Protonemura algirica bejaiana Vinçon & Mur

Vinçon, Gilles, Mur, vid & nyi, 2009, Contribution To The Knowledge Of The Protonemura Corsicana Species Group, With A Revision Of The North African Species Of The P. Talboti Subgroup (Plecoptera: Nemouridae), Illiesia 5 (7), pp. 51-79 : 64-68

Protonemura algirica bejaiana Vinçon & Mur {nyi ssp. n.

( Figs. 6 , 15 , 34-45 , 76 )

Protonemura algirica ssp. nov.: Berthélemy, 1973:1544. (distribution and ecology).

Material examined. Holotype male: Tunisia, Aïn Draham: Chabet El Khantra, Oued el Lil tributary, above Ben Metir dam, 540 m, 9-V-1969 ; Paratypes, same locality: 2-V-1969, 3♂ 2♀, 1♂ larva, 1 exuviae (larva pharate, terminalia of the larval skin missing; exuviae having thoracic parts only); 9-V-1969, 1♀; 10- V-1969, 1♂ 1♀ ; 16-XI-1969, 2♀; 10-I-1970, 2♂ 3♀ - 1♂ 1♀ larvae, 1♂ 1♀ exuviae ( HNHM; ♀ larva prepared for SEM, ♂ larva pharate, terminalia of the larval skin missing); 12-II-1970, 2♂ 2♀ ; 18-IV-1970, 2♀ ; 7-VI- 1970, 1♂ ; 13-XI-1970, 1♀ nymph; 30-XII-1970, 1♂. Holotype and 2♂ 2♀ paratypes are deposited in the ZML, other paratypes held in the CGV .

Other material: Tunisia, Aïn Draham: Oued ed Demène, near Ben Metir dam, 450 m, 19-IV-1970, 1♂ - 1♂ ( HNHM); 9-V-1970, 4♀; 7-VI-1970, 1♀; Oued ed Demène at 630 m, 17-IV-1970, 1♀; Oued el Lebga, Oued el Lil tributary, above Ben Metir dam, 450 m, 19-IV-1970, 1♀ nymphae (Berthélemy coll. CGV) .

Description. Medium-sized Protonemura of the corsicana group. Body length, male: 6.9–7.5 mm; female: 7.1–8.3 mm; forewing length, male: 8.7–9.2 mm; female: 8.7–9.6 mm. Head brownish with two yellow triangular areas between eyes and ocelli; antennae brown. Pronotum brown with dark pattern, its lateral sides light brown. Legs yellowish with brown longitudinal marks. Abdomen light brown. Gills short, without subterminal constriction.

Male ( Figs. 15 , 34-37 ). Tergites I-VI simple; tergite VII with few spines scattered medially on its posterior edge; tergite VIII similar but the spiny area deeply extends near the middle of the segment, in several specimens this group of spines is about separated in two spiny contiguous fields; tergite IX with two strong triangular groups of spines separated by a median smooth strip ( Fig. 34 ); tergite X with several spines surrounding the tip of the epiproct. Paraprocts ( Fig. 37 ): Inner lobe blade-shaped, partly hidden under the expansion of the hypoproct. Median lobe wide, with well developed globular membranous apex covered with thin setae; sclerotized base slightly longer than wide and ending in a gently curved, blade-shaped expansion which is more or less long, about reaching the tip of the outer lobe. Outer lobe sclerite enlarged at the tip, with a rounded, smooth and light posterior expansion without any spine; the anterior part of the lobe ends in a unique sharp spine, curved inwards. Epiproct: Rather strong and pale, slightly enlarging towards the tip in dorsal view and ending abruptly in a rounded tip ( Fig. 15 ). A smooth bilobed expansion is visible at the tip. The epiproct terminal filament is rather short, bifid at the apex; in side view the filament is about parallel to the epiproct. Dorsal sclerite of the epiproct forked, well visible in dorsal view. The two lateral branches are getting nearer and narrowing toward the epiproct’s tip, where they are curving upwards and meeting close to the projection of the terminal filament ( Fig. 15 ). Ventral sclerite with a prominent bulge partly covered with two rows of long spines. In ventral view, the rows of spines are getting nearer towards the apex, forming a ‘V’. Sternite IX: Hypoproct rounded distally, ending into a long tapering extension. Vesicle long, with its sides about parallel ( Fig. 35 ).

Female. ( Figs. 38-39 ). Abdomen typical of the genus. Sternite VII: Pregenital plate not sclerotized and therefore hardly visible. Sternite VIII: Subgenital plate well sclerotized and clearly bilobed; vaginal lobes strong, extending on each side of the subgenital plate. Mature larva ( Figs. 40-45 , 76 ). Body relatively slender, body length 9.0–10.5 mm. General color brown. Pilosity distinct. Scales present only in the dorsal midline of the femora and on the tarsi. Legs typical of the genus, tibiae slightly longer than femora; width of hind femora less than one third of its length. Head stout, brown with dark patches. The pronotum is subtrapezoidal, with distinct granules and rounded corners; it is slightly narrowing towards the posterior margin and its length is two thirds of its maximum width. Cervical gills simple, the longest one equivalent to the width of the fore coxa. Wing pads of typical length for the genus. Abdomen relatively slender, integument light and matt, first 6 abdominal segments divided by pleura. Posterior margin of sternite IX of the mature male larva triangular, sharply pointed; paraprocts not pointed ( Fig. 76 ). Genital opening well visible on the mature female larva, and placed under the anterior half of sternite VIII; paraprocts not pointed. Cerci long, with more than 35 segments; segment sides nearly parallel, the width of segments 13–17 is three fifths of their length.

Pilosity: Head with dense, stout bristles and a few sensilla. Antennal segments with short pilosity. Pronotum with dense, stout bristles, a few sensilla and thin hairs. Margin of the pronotum bearing blunt bristles, the length of the longest ones is less than 1/15 of the pronotum’s width ( Fig. 40 ). The bristles on the anterior corners of the meso and metanotum are as long as the marginal bristles of the pronotum. The setae placed in lines on the wing pads are short and blunt. Legs with dense setation. All femora bear both short and long, blunt bristles and thin hairs. Long bristles occur mostly on the outer surface; on hind femora they are placed on the apical half. Bristles not in a regular arrangement; the longest ones reach one fifth of the femur’s width on all legs ( Figs. 41- 42 ). A bald median line is conspicuous on the dorsal surface of all femora and it is covered with rounded scales. Tarsi relatively stout, covered with thin hairs and bristles, metatarsi with triangular scales on the dorsal surface; apical spike of tibiae short. Tergal segments with short, blunt bristles and a few thin hairs. Paired spines on the posterior margin blunt or hardly acute, two times longer than the other spines of the row; on tergite V they reach one fourth of the segment’s length ( Fig. 43 ). Distal margin lacks tiny triangular spikes around the row of bristles. Cercal segments with acute bristles, blunt or thin ones occur only in the apical whorl ( Figs. 44-45 ; apical row scanty on Fig. 45 ). The apical whorl on segments 13-15 is a set of 10–12 strong, acute spikes mixed with short, blunt and short, thin setae. Longest bristles reach one fifth of the segment’s length on segments 13–15.

Etymology. Protonemura algirica bejaiana ssp. n. is named after Beja, main town of the Khroumiry region, in Western Tunisia.

Affinities. Protonemura algirica bejaiana s sp. n. mainly differs from P. algirica algirica by the shape of the outer lobe of the paraproct, without any spine on its dorsal expansion instead of carrying two spines or more in P. algirica algirica . The ventral part of the paraproct’s outer lobe always ends in a unique spine instead of one or two spines in P. algirica algirica . In the female, the vaginal lobes are more exposed on each side of the subgenital plate than in P. algirica algirica where they are often more hidden under the plate. P. algirica algirica and P. algirica bejaiana s sp. n. are also closely related to P. albanica from which they differ by the following features: in the male, the epiproct is not prolonged by a membranous expansion and its filament is much longer; in the female, the vaginal lobes are strongly extending in front of the plate. The overall shape and the terminalia of the larva are very similar to those of the other North African species, but the P. algirica larva can be separated by the blunt bristles on the margin of pronotum, tergites and femurs. In addition, it differs from P. dakkii sp. n. and P. berberica by its darker habitus. The nominal subspecies seems to have not so pronounced blunt bristles, but this feature should be confirmed with the study of additional material.

Geographical distribution and ecology. Protonemura algirica bejaiana ssp. n. inhabits the north-western part of Tunisia ( Khroumiry Mountains ) ( Fig. 6 ), where it occurs in brooks and brooklets at moderate altitudes (450–600 m). The adults emerge in winter and spring (XI– V) .

Figures

Figs. 5-6. Distribution of the species of the Protonemoura corsicana group. 5: Protonemura corsicana subgroup; 6: P. talboti subgroup, P. consiglioi subgroup and P. spinulata subgroup.

Figs. 7-15. Epiprocts of the North African species of the Protonemura talboti subgroup. 7-8: Protonemura dakkii sp. n.; 9-10: P. talboti (Nav{s, 1929); 11-12: P. berberica Vinçon & S{nchez-Ortega, 1999; 13-14: P. algirica algirica Aubert, 1956; 15: P. algirica bejaiana ssp. n. (7, 9, 11, 13: lateral view; 8, 10, 12, 14-15: dorsal view; scale 0.5 mm).

Figs. 34-39. Terminalias of the imago of Protonemura algirica bejaiana ssp. n. 34: male terminalia, dorsal view; 35: male terminalia, ventral view; 36: male terminalia, lateral view; 37: male paraproct, ventrolateral view; 38: female pregenital and subgenital plates, and vaginal lobes, ventral view; 39: female pregenital and subgenital plates, and vaginal lobes, lateral view (scales 0.5 mm; scale 1: Fig. 37, scale 2: Figs. 34-36, 38-39).

Figs. 40-45. Larva of Protonemura algirica bejaiana ssp. n. 40: front angle of the pronotum; 41: hind femur; 42: outer apical part of the femur; 43: 5–6th tergal segments; 44: basal segments of the cercus; 45: 15th segment of the cercus (scale 0.1 mm).

Figs. 73-77. Larval terminalias and gills of the North African species of the Protonemura talboti subgroup. 73: Protonemura dakkii sp. n., matured female terminalia; 74: P. dakkii sp. n., matured male terminalia; 75: P. talboti (Nav{s, 1929), matured male terminalia; 76: P. algirica bejaiana ssp. n., male exuviae terminalia; 77: Protonemura dakkii sp. n. gills (ventral views; scale 0.5 mm).