Paraphlebia akan 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 : 7-8

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

Figs. 2 (head ♂), 14 (thorax ♂), 63, 83–84 (appendages ♂), 118 (posterior lobe of prothorax ♂), 150 (map).

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Holotype. GUATEMALA • 1 ♂; Zacapa, Río Hondo , Trib. Río Cañas , above Jones ; [15.130°N, 89.530°W]; 1700 m; 22 Aug 1976; T. Donnelly leg.; TWD; IBUNAM: CNIN:OD22717

Etymology. Named akan /ɑˈkɑn/ (L. noun in apposition), after Akan, the Mayan God of alcoholic beverages and other toxic and hallucinogenic substances. This seems appropriate since this species occurs in the region where the renowned Zacapa Rum is produced.

Description of holotype

Head. Chiefly black, labrum dark brown to black, anteclypeus dark brown, postclypeus cream over bluish base, with a narrow black line on posterior margin, frons with pale spots anterolateral to antennae, occiput with complete pale occipital bar, eyes dark brown to black; antennae scape black with dark brown distal border, pedicel and flagellum dark brown.

Thorax. Prothorax: chiefly pale on dorsum; middle lobe with black dorsolateral spots; posterior lobe with black lateral spots, see Fig. 118 for morphology; propleuron black. Pterothorax: see Fig. 14 for colour pattern.

Wings. Hyaline, with slight amber tint; FW with 1.0/1.4 post-quadrangular cells, on the left wing, the vein that descends from the subnodus at the first Vx, on the right wing this vein is distal to the first Vx by a distance of twofifths of the second post-quadrangular cell; HW field between CuA and posterior margin lacking supplementary veins, CuA in HW not forked.

Px: FW 34/30, HW 28/27.

Abdomen. Chiefly black; S1 dark brown; S2 with pale ventrolateral horizontal stripes; S3–7 with pale basal rings, on S7 not closing dorsally; S9–10 and cerci pruinose on dorsum.

Caudal appendages. Cerci: see Fig. 64 for morphology. Paraprocts: rudimentary, superior lobe completely absent; inferior lobe in lateral view smoothly rounded.

Measurements. Abdomen: 41.5, FW: 34.1, HW: 33.3

Description of female. Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Paraphlebia akan belongs to the group of species with the mediodorsal flange of the cerci welldeveloped. Three species, P. chiarae , P, hyalina , and P. kukulkan are similar to P. akan ; however, the distal margin of the cercus has a sclerotized blade-shaped tip ( Figs. 63, 65–66 ), while in P. akan the tip is smoothly rounded ( Fig. 64 ). Paraphlebia hyalina is set apart from P. akan , P. chiarae , and P. kukulkan by having clearly forked paraprocts with well-developed upper and lower branches ( Figs. 62a , 81–82 ). In P. akan the paraprocts are rudimentary, in lateral view smoothly rounded and with no indication of an upper branch ( Fig. 83–84 ). Paraphlebia chiarae and P. kukulkan are intermediate, having a poorly developed upper branch defined by a shallow groove and a welldeveloped lower branch with an acute projection directed posteriad ( Fig. 93–94 ). Paraphlebia kukulkan has the most easily distinguishable cerci, in dorsal view the mediodorsal flange convex and narrowest proximal to half its length ( Fig. 66a ), while in P. akan , P. hyalina and P. chiarae each cercus is smoothly curved throughout its length and narrowest at its proximal end ( Figs. 63a–65a ). The posterior lobe of the prothorax in P akan , P. chiarae , and P. hyalina is similar in shape with the posterior margin semi-circular and entire ( Figs. 112 , 118, 120 ); however, in P chiarae and P. hyalina , depending on the position, it can appear to have a shallow medial notch and is slightly convex towards the outside edges. Paraphlebia kukulkan differs from the other three species by having subtriangular lateral margins with one straight side at least as long as four-fifths of the lobe width ( Fig. 112 ).

Natural history. The holotype was collected in a stream within a mountain wet forest.

Distribution. East-Central Guatemala: known only from the type locality north of Zacapa on the south slope of the Sierra de las Minas National Park in Río Hondo department at 1700 m.a.s.l.

Figures

FIGURES 2–11. Paraphlebia spp. colour pattern of head, frontal view.

FIGURES 117–128. Paraphlebia spp. posterior lobe of prothorax dorsal view.

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

FIGURES 62–66. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages (a) dorsal view; (b) mediodorsal view. W – maximum width of mediodorsal flange, w – maximum width of the distal lobe.

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 85–94. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages lateral view.

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