Neoperla filamentosa, Zwick & Zwick, 2023

Zwick, Peter & Zwick, Andreas, 2023, Revision of the African Neoperla Needham, 1905 (Plecoptera: Perlidae: Perlinae) based on morphological and molecular data, Zootaxa 5316 (1), pp. 1-194 : 120

53. Neoperla filamentosa n. sp.

( Figs. 305–308 )

Holotype ♀: Republic of Guinea: Bolongo, P [iège] L[umineuse] 19.10.1984 ( SMNS, gift J.M. Élouard; Z16/91, NEOP162 ).

Additional material studied: Republic of Ghana: 2♀, Subri r. [6.238N, - 2.282E] 05.11.1993 light trap; NUFU project, Uni Bergen ( SMNS; slides GH02-8) . 3♀, Ghana, western reg., Ankasa Resource Res., Nkwanta Camp 05°16.566’N 002°18342’ 7–8 Jun 2005 K.B. Miller, colr. ( BYU, slides Z18.75 & 77) . République de Côte d’Ivoire: 1♀, 15 km North of Lakota [5.86N, - 5.68W], white light trap. 23-X-1971 J.A.Gruwell ( USNM _124, slide Z17.66; Moore 1991, SEM-figs 18, 19). Côte d’Ivoire, riv. M’pe’do (affl. Agneby , rég. Abidjan [N 5.40912 W 4.04221]) 25.10.1983 J.H.Hougard & H. Prod’hon (gift J.M. Gibon; AfrZ86/25&26) . Republic of Sierra Leone: 3♀: Northern Province [~ 9.3 N, ~ 11.7E], Yfin, at light 21.11.1983 W. Rossi ( SMNS; Z16 /12, gift R. Fochetti) .

Specimens with variable egg collar assigned to N. filamentosa with doubts: Republic of Cameroon: 4♀, Cameroun , 52 mi S Garoua [9.32N, 13.39E], Boki R., 330m, 29.IX.1966, E.S.Ross & K.Lorenzen ( CASENT 8413019 , Slide Z17.64). Egg slides Z16/96 und Z17.65 also in SMNS . Republic of Guinea: 1♀: Niandan , Bambaya [9.20N, 10.42W] 25.10.1984 (AfrZ86/15; SMNS) . Republic of Senegal: 1♀: Touba [14.8515, -15.8959] viii.1982 (Z.AfrZ86/11; SMNS) . Republic of Sierra Leone: Northern Province , Kondembaia [9.333, -11.564], 22.11.1984 W. Rossi (Z.Afr 98.02; SMNS) .

Habitus. Probably faded, yellow except a faint brownish ocellar spot and an ochre flagellum. WL 10.3 mm.

Male. Unknown.

Female ( Fig. 305 ). As for the complex, a shallow rounded notch in the sclerotised caudal edge of S8.

Egg ( Fig. 306–308 ). Elongate oval, on average 357*213µm (n=4),>20 typical specimens without collar and>20 dextrogyrous striae ( Figs. 306–307 ). Operculum with a few cells on its small conical top. Egg striae with broad bare costae and narrow sulci which have 1 row of micropunctures along each side. Micropyles are minute holes in the sulci next to which the rows of micropunctures are interrupted.

DNA ( Figs. 491–492 , 496 ). Only the female holotype from Guinea was sequenced with the genome skimming approach, resulting in only 3,102bp of mitochondrial, protein-coding genes. It is poorly supported (43.9/90/0) as sister to N. orthonema n. sp. (see N. orthonema n. sp. above). Together, they are maximally supported (100/100/100) as sister to N. spironema n. sp..

Notes. Several specimens with eggs with a collar ( Fig. 308 ) are with doubts assigned to N. filamentosa n. sp.: collar and anchor cavity seem to be variable and we notice no other differences. Striation of eggs differs from N. orthonema n. sp. and N.spironema n. sp. and is the same as in members of the N. excisa and N. sjostedti operational complex.

Etymology. An adjective derived from Latin filamentum, a thread, an allusion to the structure of the anchor, with threads instead of a solid stem.

Figures

FIGURE 491. Codon-model maximum likelihood phylogram based on 83 largely complete mitochondrial genome sequences only (mt-NT). Statistical support values (SH-aLRT, UFBoot) from this and other analyses summarised by squares as explained in the figure. Terminal labels include information on the species, type status, gender, originating country, unique sequence identifier (NEOP###), sequencing approach and total basepairs of 13 mitochondrial, protein-coding genes. Clades of particular interest highlighted with colours that correspond to the clades in other trees. HT = holotype; PT = paratype; PCR = Polymerase Chaine Reaction; WGS = Whole Genome Shotgun.

FIGURE 492. Simplified overview of codon-model maximum likelihood phylogram based on 356 mitochondrial genome and COX1 DNA barcode sequences (all-NT). Terminal labels include information on the species only. Clades of particular interest highlighted with colours that correspond to the clades in other trees. The full tree is shown in Figs 493-498.

FIGURE 496. Partial (clades G, H) codon-model maximum likelihood phylogram based on 356 mitochondrial genome and COX1 DNA barcode sequences (all-NT). See Fig. 493 for common details.

FIGURES 305–308. Neoperla filamentosa, n. sp., holotype. 305, genital situs; 306, egg of HT; 307, detail of striae, arrows indicate micropyles. 308, egg of doubtful ♀ from Touba, Senegal. Scales are 100µm, eggs to same, details not to scale. Sa, spermatheca; SSt, spermathecal stalk; V, vagina.