Nemoura nankinensis Wu, 1926

Chen, Zhi-Teng, 2020, The larvae of Rhopalopsole vespertilio Chen & Du (Plecoptera: Leuctridae) with biological notes on sympatric Nemoura nankinensis Wu (Plecoptera Nemouridae), Zootaxa 4767 (4), pp. 578-588 : 586-587

Nemoura nankinensis Wu, 1926

Fig. 11 .

Nemoura nankinensis Wu, 1926 . J. Sci. Arts., 5: 332; Wu, 1938. Plecopt. Sin., 182; Illies, 1966. Das Tierreich, 82: 208. Baumann, 1975. Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 211: 21; Yang, Li & Zhu, 2015. Fauna Sinica Insecta , 58: 376; Chen & Du, 2017b. Zootaxa, 4254(2): 298; Chen & Du, 2017c. Illiesia, 13(10): 102; Yang & Li, 2018. Species Catalogue of China. Vol. 2. Animals, Insecta (III), Plecoptera 20; Chen, 2020. Zootaxa, in press.

Material examined. Forty-nine males, five females, four larvae, China: Jiangsu Province, Jurong City, Mt. Maoshan ( Fig. 1 ), 31°47′15″N, 119°18′23″E, 160 m, 5 March 2020, leg. Zhi-Teng Chen (ICJUST).

Biological notes. Nemoura nankinensis and R. vespertilio were the only two stonefly species collected during our trip at Mt. Maoshan. Larvae of N. nankinensis inhabited leaf packs and also undersides of small stones ( Fig. 11A ). The newly emerged male adults, typical of many nemourids, could be found on top of dry rocks ( Fig. 11 B–D). Apparently, males drummed by bending the abdomen and tapping rock surfaces ( Fig. 11 E–F). Adults and larvae of N. nankinensis were collected along most sections of the mainstream flowing from the peak of the mountain into the valley. This species occurred from rapid-flowing sections of the stream to areas where the stream became subterranean. Several adults were found even along a valley section with no flow and much submerged filamentous algae and macrophytes. Several years ago, this section of the stream was a fast flowing ( Fig. 11 G–H).

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Prof. Yu-Zhou Du and Yangzhou University for teaching me the taxonomy of the Plecoptera . I am also grateful to Dr. Boris Kondratieff and anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and manuscript improvement. This work is funded by the Start-up Funding of Jiangsu University of Science and Technology (1182931901).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitat of Rhopalopsole vespertilio Chen & Du, 2017 and Nemoura nankinensis Wu, 1926. A. gate of Mt. Maoshan; B. main stream from top to bottom of Mt. Maoshan; C–F. different types of habitats.

FIGURE 11. Nemoura nankinensis Wu, 1926.A. larva found in leaf packs; B–D. newly emerged adults; E–F. male adults drumming on rocks; G–H. Valley section with no flow and highly enriched with submerged filamentous algae and macrophytes.