Neoperla multiserrata, 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 : 85

36. Neoperla multiserrata n. sp.

( Figs. 197–200 )

Type material: Holotype ♁ (Slide Z 16.28, NEOP231 ), 2 paratype ♁: Guinea, Kolenté à Kole [10.20, -9.75], 09.02.1986 ( SMNS).

Additional material studied: 1 J, Republic of Liberia, Mt. Coffee , 29-III-1897 R.P.Currie ( USNM, penis on slide USNM _81) .

Habitus. WL 8.7–9.7mm. Faded, entirely light ochre.

Male ( Figs. 197–200 ). Hind tibia flat, wide. T7 process long, sharply pointed ( Fig. 197 ), tip overhanging, narrower than sclerite on T8. Hinge between T7 & T 8 in cleared specimens visible by transparency ( Fig. 198 , arrow). Raised hump of T8 high and inclined forward but lower than process of T7, both processes with sime SB. Mediobasal callus of HT10 tongue-shaped, rounded, process of HT10 long, straight, sharply pointed. S8 unmodified.

Penis is a 1.6mm long thin tube, straight in dorsal, slightly undulating in lateral view ( Fig. 199 ). Distal end of tube with two or three minute ventrolateral spines ( Fig. 200 , arrow). Endophallus straight, about as long as tube. In its basal half conical spines form 6–7 saw-like regular straight rows, the ventral side is bare.

Female. Unknown.

DNA ( Figs. 491–492 , 497). Only the male holotype from Guinea was sequenced with the genome-skimming approach, obtaining 9,585bp of mitochondrial, protein-coding genes. The species is very strongly supported (97.4/99/99) as sister to a very strongly supported (97/100/100) group that comprises N. simplex n. sp., N. excisa Klapálek , N. larvata n. sp. and N. heideae n. sp.. All of these species are part of clade J, which sits within the very strongly supported cluster defined by node C (99.7/98/99), rather than in the morphologically defined N. piluliferacomplex .

Notes. DNA suggests with very strong support (97.4/99/99) a sister-group relation with N. simplex n. sp., N. excisa Klapálek , N. larvata n. sp. and N. heideae n. sp., however, to facilitate identification the species is placed and illustrated here, with morphologically similar species.

Males of some other species (e.g., N. duodeviginti , N. pusilla ) also have serially arranged spines on the endophallus but rows are not as well-defined and as long. They differ also in other characters (e.g., HT10 process). The type specimen is greyish from pollution with label ink. The historical specimen from Liberia has a WL of only ~ 6mm and, after clearing, is almost transparent. The process on T7 is only a small sharp hook, T8 is not visibly raised. The hemitergites are straight and rigid as in the types, the penes agree completely.

Etymology. The name combines the Latin prefix multi -, many, with serrata, serrate and refers to the saw-like spine rows on the endophallus. It should be treated like a Latin adjective in female gender.

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.

FIGURES 193–200. Neoperla pusilla n. sp. and N. multiserrata n. sp., holotype ♁♁. N. pusilla: 193, 194, abdominal tip; 195, everted penis; 196, basal portion of endophallus. N. multiserrata: 197, 198, abdominal tip; 199, everted penis (the subterminal constriction of the penis tube is an artifact); 200, everted endophallus. Abdomina in dorsal and lateral views, tergites and hemitergite10 labelled; arrows in 195 and 200 indicate ventro-apical spinules. Only 196 to scale.