Heteragrion denisye sp. nov. (Odonata: Zygoptera: Heteragrionidae), a notable species from Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil Vilela, Diogo Silva Koroiva, Ricardo Guillermo-Ferreira, Rhainer Zootaxa 2019 2019-09-19 4671 4 589 594 Vilela & Koroiva & Guillermo-Ferreira, 2019 Vilela & Koroiva & Guillermo-Ferreira 2019 [151,397,1257,1284] Insecta Megapodagrionidae Heteragrion Animalia Odonata 1 590 Arthropoda species denisye sp. nov.  ( Figs. 2a, c, d; 3and 4 a̅e)     Holotype.³( LESTES, RK054), BRAZIL, Minas Gerais, São Roque de Minas, Serra da Canastra National Park( -20.2323, -46.6085,  1305 masl),  25 x 2018, Diogo S. Vilela, Ricardo Koroiva, Vanessa Nobrega& Marcellus Leraleg.   Etymology.Named  denisye(noun in genitive case) after Denisy Aparecida Silva, teacher, educator and beloved mother of the first author.   Description of holotype/ Head.Labium light grey; labrum black; base of mandibles and genae black; remain- der of the head black, except for lighter spots lateral to each lateral ocellus and pale postocular lobes ( Fig. 2c). Posterior head pale, with dark markings laterally.  Thorax.Prothorax black dorsally; anterior lobe blue/grey laterally; middle lobe mostly blue laterally except for a small pale spot posteriorly; posterior lobe entirely black, bent caudad. Pterothorax black, with thin blue/pale stripes along the main thoracic sutures (mesopleural, metapleural and interpleural); remainder of thorax blue/grey. Legs; coxae pale grey, black medially; all femora and pro-, meso tibiae black externally, brown internally, metatibiae brown; spines longer than the space between them, becoming longer towards the apex on femora, and shorter towards the apex on tibiae; metatarsi missing ( Fig. 2a, d).  Wings.Hyaline, almost reaching S8; venation brown; pterostigma dark brown overlying 2 FW to 2 1/2 HW cells, oblique proximally; two postquadragular cells in FW and HW, 18 Px in FW, 16 HW ( Fig. 3).  Abdomen.Black, with pale basal rings from S3 to S7; S1 black dorsally, pale blue laterally; S2 with a pale area on its lower portion; ventroposterior portion of S8 and entire ventral portion of S9–S10 pale yellow.   FIGURE 2a, c–d.  Heteragrion denisye  sp. nov.holotype from Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Head in dorsal view, pro and pterothorax in lateral view (a); head in dorsal view (c); pro- and pterothorax in dorsal view. Figure 2b.  Heteragrion cyaneMachado & de Souza, holotype from Barroso, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Head in dorsal view, pro and pterothorax in lateral view (b).   FIGURE 3.  Heteragrion denisye  sp. nov.Holotype from Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Wings.  Anal appendages.Black with dark brown coloration medially; ventrobasal expansion present, occupying at least 1/3 of the appendage; basal (BP) and medial portion (MP) subequal; medial portion dilated, almost rectangular, ventral branch of medial process plate-like with a bilobate apex and a distinct (almost straight) ridge; apical portion (AP) the shortest, ending with a beak-like blunt tip curved inwards ( Fig. 4a–e). Paraprocts greatly reduced. Measurements (in mm). FW: 24.5; HW: 23.4; Abdomen: 28.8; Total: 36.5.  Differential diagnosis.  Heteragrion denisyebelongs to Lencioni’s Group A, consisting of males lacking an elongated paraproct. It is a remarkable new species mainly due to its blue coloration pattern and cerci morphology. The cerci of  H. denisyeare easily distinguished from other congeners by the reduced apical portion, the latter elongated in most of Brazilian  Heteragrionspecies, including those of Group A (see Lencioni 2013for a review of  HeteragrionGroup A). In  Heteragrion, the apical portion of cerci is rarely shorter than the basal and medial portions. In Group A,  H. denisyeshares the short apical portion with  H. johndeaconiand  H. gracile.  Heteragrion denisyecan be easily distinguished from  H. johndeaconiand  H. gracileby exhibiting a blunt bilobated MP tip. The MP tip is rectangular shaped in  H. johndeaconiand “W” shaped in  H. gracile. Two species that can be found in Minas Gerais statemay resemble  H. denisye:  H. cyaneand  H. obsoletumSelys, 1886.  Heteragrion denisyeoccurs in a locality 400 kmaway from the typelocality of  H. cyane( Fig. 1). Both species are only known from their typelocalities. In comparison with  H. cyane( Fig. 4),  H. denisyeexhibits the three portions of the cerci with some differences. In  H. denisye, BP and MP are subequal in size and AP is visibly the shortest portion. In  H. cyane, BP is the shortest whereas MP and AP are subequal. Both  H. denisyeand  H. cyanehave a ventrobasal expansion on the basal portion of cerci, less concave in  H. cyane( Fig. 3a) in comparison to  H. denisye( Fig. 4c).  Heteragrion denisyehas a ventral branch on MP, with a rectangular plate-like conformity (MP in Fig. 3a), similar to  H. cyane(MP in Fig. 4c). However, in the latter, the apex of MP is rounded, while  H. denisyehas MP with bilobated apex. As for  H. obsoletum, the only comparable trait Selys (1886) mentions for  H. obsoletumis that “un renflement ou dent interne arrondie après leur milieu”, suggesting that male cerci have rounded MP. Therefore, here we consider that  H. denisyemay be distinguished from  H. obsoletumby the presence of a bilobed MP, rounded in  H. cyane. We cannot make further accurate comparisons or associate  H. obosoletumwith any known  Heteragrionspecies because of the problematics involved. First, the validity of  H. obsoletumis yet to be addressed until the holotypeis found or a neotypedesignated. The only known specimen had its cerci lost before Selys finished its description (Selys 1886, p. 58) and nothing is known of the whereabouts of the holotype, except for its original label in the RBINS collection (Jérôme Constant pers. comm.; Fig. 5). Machado & Souza (2014)mentioned that the description of  H. obsoletummade by Selys (1886) is very poor in terms of structural characters, what hampers comparisons. Moreover, in a personal communication, Marcel Wasscher mentioned that “Unfortunately, Selys had made no drawing or notes on that species”. Second, the type locality of  H. obsoletum, Caxambu, has been visited by Ângelo Machado in several expeditions, nevertheless, specimens of  H. obsoletumcould never be found (Ângelo Machado pers. comm.). Moreover, Caxambu is distant from the type localities of  H. cyaneand  H. denisye( Fig. 1).   FIGURE 4a–e.  Heteragrion denisye  sp. nov.Holotype from Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Cerci morphology (a); cerci in: dorsal view (b); mediolateral view (c); mediodorsal view (d); ventral view (e). Figure 4f–h.  Heteragrion cyaneMachado & de Souza, holotype from Barroso, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Cerci in: mediodorsal view (f); dorsal view (g); lateral view (h). BP: basal portion; MP: medial portion; AP: apical portion.  Habitat and Ecology.This species was collected in a first order stream near to a Vereda (i.e., palm swamp) within the altitude fields (which differs from the surrounding phytophysiognomies mainly by its sparse vegetation, lacking woods and often occurring> 1.300 masl) of the park ( 27 kmfrom São Roque de Minas, entrance to the Serra da Canastra National Park, Fig. 6). The species was found perching on a shaded area of the stream ( Fig. 6a), which was quite difficult to access due to the tall grass and muddy soil. We collected several  Peristictaspp., a couple  Argiasp. and one female Franciscagrion franciscoiMachado & Bedê, 2016 inthe same area.  Final remarks. Most  Heteragrionspecies are often characterized by their yellow/orange body coloration contrasting with dark pterothoracic stripes, mainly on the middorsal carina and mesepimeron. However, coloration seems to be a plastic trait even among conspecifics, therefore, should not be considered a reliable character for taxonomic use ( Lencioni 2013). Nevertheless, some species are known to exhibit colors that diverge from the common yellow/orange/black pattern, which are easily recognizable both in the field and in collections. For example, Machado & de Souza (2014)described  H. cyanefrom Minas Gerais state, a remarkable species with a blue/black body pattern. Dunkle (1989)described  H. azulumfrom a single male collected in Mexico, with blue-gray bands on the pterothorax and orange coloration from segments eight to ten.  Heteragrion incaCalvert, 1909also seems to present some blue thoracical colors (Rosser Garrison pers. comm).  Heteragrion denisyeis certainly a remarkable species in terms of coloration, being easily distinguished from other  Heteragrion. Finally,  H. denisyewas found within a National Park that harbors many endemic and poorly known species ( Machado & Bedê 2015; Novaes et al.2018; Cezário et al.2018, in press). Furthermore, the habitat in which  H. denisyewas collected differs from the areas where it is common to find other  Heteragrionspecies ( Fig. 6). Instead of inhabiting shaded areas in dense forests,  H. denisyewas found in a small patch of vegetation in an open field ( Fig. 6a̅b). The discovery of this new species justifies the actions for species conservation in the National Park, such as the expeditions that resulted in this study, which are essential for monitoring populations of these rare and already endangered species. Furthermore, the altitude fields are known for their high degree of fauna endemism, yet are one of the most susceptible to anthropic pressures ( Vasconcelos 2014). Therefore, more collections are needed in the immediate surroundings and other areas of the park to find additional populations of these species. 2416712769 2018-10-25 LESTES Diogo S. Vilela & Ricardo Koroiva & Vanessa Nobrega & Marcellus Lera Brazil 1305 -20.2323 Serra da Canastra National Park 7 -46.6085 Sao Roque de Minas 1 590 RK054 1 Minas Gerais holotype