Neoperla agumbe, Stark & Sivec, 2015

Stark, Bill P. & Sivec, Ignac, 2015, New Species And Records Of Neoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae) From India, Illiesia 11 (7), pp. 75-91 : 77-78

Neoperla agumbe sp. n.

( Figs. 1-3 )

Material examined. Holotype ♂, INDIA: Karnataka, Agumbe Ghats , 13° 29.386’N, 75° 04.537’E, 9 October 2004, G. Svenson, light trap ( USNM).

Adult habitus. General color yellow-brown. Head mostly yellow but with small brown spot between ocelli; lappets and antennae pale brown. Pronotal pattern obscured by specimen condition, but disc yellow-brown with slightly darker rugosities ( Fig. 1 ). Femora pale yellow brown, tibiae similar, but with a small, dark proximal area. Wings pale amber, veins brown except pale C, Sc and apical 2/3 of R vein.

Male. Forewing length 7.5 mm. Hemitergal processes of tergum 10 wide basally and relatively short ( Fig. 2 ). Process of tergum 7 triangular in outline, but with rounded apex bearing 3-4 large, spine-like sensilla basiconica. Tergum 8 with a low mound-like mesal sclerite bearing a cluster of ca. 14 small sensilla basiconica; membranous areas adjacent to mesal sclerite with a few scattered sensilla basiconica. Tergum 9 bearing a median and two small adjacent sublateral sensilla basiconica patches set on small sclerites. Aedeagal tube sclerotized and armed with three small patches of spines on each side ( Fig. 3 ); dorsomedian patches consist of angled rows of ca. 3 spines, lateromedian patches, located ventrad to dorsomedian patches, consist of a single larger forked spine and several small spines, and lateroapical patches include ca. 7, somewhat scattered spines ( Fig. 3 ). Aedeagal sac membranous, not fully everted in Fig. 3 , but similar to tube in length and armed along dorsolateral surface for most of length with ca. 6 rows of spines; number of rows reduced distally and a ventral row of smaller spines begins near midlength (near apex of partially everted sac in Fig. 3 ).

Female. Unknown.

Larva. Unknown.

Etymology. The species name, based on the type locality in the Agumbe Ghats, is used as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis. The new species is a member of the N. clymene group. The aedeagus of this species is similar to that of N. monacha Stark & Sivec, 2008b in having multiple small patches of spines near midlength of the tube. However, the placement and number of spines varies between the species [compare Fig. 14 in Stark & Sivec (2008b) with Fig. 3 ], and the sac armature, adult habitus, hemitergal processes and detail of tergum 9 are also quite different. The head and pronotum of N. monacha is mostly dark brown, the hemitergal processes are slender and much longer than in the new species, and tergum 9 lacks sensilla basiconica patches [see Figs. 12-14 in Stark & Sivec (2008b)]. The aedeagal sac armature of N. agumbe is reminiscent of that of N. triangulata Kawai, 1975 from Sri Lanka, but that species has a pair of small spiny membranous bulbs located near the tube apex (Zwick 1980).

Figures

Figs. 1-6. Neoperla male structures. 1-3. N. agumbe. 1. Head and pronotum. 2. Male terminalia, dorsal. 3. Aedeagus, lateral. 4-6. N. emarginata. 4. Aedeagus, lateral. 5. Male terminalia. 6. Aedeagal tube apex with sac partially everted.

Figs. 11-14. Neoperla schlitz eggs. 11. Entire egg, lateral. 12. Collar end. 13. Micropyle and chorionic detail. 14. Lid and micropylar zone.