Tupiperla pessacqi sp. nov.

(Figs. 2 E–F, Figs. 5 A–E)

Material Examined. Holotype. Male. Brazil: Santa Catarina: Urubici, Cachoeira Avencal, 1229m a.s.l., S28°02.798, W49°37.070, 08.i.2010, light trap, HF Mendes, LC Pinho & RA Moretto col. (MZSP).

Paratypes. Same data as holotype, except for: 4 females; same data , except for: 1 female; same data, except for: Cachoeira Véu de Noiva – 1350m a.s.l., S28°07.380, W49°28.808, 09.i.2010, 1 male, 1 female (UFBA); same data , except for: S28°01’51’’, W49°36’01’’, LC Pinho & AP Amaral col., 1 male; same data, except for: São Joaquim National Park, Rio Italianinho, Cachoeira, S28°08’49’’, W49°37’06’’, 05.ix-07.x.2014, Malaise trap, LC Pinho et al. col., 1 male ; Rio da Serra, 12.xii, light trap, 1 male ; Brazil: Santa Catarina: Grão Pará, Rio Braço Esquerdo, S28°09’01’’, W49°21’21’’, 16.xi.2012, light trap, LC Pinho, LC Gomes & AL Schlindwein col., 1 male ; same data, except for: S28°07’48’’, W49°25’25’’, 7.iv-7.v.2013, Malaise, LC Pinho & V Freitas col., 1 female; same data, except for: Rio Três Barras, S28°12’44’’, W49°27’28’’, 15.xi.2012, light trap, LC Pinho, LC Gomes & AL Schlindwein col., 1 female .

Measurement. Holotype, male: head width, 1.0 mm; pronotum width, 0.8 mm; pronotum length, 0.67 mm; forewing length, 8.3 mm; hind wing length, 7.2 mm; 15 cercomeres.

Paratypes: Male (n= 5): head width, 0.98–1.0 mm; pronotum width, 0.7–0.8 mm; pronotum length, 0.64–0.67 mm; forewing length, 8.2–8.3 mm; hind wing length, 7.1–7.2 mm; 15–16 cercomeres. Female (n= 8): head width, 1.1 mm; pronotum width, 0.9 mm; pronotum length, 0.68–0.8 mm; forewing length, 9.8–10.0 mm; hind wing length, 8.3–8.4 mm; 14–15 cercomeres.

Description. Tupiperla pessacqi sp. nov. is a small sized species. General color brown. Head brown with lighter area in front of the coronal fork, and laterally to the eyes (Fig. 2E); ocelli and eyes black; anterior part of frons darker; labrum brown, darker than clypeus; lateral part of the head, behind the eyes, with a dark brown band. Maxillary palpus brown; labial palpus light brown. Antenna brown. Pronotum brown, square with rounded corners, and narrower than the head (Fig. 2E). Legs dark brown, covered with thin bristles; femur lighter proximally and darker distally and with disto-ventral spine present; tibia and tarsi dark brown; tibia with two spurs distally; tarsi with tarsomere 1 medium, tarsomere 2 short, and tarsomere 3 long. Wings membranous, brown; forewing with a weak darker pattern bordering veins and crossveins, pterostigmatic crossvein absent, RA unforked, RP forked and CuA long forked; hind wing with M3+4, near its separation from M1+2, fused with CuA in part of its length, CuA short forked, 6th anal vein fused with hind margin of wing (Fig. 2F). Cercomeres covered by conspicuous small bristles.

Male. Abdomen brown, with a conspicuous inverted trapezium-shaped clear band on abdominal terga 1–9. T10 dark brown. T10 extension, in dorsal view, elongated and thin, ending in two teeth, which are close to each other (Fig. 5A); in lateral view, straight dorsally, ending in two downcurved teeth (Fig. 5C). Paraprocts, in ventral view, thin, and with apex twisted (Fig. 5B); in lateral view, with middle region broad, apex truncated and up curved (Fig. 5C). Subgenital plate brownish with apex triangular, and prolonged between the paraprocts (Fig. 5B). Epiproct absent.

Female. Abdominal segments 1–7 lighter; St 7 with two conspicuous sclerites. St8 forms a sclerotized subgenital plate, rectangle-shaped and with rounded corners; proximal margin of the plate where it meets St7 strongly sclerotized; apex of the plate reaching St9, but not surpassing it (Figs. 5 D–E). Paraprocts short, and with apex slightly truncated (Figs. 5 D–E). Several thin bristles covering the St8–10 and paraprocts.

Nymphs. Unknown.

Remarks. Tupiperla pessacqi can be distinguished from the congeners by the shape of paraprocts in males and by the subgenital plate of female. The paraprocts of T. pessacqi resembles those of T. illiesi, however, in the latter species, each paraproct has a subapical lateral spine, whereas in T. pessacqi the distal region is twisted. In addition, the paraprocts of T. illiesi are covered by minute teeth on the dorsal margin, absent in T. pessacqi . The subgenital plate of female of the both species are distinctive. In T. pessacqi the subgenital plate is square-shaped, whereas in T. illiesi, the plate is truncate to oblong with small posterolateral extensions.

Tupiperla pessacqi is described based on male and female specimens collected in the municipalities of Urubici and Grão Pará, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Most of the material comes from Avencal (including the holotype) and Véu de Noiva waterfalls in the São Joaquim National Park in Urubici. Additional material was collected in Serra River in Urubici, and Braço Esquerdo and Três Barras rivers in Grão Pará .

Etymology. The specific name pessacqi honors Prof. Dr. Pablo Pessacq, Argentina, for his contribution on taxonomy of aquatic entomology, especially related to Odonata and Plecoptera .