Neoperla massevensis, 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 : 156-157

75. Neoperla massevensis n. sp.

( Figs. 429–431 )

Type material studied. United Republic of Tanzania: ♀ holotype ( NEOP334 , slide Z19.12) , 1 ♀ paratype (slide Z19.13): Massewe obh. Konde-Land, Anf. November 10, Dr. Fülleborn ( MfNB, in alcohol) .

Habitus. WL 10.6mm ( PT; HT damaged). Yellowish grey, no pattern, faded.

Male. Unknown.

Female ( Fig. 429 ). S8 unpigmented, caudal edge almost hairless, with a very shallow notch between two short lobes. Vagina unmodified, with numerous concentric folds around the attachment of SSt which forms about 1.5 fairly wide rings of uniform width. The basal part with longitudinal folds on the concave and some brown scales on the convex side is almost half as long as the completely scaly distal part.

Egg ( Figs. 430–431 ). Size 312*186µm (n = 13). Collar short, with one row of cells, not constraining the large anchor cavity. Anchor mushroom-shaped. Numerous levogyrous striae fade away near the finely punctate rounded top of operculum. Costae are smooth and flat, sulci are exceedingly narrow, with two lines of micropunctures barely visible at 630*. The micropyles are minute holes that can be recognised their curved canal ( Fig. 431 , arrow), sulci do not widen around micropyles.

DNA ( Figs. 491–492 , 498). Only the female holotype from Tanzania was sequenced with the genome-skimming approach, resulting in 7,155bp of mitochondrial, protein-coding genes. Its sister relationship to N. tangana n. sp. is very strongly supported (99.2/100/100) .

Notes. Neoperla bareensis n. sp. and N. muyukae n. sp. are similar to N. massevensis but in the former species the opening of the anchor cavity is strongly constrained, the operculum bears cells, and sulci widen around micropyles. Neoperla muyukae n. sp. differs by the prominent pattern on S8, the long SSt, and the widely open funnel-shaped anchor cavity.

10 The year is not stated. Dr Fülleborn published on the region in 1908

Etymology. The name is derived from the locality, a temporary colonial station founded in 1898, in the region of Langenburg [Tukuyu, -9.26, 33.65] ( Fülleborn 1908: 293).

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 429–431. Neoperla massevensis n. sp., ♀: 429, genital situs (paratype, NEOP334), border between sternites 7 and 8 shown as a line; 430, egg; 431, detail of striae. c, costa; mi, micropylar canal, the micropylar orifice is concealed in the narrow sulcus; od, oviduct; sa, spermatheca; sgp, subgenital plate, part of S8; SSt, spermathecal stalk, su, sulcus.