Leptoperla tsyrlini, Mynott & Theischinger, 2016

Mynott, Julia H. & Theischinger, Gunther, 2016, A New Species Of Leptoperla Newman, 1839 (Plecoptera: Gripopterygidae), Illiesia 12 (11), pp. 60-63 : 61-63

Leptoperla tsyrlini sp. n.

( Figs. 1 -5)

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Plecoptera .speciesfile.org: TaxonName:492727

Material examined. Holotype male, Australia, Victoria, Glenelg River at Sanford-Bahgallah Road, -37.61922, 141.42864, (EPA Victoria Site Code : JKN), 15 October 2013, EPA Victoria; Specimen accession number: JMH1829 ( LTU); KX687986 (GenBank); K.462971 (AM).

Male (Holotype), juvenile.

Head. Grey with ill-defined irregular yellow patches along eye margin; antennae greyish.

Thorax. Largely dark brownish grey. Pronotum wider than long. Legs greyish yellow; in all legs the distal third to half of femur and basal fifth to sixth of tibiae and second tarsal segment somewhat darker than remainder; claws black; basal tarsal segment of hindleg as long as apical segment. Both wings basically hyaline, slightly suffused with greyish yellow, forewing extensively and irregularly mottled/clouded with yellowish grey.

Abdomen. Largely greyish yellow, on each side with narrow greyish brown dorsal line close and parallel to imaginary mid-dorsal line and wider greyish brown lateral stripe.

Genitalia ( Figs. 1, 2 ). Lateral sclerites of tergite X angled, the apices widely separated; posterior sclerite short and tapered, projecting posterodorsally from a rather deep base; epiproct in lateral view slightly arched dorsally, subtriangular in dorsal view, end-hook narrow, lateral teeth alternating in size from large subapical to large basal; paraprocts thin, slightly arched dorsally, inner margin with small subtriangular ventral lobe at about mid-length, apex narrowed to thin hook curving ventrolaterally.

Dimensions. Body length 6.5 mm, forewing 7.5 mm.

Female. Unknown.

Larvae ( Paratypes): 3 specimens: Victoria, Heywood, Fitzroy River , 29 December 2012, Z. Billingham; Accession numbers: JMH1311 (LTU), KX687989 ( GenBank ), K.462972 (AM); JMH1312 (LTU), KX687988 ( GenBank ), K.462973 (AM); JMH1313 (LTU), KX687987 ( GenBank ), K.462974 (AM). (Non-paratypes): 8 specimens: same data .

Head. Pale brown with darker pigment on occiput; dark lateral stripe from scape to posterior head margin (Fig. 5). Antenna without long fine setae (Fig. 4).

Thorax. Pronotum longer than wide; pronotum pale with darker medial and lateral stripes; pleural area with dark patches (Fig. 3). Meso- and metanota with straight hind margin; all nota with on surfaces and margins. Legs: long and thin; femora and tibiae with short fine setae on all surfaces, tibiae with fringe of long fine setae on outer margin, femora with some scattered long fine setae on outer margin. Femora with dorsolateral dark longitudinal stripe, a broad dark transverse band distally. Tibiae with proximal, narrow dark band; inner margin of tibiae with long robust setae; hind tarsi with segment three greater than half as long as segment one.

Abdomen. Narrow, dorsal light stripe on abdominal segment one through nine, darker laterally (Fig. 3 & 4). All terga (surfaces and hind margins) with short fine setae; tergite X longer than wide, apex rounded. Cerci without long fine setae.

Dimensions. Body length 8.5 mm – 9.0 mm (n=11).

Etymology. This new species is dedicated to our colleague Edward Tsyrlin who recognised the distinctive larval morphology.

Remarks. A combination of widely angled lateral sclerites and short upright posterior sclerite of tergite X, an epiproct with a narrow end-hook, and paraprocts with a simple, narrow, laterally pointing end-hook and a small, triangular ventral lobe ( Figs 1, 2 ) distinguishes the male of Leptoperla tsyrlini sp. n. from all other Leptoperla species. Leptoperla tsyrlini sp. n. is most similar to L. neboissi McLellan, 1971 , a species with more rounded lateral sclerites of tergite X and distinctly less hooked paraprocts with a much larger ventral lobe (Fig. 6). Tsyrlin (2001), in comparison to other Leptoperla larvae, indicates that the new species has a relatively long pronotum, a longer tarsomere one of the hind tarsus, and a complete absence of a fringe of setae on the pronotal edges. The new species appears endemic to the Glenelg and Fitzroy Rivers of southwestern Victoria.

Figures

Figs. 1, 2. Leptoperla tsyrlini sp. nov., male, genitalia: (1) dorsal; (2) lateral.