Ephemera (Sinephemera) pictipennis Ulmer, 1924

Lei, Zhi-Ming & Zhou, Chang-Fa, 2024, The subgenus Sinephemera Kluge, 2004 in China (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeridae: Ephemera Linnaeus, 1758), Zootaxa 5517 (1), pp. 1-68 : 31-35

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5517.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B73493AB-2F80-43B2-9396-218EC54A0472
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13915343
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/C513C56F-0507-C135-FF11-FD80F79BFDF2
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Ephemera (Sinephemera) pictipennis Ulmer, 1924
status

Treatment

Ephemera (Sinephemera) pictipennis Ulmer, 1924 ( Figs 27–32 View FIGURE 27 View FIGURE 28 View FIGURE 29 View FIGURE 30 View FIGURE 31 View FIGURE 32 , 64 View FIGURE 64 )

Ephemera pictipennis Ulmer, 1924: 28 (male imagine; sytypes from Shanghai, Kuling, China).

Ephemera pictipennis — Ulmer, 1925: 93; Wu, 1935: 248; Ulmer, 1935–1936: 212; Hsu, 1937: 292 (male imagine); Gui, 1985: 95; You et Gui, 1995: 106 (male imagine); Zhang et al., 1995: 75; Zhou, 2013: 186 (list); Hwang et al., 2008: 163 (list); Zhou, 2013: 186 (list); Zhou et al., 2015: 234 (list); Kluge, 2004: 237 (list, subgenus incertae sedis); Sartori et al., 2016: 57 (type depository).

Ephemera nigroptera Zhou et al., 1998: 139 (types: male and female, Huang-Tu-Ken, Anhui); Zhou et al., 2003: 70 (first description of nymph) (Synonymized by Zhou, 2013: 186).

Description (see Zhou et al., 1998 and Zhou et al., 2003).

Diagnosis: (1) Nymph: Length of frons ca. 1.5–2.0 width, anterior margin concaved into half, lateral margins slightly convex ( Figs 27 View FIGURE 27 , 28A View FIGURE 28 ). (2) Tergite I with very shallow hump ( Fig. 28B View FIGURE 28 ). (3) abdomen has similar color pattern to male or female. Male imagine: (1) Ocelli with black basal band ( Fig. 29A View FIGURE 29 ). (2) Coxae of all legs with chocolate to deep brown stripes or dots, femora of all legs yellow to amber ( Figs 30A–C View FIGURE 30 ), apical half to 2/3 of foretibiae black, foretarsi brown, especially apex of segments ( Fig. 30A View FIGURE 30 ); mid– and hindtibiae and tarsi pale ( Figs 30B–C View FIGURE 30 ). (3) All margins of pronotum chocolate, pair of dorsal stripes wide and black; meso- and metathorax blackto deep chocolate ( Figs 29A–C View FIGURE 29 ). (4) Forewings with various tints of chocolate dots and stripes, whole plates tinged amber, outer half black ( Fig. 30D View FIGURE 30 ). (5) Hindwings with median dot, veins black ( Fig. 30E View FIGURE 30 ). (6) Abdomen pale to white, with chocolate to deep brown stripes: tergites I–VI with pair of oblique stripes near lateral margin, progressively smaller from anterior to posterior, those on tergite VI sometimes indistinct to invisible ( Fig. 29A View FIGURE 29 ); lateral margins of tergites black ( Fig. 29C View FIGURE 29 ). Sternites I–VIII with pair of oblique stripes, those on sternites VI–VIII nearly straight; sternite IX almost black ( Fig. 29B View FIGURE 29 ). (7) Genitalia: Styliger plate white but with a pair of dots or short amber stripes, posterior margin of it slightly concave. Forceps brown to chocolate but 1/3 base pale to white; segment I and III subequal in length, segment II ca. 1.5x segment I, segment IV slightly shorter than segment III. Penes pale, slender, lateral half sclerotized, about 2.0x segment I of forceps in ventral view; apex of penes slightly expanded, forming a lateral projection ( Figs 30G–H View FIGURE 30 ).

Female imagine: Color pattern similar to male imagine except those of tergites ( Figs 29 D–F View FIGURE 29 ): tergites I–IV with pair of oblique stripes, tergites V–VII with two pairs of stripes fused at posterior ends, tergites VIII–IX with three pairs of stripes fused together in both ends ( Figs 32D–F View FIGURE 32 ); those stripes on tergites V–IX usually fused together into pair of nearly straight stripes; tergite X with pair of lateral dots ( Fig. 29D View FIGURE 29 ).

Comparison: This species is unique in its white-black body, relatively large body ( Fig. 29 View FIGURE 29 ) and half pigmented wings with black dots and markings ( Figs 30D–F View FIGURE 30 ). Its males have longer penes than others ( Fig. 30G View FIGURE 30 ). The penes of this species is similar to those of E. purpurata (long, spear-like, Figs 30G–H View FIGURE 30 ), but their body and wings have very different color (this species is black-white, but E. purpurata is reddish black). The nymphs of it can be identified by their large body and body stripes.

Remarks: this species has distinct black stripes on white abdomen, male and female have different color patterns.

Zhou et al. (1998) named the species E. nigroptera and described its nymph in 2003. But later Zhou (2013) synonymized it with E. pictipennis . This mainly results from the different color pattern of females ( Fig. 32 View FIGURE 32 ). After examining the types of “ E. nigroptera ”, it is believed here their different color patterns are variations of different populations. If the stripes on female tergites of “ E. nigroptera ” fuse together into one pair of stripes, they become the pattern of E. pictipennis ( Figs 29 View FIGURE 29 , 32 View FIGURE 32 ). Those two species have same genitalia.

Some materials of this species, especially the types of “ E. nigroptera ”, were collected in the morning (about 9:00 local time).

Material examined: China: 4 ♂ imagine, Huang-Tu-Keng, Jixi county , Anhui province, leg. Chang-Fa Zhou, 1996-V-1 (original specimens of “ Ephemera nigroptera ”) ; 1 nymph, same as the former locality, leg. Bei-Xing Wang & Fu-Rong Gui, 1998-II-11; 3 nymphs, same as the former, 1998-VII-27; 2 nymphs, Cha-shui river, Yuanfang town, Xiuning county , Anhui Province, leg. Bei-Xing Wang & Fu-Rong Gui, 1998- III- 1 ; 2 ♂ imagines, 1 nymph, gate of Tian-Mu-Shan, Zhejiang Province, leg. Chang-Fa Zhou, Yan-Yan Jia and Ping Chen, 2009-IV-26 – 27 ; 4 nymphs, same locality of the former, leg. Wei Zhang & Zheng-Xin Ma, 2019-IV-3 ; 6 ♀ imagines, Che-Ba-Lin, Guangdong Province, leg. Chuan-Chuan Gu, 1991-IV-26 ; 12 ♂ imagines, Hua-Wang village, Jing-Xiu , Guangxi Province, leg. Huai-Jun Xu, 2002-IV-13 ; 2 ♂ and 12 ♀ imagines, Si-Xing logging camp, Wuyi Mt. , Fujian Province, leg. Wei Zhang & Zhi-Min Lei, 2012-IV-15 ; 2 ♂ and 3 ♀ imagines, Ma-Tou hill, Jiangxi Province, leg. Shuang Qiu, 2021-IV-17 ; 1 ♂ and 10 ♀ imagines, Jiu-Xi village, Suining county , Hunan Province, leg. Lang Peng, 2021-V-25 .

Syntypes of Ephemera pictipennis are deposited in Zoological Museum of Hamburg ( Sartori et al., 2016) .

Distribution ( Fig. 64 View FIGURE 64 ): China (southern half).