Paraphlebia kinich Ortega-Salas & González-Soriano, 2022

Ortega-Salas, Héctor, González-Soriano, Enrique & Jocque, Merlijn, 2022, Untangling the waterfall damsels: a review of the Mesoamerican genus Paraphlebia Selys in Hagen, 1861 (Odonata: Thaumatoneuridae) with descriptions of 11 new species, Zootaxa 5089 (1), pp. 1-66 : 21-22

Paraphlebia kinich Ortega-Salas & González-Soriano sp. nov.

Figs. 12 (head ♂), 29–30 (thorax ♂ ♀), 36 (abdomen ♂), 47, 59 (wings ♂), 79, 86 (appendages ♂), 99, 106 (posterior lobe of prothorax ♀ ♂), 133 (S8– 10 ♀), 149 (map), 161 (habitus ♂).

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:93A8162C-F68A-46E4-87CE-F180D7D59956

Holotype. MEXICO • 1 ♂; Chiapas, Salto de Agua, Cascada Misol-Ha ; [17.391°N, 91.998°W]; 270 m; 26 Jul 1990; E. González-Soriano & V. García leg.; IBUNAM; IBUNAM: CNIN:OD22735 .

Paratypes. MEXICO • 1 ♀; Chiapas, Palenque, Stream crossing highway about 1/ 3 mile below parking lot at Palenque ruins; 17.487°N, 92.049°W; 105 m; G.H. & A.F. Beatty leg.; FEM; PSUC _ FEM _ 69062 • same data but 3 ♂♂; Salto de Agua, Estación de Biología Tropical Los Tuxtlas [ Cascada Misol-Ha ]; [17.391°N, 91.998°W]; 270 m; 4–15 May 1981; C.M. Flint & O.S. Flint Jr. leg.; USNM • same data but 1 ♂; Cascada Misol-Ha ; 17–18 May 1981; RWG; IBUNAM: CNIN: OD22741 • same data but 7 ♂♂; USNM • same data but 6 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀; 26 Jul 1990; E. González-Soriano & V. García leg.; IBUNAM; IBUNAM: CNIN: OD22733 to 22734 , 22736 to 22740 , 22898 • same data but 2 ♂♂; 17.391°N, 91.998°W; 30 Aug 2015; H. Ortega-Salas, M. Trujano-Ortega & U. García-Vázquez leg.; IBUNAM: CNIN:OD 22915 to 22916 • same data but 1 ♂; Oaxaca, Santiago Comáltepec, Km. 56.9 carretera federal 175 Tuxtepec-Oaxaca ; [17.726°N, 96.326°W]; 626 m; 25 May 1981; H. Velasco leg.; IBUNAM: CNIN: OD22745 .

Etymology. Named kinich /kɪˈnɪtʃɪ/ (L. noun in apposition), after Kinich Ahau (also K’inich Ajaw, K’in Ajaw, K’in Ahau or K’in Ahaw), the Mayan Sun God. As many other forest species, Paraphlebia individuals usually perch in the sparse sunrays that reaches the lower layer of the vegetation.

Description of holotype

Head. Chiefly black, labrum dark glossy blue, anteclypeus with one medial and two lateral pale spots, postclypeus turquoise to pale blue, maxillae pale, frons turquoise to pale blue, vertex with two pale spots anterolateral to lateral ocelli, occiput with pale occipital bar restricted to lateral edges, eyes dark brown to black, black in life; antennal scape with pale distal margin, pedicel black on medial side turning pale towards lateral surface, flagellum of first segment pale with distal margin black, distal segments black.

Thorax. Prothorax: chiefly black; middle lobe with anterolateral pale spots covering half of its width; posterior lobe mostly pale with black markings on anterior margin, see Fig. 106 (paratype) for morphology. Pterothorax: see Fig. 29 (paratype) for colour pattern; sternum pale with lateral black marks; legs black, but coxae and trochanters pale; femora pale on proximal third; claws reddish.

Wings. Hyaline, slightly amber tinted, the vein that descends from the subnodus in FW slightly proximal to the first post-quadrangular Vx; CuA in HW forked, field between CuA and posterior margin with one supplementary vein and one extra sector. Px: FW 33–36, HW 29/29.

Abdomen. Black with pale areas as follow: S1 with ventrolateral spots; S2 with ventrolateral horizontal lines; S3–7 with laterobasal rings; S8 with basolateral spots; S9–10 and cerci pruinose on dorsum.

Caudal appendages. Cerci: see Fig. 79 for structure. Paraprocts: rudimentary; superior lobe completely absent; inferior lobe in lateral view somewhat angled but not with an acute projection.

Measurements. Abdomen: 40, FW: 34, HW: 33.

Variation in males. In some specimens from Misol-Ha the extension of the pale markings on the prothorax dorsum is slightly smaller than in the holotype. In some specimens the field between CuA and posterior margin of HW has only one extra sector.

Measurements. Abdomen: 36.0–43.0, FW: 29.0–35.0, HW: 28.5–33.6; Px: FW 32–38; Px: HW 27–33.

Description of female paratype

Head. As in male.

Thorax. Prothorax: see Fig. 99 for morphology. Pterothorax: pale mediodorsal carina; mesepisternum as in male and with medial longitudinal line extending about two-tenths of its length; depression mesad to mesostigmal lobe in mesostigmal plate angulate.

Wings. Hyaline, with a slightly amber tint; Px: FW 32/33; Px: FW 29/28.

Abdomen. S1–7 as in male but pale markings more extensive. S8 dorsal pale spot present. S9 pale dorsal spot mushroom shaped, widened to rear. Ovipositor ending beyond tip of cerci.

Measurements. Abdomen: 37.0, FW: 32.4, HW: 31.6.

Diagnosis. This species is related to P. hunnal and P. flinti and is diagnosed under the latter.

Natural history. This species has been collected within the spray zone of large waterfalls and streams in tropical rainforest and mountain cloud forest.

Distribution. Southeast Mexico: it has been collected at the Misol-Ha ecotourist park and Palenque national park in Chiapas as well as in the Sierra de Juárez in Oaxaca from 100– 626 m.a.s.l.

Remarks. Three males collected by C. M. Flint and O. S. Flint Jr., deposited at USNM, are labelled as collected at: Veracruz: San Andrés Tuxtla: Los Tuxtlas Tropical Biology Station. However, according to Dr. Flint (personal communication, October 6, 2016) it is certain that these specimens are mislabelled. This is due to the fact that during the same collection field trip his team was both in Los Tuxtlas and Misol-Ha with a few days of difference which led to the misplacement of these specimens.

Figures

FIGURES 12–19. Paraphlebia spp. colour pattern of head and thorax. Head frontal view (12–19); thorax lateral view (14– 19).

FIGURES 105–116. Paraphlebia spp. posterior lobe of prothorax frontal view (105–107); dorsal view (108–116).

FIGURES 28–34. Paraphlebia spp. colour pattern of thorax and abdomen. Thorax lateral view (28–32); abdomen lateral view (33–34).

FIGURES 79–84. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages (a) dorsal view; (b) mediodorsal view (79–80) W – maximum width of mediodorsal flange, w – maximum width of the distal lobe; dorsal view (81); lateral view (82, 84); posterior view (83).

FIGURES 95–104. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages and posterior lobe of prothorax. Caudal appendages lateral view (95–97); posterior lobe of prothorax dorsolateral view (98–100); lateral view (101–104).