Drusus dardanicus, Ibrahimi, Halil, Kučinić, Mladen, Vitecek, Simon, Waringer, Johann, Graf, Wolfram, Previšić, Ana, Bálint, Miklós, Keresztes, Lujza & Pauls, Steffen U., 2015

Ibrahimi, Halil, Kučinić, Mladen, Vitecek, Simon, Waringer, Johann, Graf, Wolfram, Previšić, Ana, Bálint, Miklós, Keresztes, Lujza & Pauls, Steffen U., 2015, New records for the Kosovo caddisfly fauna with the description of a new species, Drusus dardanicus sp. nov. (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae), Zootaxa 4032 (5), pp. 551-568 : 558-561

Drusus dardanicus sp.nov. Ibrahimi, Kučinić & Vitecek

( Figs. 2 A–E, 3A–C)

Type material. Holotype (1 male) and paratypes (2 males): KOSOVO: Podujevë Municipality, Shatoricë Mountain, stream above Bollosicë Village, 1330 m a.s.l., 43.118169°N, 20.99330°E, 11.v.2014, leg. Halil Ibrahimi. Holotype deposited in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina,” Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo. Paratypes (3 males): Same collection and locality data, deposited in the Croatian Natural History Museum, Zagreb (coll. Kučinić-Trichoptera), Croatia. Paratypes (3 males): Same collection and locality data, deposited in the Biologiezentrum des Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseums, Linz, Austria; specimen identifiers for 2 males: fDsp4301M, fDsp4302M.

Diagnosis. Males of the new species are most similar to Drusus discophorus , D. bureschi , and D. balcanicus but differ in exhibiting (1) superior appendages short, triangular in lateral view; (2) dorsally bulging spinate area of tergite VIII narrow and embracing a small median indentation in dorsal view; (3) tips of intermediate appendages evenly rounded in caudal view, arising from a small base in dorsal view; (4) parameres each with 2 strong caudal spines and a subterminal dorsal protrusion bearing several smaller spines. Drusus discophorus males have elongate suboval superior appendages in lateral view; a broad, flat spinate area of tergite VIII embracing a wide, less sclerotized median indentation; medially constricted tips of intermediate appendages in caudal view, arising from a broad base in dorsal view; parameres each with a single, median dorsad spine and several medial, recumbent small spines. Drusus bureschi males have elongate subtriangular superior appendages in lateral view; a broad, long, flat spinate area of tergite VIII embracing a small median indentation; tips of intermediate appendages with a median dorsad protrusion in caudal view, arising from a broad, long base in dorsal view; parameres each with a single, median dorsal protrusion bearing several small spines. Drusus balcanicus males have subquadratic superior appendages in lateral view; a broad, oval, flat spinate area of tergite VIII embracing a small median indentation; slender, short tips of intermediate appendages in caudal view, intermediate appendages with two lateral, medial, proximal protrusions in dorsal view; parameres each with a single, median dorsal protrusion bearing several linearly oriented small spines.

Description. General appearance: Habitus dark, sclerites and tergites dark brown; cephalic and thoracic setal areas pale; cephalic, thoracic and abdominal setation blonde, abdominal setation concentrated on dorsal protuberances on abdominal segments VI & VII; legs brown to fawn, proximally darker; haustellum and intersegmental membranous integument pale, whitish; wings light brown, translucent, with blonde setae. Male maxillary palps each 3-segmented. Each male forewing 11–12 mm long. Spur formula 1,3, 3 in males.

Male genitalia. Tergite VIII dark brown, in dorsal view distinctly incised anteriorly, with lighter areas around fused alveoli; setation concentrated near anterolateral borders of spinate area; transverse width of spinate area about 1/3rd of tergite VIII width, spinate area appearing as two dorsally bulging, subtriangular posterolateral lobes medially connected by band of spines, embracing small medial indentation. Abdominal segment IX ventrally as wide as dorsally in caudal view; in lateral view medially with distinct, rounded caudal protrusion, lacking ventral protrusion. Superior appendages in lateral view short, subtriangular, dorsally straight, ventrocaudal edge longest. Intermediate appendages in lateral view medially bulging caudad, tips rounded, directed dorsad, rough; in dorsal view tips approximately parallel-sided, arising anteromedially, extending laterad with bar-shaped, laterally rounded, rough tip; in caudal view approximately trapezoidal, tips rounded. Inferior appendages (gonopods sensu Snodgrass 1935) in lateral view robust, proximally slightly constricted, distal part subovate, curved dorsad; in dorsal, ventral and caudal views with small median protrusion; in caudal view inferior appendages subovate; setal alveoli fused, creating rugged, less-sclerotized ventral area. Parameres simple, each with 2 distinct apical thorn-like spines and dorsal protrusion at their bases bearing several smaller spines.

Female, pupa and larva unknown.

Etymology. The species epithet was formed by masculinizing the historic name of a region in the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Dardanii tribe, ‘Dardania,’ whose language is supposed to be one of the Proto-Albanian dialects. Roman historians noted the people, and documented a mine (‘ metalla Dardanica ’) and corresponding town (‘municipium Dardanicum ’), which was partly excavated, in the vicinity of the type locality.

Results of phylogenetic species delimitation. In a B/MCMCMC based on partial sequence data from five loci, monophyly of all species, including the putative new species, was highly supported ( Fig. 4 ). Relationships among species in the most derived clade are not resolved. However, Drusus dardanicus sp. nov. is recovered as the highly supported sister to D. osogovicus Kumanski 1980 . The clade (( D. osogovicus + D. dardanicus sp. nov.) + D. bureschi + D. balcanicus + D. discophoroides Kumanski 1979 ) is sister to D. muranyorum Oláh 2010 , and ((( D. osogovicus + D. dardanicus sp. nov.) + D. bureschi + D. balcanicus + D. discophoroides ) + D. muranyorum ) is recovered as sister to D. popovi Kumanski 1980 , with D. discophorus basal to this clade.

Ecology, systematics and distribution. Larval stages of Drusinae are typical inhabitants of crenal to epirhithral sections of streams (Graf et al. 2008). Adults of the new species were collected in the vicinity of a typical Drusinae larval habitat—a first order stream of 2–2.5 m width, surrounded by dense riparian vegetation. Substrate was dominated by meso- to macrolithal, with some larger boulders covered with water moss, and abundant organic matter (in the form of cut trees, branches and twigs, and leaves). Male morphology and position of the species in the phylogenetic analysis suggest a grazing feeding ecology of the larvae ( Pauls et al. 2008). The species D. dardanicus sp. nov. belongs to the D. discophorus Species Group, as corroborated by both comparative morphology and molecular genetic analysis.

Based on the currently available regional collection data, the new species putatively is a micro-endemic of the Western Balkans, restricted to the watershed of the Llap River.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Male genitalia of Drusus dardanicus sp. nov. 2 A, right lateral view; 2 B, right paramere in right lateral view; 2 C, ventral view, 2 D, caudal view, 2 E, dorsal view. Scale bar 1 mm. Drawn by Vitecek.

FIGURE 4. Results of phylogenetic inference. B / MCMCMC species tree analysis for nine Drusus species (24 terminal taxa) based on 3444 - bp-long sequence from 5 loci (mtCOI 5 - P + mtCOI 3 - P + 16 SmrDNA + CADH + 28 S). Bold branches indicate highly supported (pp ≥ 0.95) clades.