Nemoura anas, Murányi, Dávid, 2007

Murányi, Dávid, 2007, New and little – known stoneflies (Plecoptera) from Albania and the neighbouring countries, Zootaxa 1533, pp. 1-40 : 21-24

Nemoura anas sp. n. ( Figs 56–62 )

Type material: Holotype male: ALBANIA, Mat County, Shkanderbeu Mountains, torrent 4.2 km SE of Shtamë Pass, N 41°30.284’ E 19°55.334’, 1150 m, 0 8.10.2004, leg. ZF, JK, DM ( HNHM: PLP1571). Allotype female: same locality and date ( HNHM: PLP1572). Paratypes: same locality and date: 3♂ 4Ψ ( HNHM: PLP1573, 1 male epiproct prepared on slide), 1♂ 1Ψ ( CPZ), 1♂ 1Ψ (CGV).

Other material: ALBANIA: Shkodër County, Prokletije Mountains, karst spring N of Okol towards the Pejë Pass, N 42°25.664’ E 19°45.704’, 990 m, 30.05.2005, leg. KB, ZB, DM, DP: 1♂ 1Ψ; Shkodër County, Prokletije Mountains, karst spring system N of Okol, N 42°25.347’ E 19°45.680’, 883 m, 0 1.06.2005, leg. KB, ZB, DM, DP: 2♂ 2Ψ; Shkodër County, Prokletije Mountains, Okol, stream below Valbonë Pass, N 42°24.385’ E 19°47.917’, 1432 m, 0 1.06.2005, leg. KB, ZB, DM, DP: 1♂ 1Ψ; Tropoja County, Prokletije Mountains, Rrogam, spring system of the Valbonë River, N 42°24.620’ E 19°49.366’, 1457 m, 0 6.10.2005, leg. TD, ZE, ZF, DM: 1♂; Dibrë County, Lurë area, gorge of Setë Stream beneath Cidhnë, N 41°45.036’ E 20°15.754’, 510 m, 10.10.2005, leg. TD, ZE, ZF, DM: 2Ψ; Mat County, Shkanderbeu Mountains, stream in a secondary forest 5 km E of Shtamë Pass along the Burrel–Krujë road, N 41°32.346’ E 19°54.042’, 970 m, 0 8.10.2004, leg. ZF, JK, DM: 1Ψ; Mat County, sidespring of Mat River at Vashë bridge, N 41°28.033’ E 20°06.168’, 350 m, 0 9.10.2004, leg. ZF, JK, DM: 2Ψ; Mat County, Shkanderbeu Mountains, stream in a meadow close to Shtyllë Pass along the Klos–Elbasan road, N 41°22.340’ E 20°05.084’, 1475 m, 0 9.10.2004, leg. ZF, JK, DM: 1♂; Mat County, Shkanderbeu Mountains, small spring 3.8 km SE of Shtamë Pass, N 41°30.234’ E 19°55.186’, 1100 m, 0 8.10.2004, leg. ZF, JK, DM: 1Ψ – MONTENEGRO: Rugovo Mountains, Velika, forest torrent below the Č akor Pass, N 42°40.685’ E 19°59.779’, 1476 m, 0 5.10.2005, leg. TD, ZE, ZF, DM: 1Ψ – MACEDONIA: Šar Planina, spring in a beech forest S of Gorno Jelovce, N 41°46’22.6” E 20°48’47.8”, 1122 m, 15.10.2006, leg. LD, JK, DM: 1♂.

Diagnosis: Male: the ventral hook of cerci ends in a not pointed tip while the dorsal hook ends in a sharp point. The tip of the paraproct is bilobed, bald, granulated, and slightly curved inwards. Medially, tergite X bears two small, sclerotized humps. Female: posterior edge of the pregenital plate nearly truncate and black, with the rest of the plate being light brown.

Description: Large species, macropterous in both sexes. Body length: ♂ holotype 8.5 mm, other males 7.0– 8.5 mm, Ψ allotype 11.0 mm, other females 8.5–11.5 mm; forewing length: ♂ holotype 9.5 mm, other males 9.5–10.0 mm, Ψ allotype 12.0 mm, other females 11.0–12.0 mm. Head light brown behind the posterior ocelli, black anteriorly. Scapes light brown, rest of the antenna black, palpi yellowish. Pronotum subtrapezoidal with rounded corners, dark brown, anterior part of the lateral edges yellow. Legs yellow, distal end of femora and tarsal segments darkened. Wings hyaline, venation dark brown. Abdomen white except for terminal segments, which are dark brown.

Male terminalia: Hypoproct as long as wide, vesicle more than twice as long as wide, slightly narrowing in the middle. Paraproct medial margin of the outer lobe concave, outer margin sinuous. Tip of the outer lobe bilobed and slightly curved inwards. Paraprocts covered with bristles, but the tip of the outer lobe is bald and granulated ( Fig 59 ). Cerci strongly sclerotized, being membranous only in the apex around the vestigial segment, and in the inner base. Cerci broadly convex at the base, then curved inwards and ending in a head with two strong hooks. These hooks are slightly variable in length, but the dorsal one ends in a sharp point, and the ventral one is stumpy. Tergite X medially bearing two small, strongly sclerotized humps under the tip of the epiproct ( Figs 56–58 ). Epiproct slightly elongate, widest in its basal third. Parallel ridges of the ventral sclerite bearing 13–15 spines ventrally. Arms of the ventral sclerite forming an oval, thin ring dorsally, which extends into straight, thorn–like apical sclerites. Apical sclerites half the length of the arms ( Fig 60 ).

Female terminalia: Pregenital plate large, covering most of length and two thirds the width of sternite VII, overhanging the anterior half of sternite VIII. Posterior edge truncate and black, rest of plate light brown ( Fig 61 ). Vaginal complex with two sclerotized, ring–shaped postvulvar lobes and simple receptaculum seminis ( Fig 62 ). Cerci and paraprocts normal.

Larva: Unknown.

Affinities: This is a member of the peristeri group. The male differs from the related N. peristeri Aubert by the stumpy ventral hook of the cerci, the bilobed, bald tip of paraprocts and the smaller medial, sclerotized humps on tergite X. In general, N. anas is larger than N. peristeri . The male differs from the other members of the genus as it is described in the diagnosis of the group: by the hammer–like cercal head and by the thorn– like apical sclerites of the epiproct attached to the thin ring of the ventral sclerite. The female differs from N. peristeri by its pregenital plate ending in a nearly linear posterior edge, that of N. peristeri is rounded. The shape and the coloration of the pregenital plate distinguish the female from most of the members of the genus.

Ecology and distribution: The species was found in karst and other springs, mountain torrents and streams between 350 and 1475 m ( Fig 109 ). It seems to be a rheophilic, cold stenothermal species, although one male was caught at a slow stream (Shkanderbeu Mountains, Shtyllë Pass). We found it in the Shkanderbeu, the Prokletije, and the Mirditë Mountains and in the Šar Planina between the 30 May and the 15 October. Thus, the species seems to be restricted to the southernmost Dinaric Mountains, the central Albanian mountain systems and the Šar Planina, and shows a long flight period from late spring to autumn.

Etymology: The name anas (means duck in Latin) refers to the shape of the cerci that look like duck heads. This method of naming is frequently used in the genus (e.g. N. avicularis Morton , N. sciurus Aubert ). Used as a noun, gender feminine.

Figures

FIGURES 56 – 60. Male of Nemoura anas sp. n. — 56: terminalia, ventral view; 57: terminalia, dorsal view; 58: terminalia, lateral view; 59: paraproct tip, ventral view; 60: epiproct, upside dorsal, downside ventral view — scale 0.5 mm, Figs 59 – 60 not to scale.

FIGURES 61 – 64. Females of Nemoura anas sp. n. and N. peristeri Aubert — 61 – 62: Nemoura anas sp. n.; 63 – 64: N. peristeri Aubert; 61, 63: terminalia, ventral view; 62, 64: vaginal complex — scale 0.5 mm, Figs 62, 64 not to scale.

FIGURES 106 – 109. Locus typicus habitat photos — 106: Terthorë Pass – Nemoura asceta sp. n.; 107: Valbonë spring – Leuctra malcor sp. n., Nemoura vinconi sp. n.; 108: Valbonë River – Leuctra mortoni feheri ssp. n.; 109: Shtamë Pass – Nemoura anas sp. n.