Palingenia indica F.-J. Pictet, 1843

Sartori, Michel & Bauernfeind, Ernst, 2020, Mayfly types and additional material (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) examined by F. - J. Pictet and A. - E. Pictet, housed in the Museums of Natural History of Geneva and Vienna, Revue suisse de Zoologie 127 (2), pp. 315-339 : 319

Palingenia indica F.-J. Pictet, 1843

Palingenia indica F.-J. Pictet, 1843 -1845: 151-152, pl. 13, fig. 4.

Polymitarcys indicus . – Eaton, 1871: 61 (transfer).

Polymitarcys australis Hagen, 1888 . – Ulmer, 1924b: 32 (tentative synonymization).

Ephoron indicus . – Spieth, 1940: 110 (transfer).

Accepted name: Ephoron indicus (F.-J. Pictet, 1843) .

Locus typicus: “… qui provenait des Indes Orientales”.

Type material: NMW; holotype [by monotypy], ♀ imago; Pictet vidit / Polymitarcys indicus Pict. Type [Ulmer’s handwriting] .

Remarks: The specimen, sent by Kollar, is slightly damaged (distal half of right fore wing, right middle leg, left hind leg and right cercus missing). Most probably it was collected by Carl August v. Hügel (1759-1870), who travelled in southern India and Punjab in 1831- 1836. His material was acquired in 1839.

The most complete description of this species was provided by Chopra (1928) based on new material from India. Moreover, he had the opportunity to examine the holotype deposited in Vienna. His material has in common with the type: (i) the costal field of the forewing tinted with violet, (ii) a longitudinal violet band dorsally on the abdomen, (iii) the coloration of the fore legs of the female. It differs, however, by the number of intercalaries in the cubital field (4-5 on the type specimen but 6 in the Indian material) and by the length of the terminal filament, equal in length to the cerci according to F.-J. Pictet’s description and drawing. In the type specimen the right cercus is broken near the base (remainder missing), the left cercus and the terminal filament are apparently of equal length, but in fact the tip of the left cercus is missing and the correct measurements presumably correspond with Chopra’s material. The paracercus is obviously shorter in the Indian material (“in the female the lateral ones are 11-13, while the median seta is 7-8 mm long”; Chopra, 1928: 128). According to Lestage (1921) the single female from Tonkin ( Vietnam) and referred to E. indicus possessed a terminal filament as long as its cerci.

Ulmer (1913) reported several females of E. indicus from Java. According to his short description, the terminal filament is shorter and the cubital field of the fore wing is slightly different to what Lestage observed in his Vietnamese specimens.