Triplectides bandeira, Henriques-Oliveira & Nessimian & Takiya & Santos, 2025

Henriques-Oliveira, Ana Lucia, Nessimian, Jorge Luiz, Takiya, Daniela Maeda & Santos, Allan Paulo Moreira, 2025, Hidden diversity of the long-horned caddisfly genus Triplectides Kolenati, 1859 (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae) in Brazil revealed by DNA and morphology: new species descriptions and larval associations, Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 83, pp. 757-796 : 757-796

3.2. 2. Triplectides bandeira sp. nov.

Figures 4 , 5

Henriques-Oliveira et al. 2020: 46 [as Triplectides neotropicus Holzenthal, 1988 ]

Type material.

Holotype: BRAZIL • ♂; Espirito Santo, Dores do Rio Preto, Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Rio Preto behind of housing ; 20°30′05.80″S 41°49′08.60″W; alt. 1,359 m; 25 Feb. 2012; white sheet; A. L. H. Oliveira leg.; [DNA voucher ENT 741]; DZRJ TRICHOPTERA 9178 – Paratypes: BRAZIL • 1 ♂; Minas Gerais, Alto Caparaó, Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Vale Verde, 2 nd order tributary of Rio Caparaó ; 20°25′08.8″S 41°50′46.6″W; alt. 1,307 m; 07 Oct. 2012; A. P. M. Santos leg.; [DNA voucher ENT 706]; DZRJ TRICHOPTERA 9177 • 1 ♂; same data as for preceding, except, Rio Caparaó ; 20°25′11.60″S 41°50′44.80″W; alt. 1,306 m; 5 Apr. 2016; light trap; J. L. Nessimian, A. L. H. Oliveira, A. Antunes, A. A. Alves, J. Queiroz leg.; [DNA voucher ENT 6327]; DZRJ TRICHOPTERA 9175 .

Description.

Adult male ( Holotype). General color golden brown to brown (in alcohol). Antennae, palps, and legs, golden brown. Head and thorax mostly brown, with white and brown bristles. Forewings with forks I and V present; discoidal cell apically large (Fig. 4 A, B ); cross vein s almost straight, cross vein r-m narrower than m-cu and slightly posterior than that, almost aligned in some individuals (Fig. 4 C ). Hind wings broad, with forks I, III, and V present; fork I petiolate (Fig. 4 D ). Length of forewing of holotype 15.69 mm, length of hind wing of holotype 11.00 mm. Tibial spur formula 2, 2, 4. — Genitalia: Segment IX annular, in lateral view, narrow with anterior margin almost straight, posterior margin slightly concave medially and enlarged dorsally (Fig. 5 A ); tergum IX, in dorsal view, with posterior margin subtriangular, mesally protruded over the tergum X, dorsal process present and very short (Fig. 5 B ). Preanal appendages digitate, thin, long, setose, more than half of the tergum X (Fig. 5 B ). Tergum X, in lateral view, wide basally, almost straight with basal half less sclerotized than apical half, dorsal margin with a small elevation in the mid-length, apex rounded, and slightly upturned (Fig. 5 A ); in dorsal view, slightly wide basally with apex subtriangular and protrude mesally with a deep apicomesal incision, reaching half the length of the tergum, with a ridge parallel to the lateral margin bearing very short, stout setae (Fig. 5 B ). Inferior appendages long, surpassing tergum X, bearing very long setae; 1 st article, in lateral view, enlarged at base, constricted medially, with apical portion narrow and rounded (Fig. 5 A ); apicodorsal lobes digitate, long, extending beyond second article, with very long setae (Fig. 5 C ); basoventral lobes digitate, longer than mesal lobes, rounded at apex and setose (Fig. 5 C ); in ventral view, mesal lobes long, in some specimens almost the same length as the phallic apparatus, narrowing towards the apex, rounded and rough, in some individuals giving a club-like appearance, and coloration with a gradient from brown to darker towards the apex (Fig. 5 C ); 2 nd article long, slender, wide at base, gradually curved inward with acute pointed apex (Fig. 5 A, C ). Phallic apparatus simple, tubular, with a mesal apical incision, bearing a small mesal projection (Fig. 5 D ), with phallotremal sclerite small, rod-like, apically positioned (Fig. 5 D, E ). — Adult female, larva, and pupa unknown.

Etymology.

The specific epithet ‘ bandeira ’ refers to Bandeira Peak, the third highest mountain in Brazil, and it is situated in Serra do Caparaó, on the border between states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo Minas Gerais, where the new species was collected.

Distribution.

Brazil ( Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais States).

Habitat.

Found inhabiting in Atlantic Forest streams at different altitudes in Serra do Caparaó Mountain range, usually in rocky streams and shady areas.

Remarks.

Molecular results indicate that specimens previously identified as T. bandeira sp. nov. potentially represent a complex of species, with COI K 2 P divergences reaching 20.5 %, higher than any interspecific divergence observed among Triplectides species (Table 3). Only the ASAP analysis with EF- 1 α sequences indicated the five analyzed sequences of bandeira complex belonged to a single species (Fig. 1 ). These specimens studied are from different localities, but in the same mountain range, the Serra do Caparaó. Our morphological study allowed to distinguish this species from the others, but it failed to distinguish more than one species within it. Although small variations were observed, for example in the apex of the mesal lobes of the inferior appendages, they were not consistent in the specimens analyzed. Therefore, we recognize this taxon, T. bandeira sp. nov., as being a complex of cryptic species and we hope that new data in the future will help to distinguish them. To avoid any taxonomic problem, the description and illustrations provided here are based exclusively on the male holotype and we are including here only specimens from one lineage (as in Fig. 1 ) in the definition of this new species.

This species can be confused with T. neotropicus Holzenthal and T. gracilis (Burmeirster) . Triplectides neotropicus was described from specimens collected in Cerro de La Neblina, Venezuela. According to Holzenthal (1988), T. neotropicus can be distinguished from its congeners by the mesal lobe of each inferior appendage with apex somewhat capitate and by the very broad apical region of the forewing discoidal cell, and length of forewings varying between 12–14 mm. The new species shows some differences in relation to above-mentioned species. In terms of size, the new species is robust and big, with forewings exceeding 15 mm in length. In the hind wing, T. neotropicus has fork I with a very short petiole, while fork I in the new species has a distinct petiole. Addditional differences are observed in the mesal lobe of the inferior appendages. In the new species, the mesal lobe is long and somewhat sinuous, similar to T. gracilis , narrowing towards the apex. This lobe can be thin and tapering in some individuals, and appear rounded and rough, giving a club-like appearance in others. In contrast, the mesal lobe of T. neotropicus is roughly triangular, broadest apically, narrowest subapically, with a somewhat capitate apex.

Figures

Figure 1. Maximum likelihood tree based on the concatenated COI and EF- 1 α nucleotide sequences (lnL = – 19563.4365) analyzed in IQ-TREE. Only the clade including the neotropical lineages of Triplectides is presented, the small tree on the top left depicts the backbone of the entire ML tree, highlighting the shown clade. Numbers associated to branches are SH-aLRT> 85 % / UFBoot> 75 % support values. Bars on the right depict results of ASAP and bPTP (highest posterior probability supported delimitation) for COI and EF- 1 α respectively. — Abbreviations: ♂ – male; ♀ – female; L – larva. Only the specimens in which the sequences were generated here have the sexual forms identified.

Figure 2. Triplectides gracilis (Burmeirster, 1839), male wings (DNA voucher ENT 5922). A Forewing; B Hind wing; C Forewing cross veins in detail; D, E Hind wing fork I in detail (E: DNA voucher ENT 0672). — Abbreviations: Sc = subcostal vein; R = radial vein; M = median vein; Cu 1 A = anterior first cubital vein; Cu 1 P = posterior first cubital vein; Cu 2 = second cubital vein; A = anal vein; s = sectorial cross vein, r-m = radial-median cross vein; m-cu = median-cubital cross vein; Dc = discoidal cell; Th = thyridial cell; I, III, V = forks I, III, and V, respectively.

Figure 4. Triplectides bandeira sp. nov., male wings (holotype, DNA voucher ENT 0741). A Forewing; B Hind wing; C Forewing cross veins, in detail; D Hind wing fork I, in detail. — Abbreviations: see legend Figure 2.

Figure 5. Triplectides bandeira sp. nov., male genitalia (holotype DNA voucher ENT 0741). A Lateral view; B Dorsal view; C Ventral view; D Phallic apparatus, ventral view; E Phallic apparatus, lateral view. — Abbreviations: see text 2.2.