorizal River, road to Baus (uncertain gps data), leg. L.F. Reys, 20.vii.1983 . 1 ♂, 1 ♀. Mato Grosso State, Sepotuba (about 15º52′42″ S, 57º37′25″ W) . 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Goiás State, Goiânia (about 16º41′23″ S, 49º16′00″ W), leg. Oliveira, 27.iii.1962 . Venezuela: 1 ♂, Morichal largo, Monagas, (9º16′23″N, 62º79′96″W), leg. J. De Marmels, 3.vii.2001. Argentina: 1 ♂, Misiones Province, Iguazú National Park , Iguazú River (25º41′07″S, 27º07′00″W), Leg. T. W. Donnelly, 22.i.1997. 10 ♂♂, 1♀, Entre Rios Province, La Azotea stream, 20 km NW from Predelta National Park (32º07′57″ S, 60º40′32″ W), leg. A. Garre, F. Lozano, J. Lambruschini, L. Ramos & S. Weigel, 25.xi.2006. Bolivia: 1 ♂, Beni State, Isiboro Secure National Park , nameless stream tributary of Pluma River (16º02′54″S, 66º715′37″W), leg. P. Pessacq, 29.xi.2011. Paraguay: 1 ♂, Guaira stream, 3.9 km S of Villarrica on road to Caazapa (about 25º48′49″S, 56º72′36″W), leg. O.S. Flint Jr, 2.xii.1973 .

Distribution. Epipleoneura venezuelensis is known from Venezuela to Northeast Argentina, including Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay, and unpublished records from Ecuador (R.W. Garrison, pers. communication). So far, there are no records for the North of the Amazonas River basin or the West and North-East of South America.

Notes on the distribution of E. venezuelensis . Predictive and known distribution maps of E. venezuelensis ( Figs. 5–6 ) largely coincide in South America. The species is probably distributed continuously throughout the center of the continent from west to east (south of the Amazon River basin and north of the Paraná River basin), in the southern Paraná River basin, and in northern South America. This disjunctive distribution observed between the north and center of the continent is striking. The species appears absent in the northern Amazon basin and from the central Paraná basin. Its absence in northern Amazonas is very likely because this region has received considerable (although perhaps insufficient) sampling. Nevertheless, the species probably has a continuous distribution between the southern Paraná River basin and the center of the continent. This basin includes part of Bolivia, Paraguay, and northeast Argentina, a region whose entomological fauna is still poorly known.

In the predictive distribution map obtained, there is an isolated presence of the species in the center-north of Argentina ( Fig. 6 ). This distribution seems unlikely, as this region has been well sampled for several decades without the genus being found. Similarly, the distribution of E. venezuelensis in Central and North America is highly unlikely because the genus is not known for those regions. The greatest diversity of the damselflies formerly included in Protoneuridae is represented in South America, with only Neoneura Selys, 1860 and Protoneura Selys in Sagra, 1857 and to a lesser extent, Drepanoneura , and Psaironeura Williamson 1915 distributed north of the Neotropics, reaching Central and North America ( Garrison et al. 2010).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Epipleoneura lencionii sp. nov. holotype, male, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. (a) caudal appendages, posterior view; (b) caudal appendages, lateral view; (c) genital ligula, ectal view; (d) genital ligula, lateral view. Epipleoneura venezuelensis, male, Parque Nacional Predelta, Entre Ríos Province, Argentina: (e) caudal appendages, posterior view.

FIGURE 3. Epipleoneura venezuelensis female, Parque Nacional Predelta, Entre Ríos Province, Argentina. (a) prothorax posterior lobe, dorsal view, photograph, and drawing; (b) prothorax posterior lobe, postero-lateral view, photograph, and drawing; (c) prothorax posterior lobe, lateral view, photograph, and drawing. PP: posterior process.

FIGURE 4. Epipleoneura venezuelensis female, Venezuela. (a) prothorax posterior lobe, dorsal view. Picture provided by Dr. R.W. Garrison.

FIGURE 5. Distribution map of Epipleoneura lencionii and E. venezuelensis. Indicated the hydrological basins:Amazon basin, Tocantins-Plata basin and Plata-Paraná-Paraguay basin.

FIGURE 6. Potential distribution map of Epipleoneura venezuelensis.