Prostoia completa (Walker)

Grubbs, Scott A., Baumann, Richard W., DeWalt, R. Edward & Tweddale, Tari, 2014, A review of the Nearctic genus Prostoia (Ricker) (Plecoptera, Nemouridae), with the description of a new species and a surprising range extension for P. hallasi Kondratieff & Kirchner, ZooKeys 401, pp. 11-30 : 13-14

Prostoia completa (Walker) Figs 9-16, 41

Nemoura completa Walker, 1852: 191. Holotype ♂ (British Museum of Natural History, London), Nova Scotia, Canada

Nemoura glabra (in part) Claassen, 1923: 281. Syn. Illies, 1966: 221

Nemoura glabra : (in part) Needham & Claassen, 1925: 202.

Nemoura completa : Ricker 1938

Nemoura (Prostoia) completa : Ricker 1952: 49

Prostoia completa : Illies 1966: 221

Prostoia completa : Zwick 1973: 346

Prostoia completa : Baumann 1975: 27

Prostoia completa : Poulton and Stewart 1991: 29

Material examined

(Suppl. material 1).

Distribution.

Canada: NB, NS, ON, PE, PQ ( DeWalt et al. 2013), NF (New provincial record); USA: AL, DE, IA, IN, KY, MA, ME, MI, MN, MS, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WI, WV ( DeWalt et al. 2013), MD ( Grubbs 1997), NY ( Myers et al. 2011), TN (New state record).

Remarks.

This species is distributed from Atlantic Canada to South Carolina and westward to Minnesota and Iowa (Fig. 41). Characteristics of the male epiproct remain constant from eastern Canada to the southeastern United States, without any indication of a north-south cline. However, populations from the northern Midwest are somewhat variable. The prior records of Prostoia completa from the Interior Highland region, namely the Ozark Plateau region (e.g. Poulton and Stewart 1991), now likely refer only to Prostoia ozarkensis sp. n., but very few specimens were available for this study. Specimens collected sporadically from the only locality in southern Illinois ( Webb 2002, DeWalt and Grubbs 2011) were reexamined and now are considered Prostoia ozarkensis sp. n. This species was recently listed in Illinois as endangered due to it occurring in a single location in the state ( Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board 2011). Prostoia ozarkensis sp. n. is very closely related to Prostoia completa and separable only by experts as this time. Examination of the relatedness of these two species and congeners using genetic markers is warranted given the implications for conservation status within Illinois.

Although the ranges of Prostoia completa and Prostoia similis (Fig. 42) overlap extensively throughout the eastern Nearctic region, the former species is typically associated with large streams and small rivers. Prostoia completa is less commonly collected from upland, headwater streams, except in the northeastern Nearctic region where both species sometimes occur at the same locality.