Epeorus (Caucasiron) kapurkripalanorum Braasch 1983

Vasanth, M., Selvakumar, C., Subramanian, K. A., Sivaramakrishnan, K. G. & Sinha, Bikramjit, 2021, Contribution to the study of Epeorus Eaton, 1881 (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae) from India, Zootaxa 4991 (3), pp. 499-522 : 516

Epeorus (Caucasiron) kapurkripalanorum Braasch 1983

Diagnosis: The species Epeorus (C.) kapurkripalanorum can be distinguished by the following combination of characters: in larva (i) margin of gills with spines; (ii) femora without any hypodermal femur spot; and (iii) claw without denticles.

Distribution: India (Himachal Pradesh).

Remarks: Kapur & Kripalani (1963) studied the collections of Zoological Survey of India in May and June, 1955 from Kullu and the Lahaul-Spiti Valleys in Western Himalayas and recorded a species of Ironopsis but did not formally name the species. Braasch (1983) could not have access to those specimens but named it as I. kapurkripalanorum . Braasch (2006a) included E. kapurkripalanorum in Epeorus rheophilus group but his grouping did not gain wide acceptance. Subsequently, Kluge, 1989 clearly recognized six subgenera of the genus Epeorus based on valid morphological criteria. Based on Kluge (1989), Hrivniak et al. (2020 a, b) the shape of gill II of E. kapurkripalanorum provided by Kapur & Kripalani (1961, fig. 14b) indicate its inclusion in the subgenus Caucasiron . Kluge (1997, 2015) studied and described in detailed E. rheophilus Brodsky, 1930 and suggested the synonymy of E. kapurkripalamorum with E. rheophilus which extends range of this species from Palearctic to Oriental realm. However, E. kapurkripalanorum apparently belongs to the genus Caucasiron whereas Kluge (2004) included E. rheophilus in the subgenus Ironopsis . Such ambiguities can be resolved only by future exploration in the type locality and association of life stages of E. kapurkripalanorum .