68. Neoperla simplex n. sp.

(Figs. 391–393)

Type material. Democratic Republic of the Congo: ♀ holotype, Coll. Mus. Congo Yangambi [0.767, 24.441] 11-V- 48 M. Gapon Don R. Mayné (MRAC, NEOP232, on minuten pin; genitalia and eggs on glass slide). 1♀ paratype, Musée du Congo Sankuru Komi VII-1928 J. Ghesquière \ R. det. 1943 P \ Neoperla haugi Nav. P. Navás S.J. det. (SMNS, ex MRAC, pinned, genitalia and eggs on pinned slide). Republic of Cameroon: 1♀ paratype, Libamba 10km E of Makak 18-1-VI-1974 filtered black light, J.A.Gruwell (USNM, pinned, genitalia and eggs on slide USNM _115)

Habitus. WL 11–13mm. Body colour light to dark ochre with a brown spot across the ocelli. Pronotum brownish, legs slightly infuscate, wings grey and turbid.

Male. Unknown.

9 The site was not located, possibly a misinterpretaion of the handwritten label. There are several locations with similar names in Guinea.

Female (Fig. 391). S8 with short nail without inner crests, vagina unmodified. SSt short, sausage-shaped, about 1.5* as long as vagina, completely scaly, distal scales slender, pointed and forming a dense coat (Fig. 391).

Egg (Figs. 392–393). Size 310–350 µm long (specimens from Sankuru and Libamba, respectively), 1.4–1.5* longer than wide, oval, operculum wide and bluntly rounded. The flat anchor pole surrounded by a smooth ring, no collar (Fig. 392). Egg of female from Libamba with shallow anchor cavity, in eggs from the Congo the large mushroom-shaped anchor inserts in a minute depression. Egg not striate, punctation moderately fine, visible at 100*, dense, distances between punctures little larger than the punctures themselves. On most of the surface there is no order but on the operculum punctures locally stand in lines and create a delicate network (Fig. 393). Micropyles in a loose ring near egg midlength.

DNA (Figs. 491–492, 497). Only the female holotype from the D. R. Congo was sequenced with the genome-skimming approach, resulting in only 1,551bp of mitochondrial, protein-coding genes. The species is nevertheless very strongly supported (97/100/100) as sister to N. larvata n. sp. + N. heideae n. sp. .

Note. Because of the nail on female S8, N. simplex n. sp. had been placed in the N. excisa - N. sjostedti - operational complex which is now confirmed by DNA.

Etymology. Female genitalia as well as egg chorion are structurally simple (Latin simplex), to which the adjectival name alludes.