Allocapnia sano, Grubbs, 2006

Grubbs, Scott A., 2006, Allocapnia sano, a new species of snowfly (Plecoptera: Capniidae) from Alabama, U. S. A., plus six new state records, Zootaxa 1197, pp. 39-43 : 39-41

Allocapnia sano sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 A–D).

Male. Body length 4.0–4.5 mm. Wings reaching 7th or 8th abdominal tergite. Dorsal process of 8th tergite very high with plateau at same plane as abdomen; apical segment of epiproct dorsal limb nearly 1.5X length of basal segment, expanded in lateral view and greatest in posterior half, and distinctly upturned at apex ( Fig. 1A ). Dorsal process tuberculate, forming a transverse bar with broad, shallow V­shaped posteriomedial indentation ( Figs. 1 B–1C).

Female. Body length 6.5–7.0 mm. Wings reaching 8th tergite to beyond tip of abdomen. Eighth abdominal sternite heavily sclerotized medially with broadly­rounded posterior projection ( Fig. 1D ); separated from 7th sternite by membrane.

Material examined

Holotype male, paratype female, and one paratype male, U.S.A., Alabama, Madison Co., Cold Spring, Monte Sano , 3 km E Huntsville, 17 II 2003, S. A. Grubbs ( SAG) and D. E. King ( DEK) ( INHS) ; Paratypes, same but 2 males, 2 females ( WKU) ; same but 9 III 2003, 3 males, 3 females ( WKU) ; same but 4 II 2006, 2 males, 10 females ( WKU) .

Etymology The species name is in reference to Monte Sano, which is Spanish for "mountain of health." The common name, Sano snowfly, is proposed for this species ( Stark et al. 1998).

Diagnosis

Allocapnia sano likely belongs to the A. recta (Claassen) species group ( Ross & Ricker 1971), which includes A. loshada Ricker , A. malverna Ross , A. mohri Ross & Ricker , A. polemistis Ross & Ricker , A. recta , A. sequatchie Kondratieff & Kirchner , and A. starki Kondratieff & Kirchner. Morphological characteristics used to define the A. recta group, as “…dorsal process of the male eighth tergite arcuate or only slightly incised, and situated on a marked posterior elevation of the tergite. The male seventh tergite lacks a process…” ( Ross & Ricker 1971), are exhibited by A. sano . The male of A. sano is most similar to A. loshada and A. sequatchie due to the expanded apical segment of the epiproct dorsal limb and the posteriorly­incised tubercle of the 8 th abdominal tergite. However, the lack of a subapical notch on the epiproct limb of A. sano easily distinguishes it from A. loshada ( Fig. 1 , Kondratieff & Kirchner 2000) and the small button­like dorsal process of A. sequatchie (Figs. 10–11, Kondratieff & Kirchner 2000) contrasts with the bar­like process of A. sano . Females in the A. recta group are difficult to differentiate ( Ross & Ricker 1971; Kondratieff & Kirchner 2000) and the female of A. sano cannot be reliably distinguished from other members of this group.

Remarks

Allocapnia sano is known only from the type locality. Cold Spring emanates from a sandstone capstone layer near the summit of Monte Sano in northern Alabama. The spring flows down a boulder­laden, high­gradient channel prior to sinking within fractured limestone. Allocapnia sano may be found from similar habitats along the Cumberland Plateau both in Alabama and north into Tennessee.

The known ranges of A. loshada and A. sequatchie do not overlap with A. sano . Allocapnia loshada is an Appalachian species known from a small geographic area encompassing eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and West Virginia. Allocapnia sequatchie has been collected only from Tennessee’s Sequatchie River Basin.

Figures

FIGURE 1A–D. Allocapnia sano sp. nov. A. Male terminalia, lateral. B. Male terminalia, dorsal, SEM micrograph, 200X. C. Male terminalia, dorsal, SEM micrograph, 500X; D. Female terminalia, ventral.