Alloperla aracoma Harper & Kirchner

Willett, Michele R. & Stark, Bill P., 2009, The Alloperla Leonarda Group Of Eastern North America, With Sem Images Of Four Out-Group Species (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae), Illiesia 5 (11), pp. 108-127 : 117

Alloperla aracoma Harper & Kirchner

( Figs. 43-48 )

Alloperla aracoma Harper & Kirchner, 1978:403 .

Holotype ♂ (United States National Museum), Frogtown Hollow of Copperas Mine Fork of Island Creek, Holden , Logan Co., West Virginia

Alloperla aracoma: Surdick, 2004:10 . Redescription and distribution update

Material examined. WV: Logan Co., Frogtown Hollow of Copperas Mine Fork , Holden, 10 May 1980, R.F. Kirchner, 4 ♂, 4 ♀ ( BPS) .

Epiproct. Length, ca. 220 μm. Greatest width, ca. 66 μm. Epiproct cowl without enlarged lobes ( Figs. 43- 44, 48 ). Epiproct slightly constricted beyond base, then gradually widened to subapical part of bare area and constricted slightly proximal to pair of short, anterolateral projections. Dorsal surface covered with dense, appressed setal mat, except for apical and basal bare areas ( Figs. 45-48 ); lateral margins with many setae projecting posterolaterally giving a shaggy appearence. Apex in lateral and frontal aspect ( Figs. 46-47 ) bearing a series of ca. 8 serrae; dorsal pair of serrae form the anterolateral projections visible in Figs. 43-45 .

Remarks. The dorsal aspect of the epiproct of A. aracoma is generally similar to that of A. leonarda as noted by Harper & Kirchner (1978), however A. aracoma lacks the enlarged cowl found in A. leonarda and the presence of anterolateral serrae on the epiproct tip clearly separate this species from members of the A. leonarda group. A single male specimen collected by the junior author from Devils Fork, Scott Co., Virginia in 1997 may represent an undescribed sister species to A. aracoma .

Figures

Figs. 43-48. Alloperla aracoma epiproct structures, Frogtown Hollow, Logan Co., WV. 43. Male terminalia, dorsal aspect. 44. Epiproct and cowl, dorsal aspect. 45. Apical half of epiproct, dorsal aspect. 46. Apical half of epiproct, lateral aspect. 47. Epiproct apex, frontal aspect. 48. Detail of basal epiproct surface.