Choroterpes (Choroterpes) petersi Tong & Dudgeon 2003

Selvakumar, C., Janarthanan, S. & Sivaramakrishnan, K. G., 2015, A new species of the Choroterpes Eaton, 1881 subgenus Monophyllus Kluge, 2012 and a new record of the subgenus Choroterpes, s. s. (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae) from southern Western Ghats, India, Zootaxa 3941 (2), pp. 284-288 : 287

Choroterpes (Choroterpes) petersi Tong & Dudgeon 2003

Figs. 15–18 .

Material examined. 2 larvae, INDIA, Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli, Nambiyar river, Nambikovil, 8°26’01.22” N, 77°29’55.07” E, 412 m, 23.ii.2012, Colls. C. Selvakumar and K. G. Sivaramakrishnan; 1 larva, INDIA, Kerala, Silent Valley-Kunthi river at Attappadi, 11°03’56.21” N, 76°32’14.79” E, 550 m, 10.v.2014, Coll. C. Selvakumar.

The genus Choroterpes Eaton is widely distributed, occurring in the Ethiopian, Oriental, Palearctic, Nearctic and Neotropical regions ( Peters & Edmunds 1964; 1970). Of the 5 subgenera mentioned above, 23 species are described from the subgenus Choroterpes of which 7 are from Palearctic, 4 from each from Nearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical and Oriental realms.

C. (Choroterpes) petersi was originally described from Hong Kong based on reared larvae and adults in the laboratory ( Tong & Dudgeon 2003). Present new record of the larvae C. (Choroterpes) petersi from southern Western Ghats is extension of its distributional range down south to 8–11° north of equator. It can be identified by the following distinct characters: (i) labrum with three transverse rows of setae on dorsal surface, middle row without setae medially; anteromedian margin of labrum with a deep U-shaped ventral incision ( Fig. 16 ); (ii) gill 1 slender with dorsal and ventral portions ( Fig. 17 ) and (iii) median projection of gills 2–7 plate-like and markedly larger and longer than laterals ( Fig. 18 ).

Distribution. India (Western Ghats) and China ( Hong Kong).

Remarks. O’Donnell and Jackusch (2008) have traced the phylogenetic relationships of leptophlebiid mayflies as inferred by histone H3and 28S ribosomal DNA, in which the Atalophlebiinae was rendered paraphyletic and 4 groups of atalophlebiine taxa were recorded with moderate to strong branch support. Of the 4 above mentioned groups, they have established a group called Choroterpes group by uniting fauna from North America and Southeast Asia and Madagascar. The subgeneric relationships within the genus Choroterpes can be fine-tuned if future molecular phylogenetic studies encompass all the subgenera established so far from all over the world.

Figures

FIGURES 15 – 18. Larva of Choroterpes (Choroterpes) petersi Tong & Dudgeon, 2003 15, Dorsal view; 16, Labrum; 17, Gill 1; 18, Gill 4.