Paraphlebia kauil Ortega-Salas & González-Soriano, 2022

Ortega-Salas, Héctor, González-Soriano, Enrique & Jocque, Merlijn, 2022, Untangling the waterfall damsels: a review of the Mesoamerican genus Paraphlebia Selys in Hagen, 1861 (Odonata: Thaumatoneuridae) with descriptions of 11 new species, Zootaxa 5089 (1), pp. 1-66 : 20-21

Paraphlebia kauil Ortega-Salas & González-Soriano sp. nov.

Figs. 11 (head ♂), 26–28 (thorax ♂ ♀), 46 (wings ♂), 70, 90 (appendages ♂), 117, 126 (posterior lobe of prothorax ♂ ♀), 136 (S8– 10 ♀), 150 (map), 160 (habitus ♂).

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E002E58E-7FC0-4A14-B925-1110AB9CE71B

Holotype. MEXICO • 1 ♂; Chiapas, Cacahoatán, Escurrideros alrededor de cascada, 1.5 km al N del ejido Benito Juárez El Plan ; 15.099°N, 92.142°W; 1615 m; 30 Jul 2016; H. Ortega-Salas, C. Raieli & I. Ángeles-Munguía leg.; IBUNAM; IBUNAM:CNIN:OD23062.

Paratypes. GUATEMALA • 2 ♂♂; Solola, Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Río Nahulate, 3.6 km S. of Santa Catarina , tiny barranca; [14.800°N, 91.366°W]; 1700 m; 29 Jun 1962; T. Donnelly leg.; TWD; IBUNAM:CNIN: OD22713, 23141 • same data but 1 ♀; IBUNAM:CNIN:OD22714 • MEXICO • 8 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀; Chiapas, Cacahoatán, Escurrideros alrededor de cascada, 1.5 km al N del ejido Benito Juárez El Plan ; 15.099°N, 92.142°W; 1615 m; 30 Jul 2016; H. Ortega-Salas, C. Raieli & I. Ángeles-Munguía leg.; IBUNAM:CNIN:OD23063 to 23072 • same data but 2 ♂♂; Unión Juárez, Stream 0.4 mi. SW of Unión Juárez; [15.050°N, 92.084°W]; 850 m; 30 Jul 1965; D.R. & M.L. Paulson leg.; FSCA; IBUNAM:CNIN:OD22732, 22913 • same data but 1 ♂; TDW; IBUNAM:CNIN: OD22914 .

Etymology. Named kauil /kɑuˈɪl/ (L. noun in apposition), after Kauil (also Kawil or K’awiil), the Mayan God of lightning, fertility, and dynastic descent.

Description of holotype

Head. Chiefly black, labrum dark glossy blue, postclypeus turquoise to pale blue, frons turquoise to pale blue, vertex with two pale spots anterolateral to lateral ocelli, occiput with complete pale occipital bar, eyes dark brown to black; antennae scape with pale distal margin, pedicel pale on the lateral half and distal margin, flagellum first segment with pale distal margin, distal segments black.

Thorax. Prothorax: chiefly black, pale on notopleural suture; middle lobe with pale spot on posteroventral corner; see Fig. 117 (paratype) for morphology. Pterothorax: chiefly black with diffuse green metallic reflections over dark colouration on mesepisternum and mesepimeron; see Fig. 26 for colour pattern; sternum pale; legs mostly pale; femora with black extensor surfaces and distal joints; tibiae with black distal joints; tarsi brown; claws reddish.

Wings. Hyaline, slightly amber tinted, FW with one post-quadrangular cell, the vein that descends from the subnodus at the first Vx; CuA in HW not forked, field between CuA and posterior margin with one supplementary vein. Px: FW 38/36, HW 30/31.

Abdomen. Black with pale areas as follow: S1 with ventrolateral spots; S2 with ventrolateral horizontal lines; S3–7 with basolateral spots; S9–10 and cerci pruinose on dorsum.

Caudal appendages. Cerci: see Fig. 70 for structure. Paraprocts: rudimentary, without well-defined upper and lower branches; superior lobe rudimentary, only distinguished by a transverse groove; inferior lobe with an acute projection.

Measurements. Abdomen: 43.5, FW: 37, HW: 35.7.

Variation in males. In some individuals a narrow discontinuous line is present on the mesepisternum along the mesopleural suture, and the second pale line of the pterothorax can bend downwards following the suture, getting narrower and reaching the antealar carina. In one individual from Chiapas the metepimeron black marks extend to a curved line on the anterior three-fourths, while in individuals from Santa Catarina, such line occupies the posterior eight-tenths, this line not touching the posterior border of the metepimeron. In some specimens, the vein that descend from the subnodus can be slightly proximal or slightly distal to the first Vx; HW field between CuA and posterior margin with at least one supplementary vein in at least one wing; CuA in HW usually not forked, in some specimens with one supplementary sector. In some specimens, the sclerotized tooth on the mediodorsal flange of the of the cercus can be directed somewhat ventrally, thus not clearly visible in dorsal view.

Measurements. Abdomen: 33.0–44.2, FW: 30.0–37.5, HW: 29.0–36.0; Px: FW 32–42; Px: HW 28–34.

Description of female paratype

Head. As in male.

Thorax. Prothorax pale. Above notopleural suture with medial black spots on medial and posterior lobe; see Fig. 126 for structure. Pterothorax: mediodorsal carina pale; see Fig. 27 for colour pattern; legs pale; depression mesad to mesostigmal lobe in mesostigmal plate angulated.

Wings. Hyaline, with a slightly amber tint; Px: FW 38/38; Px: FW 31/32.

Abdomen. S1 pale; S8 dorsal pale spot absent. S9 pale dorsal spot mushroom shaped, widened to rear. Ovipositor ending beyond tip of cerci.

Diagnosis. This species is similar to the sympatric P. duodecima and the allopatric P. zoe and is diagnosed under the latter.

Natural history. This species has been collected within the spray zone of large waterfalls and streams in mountain cloud forest.

Distribution. Southeast Mexico and West Guatemala: it is known from the western and eastern slopes of the Tacaná volcano and on the Guatemala Sierra Madre between Quetzaltenango and Lago Atitlán. It has been collected from 850–1700 m.a.s.l.

Figures

FIGURES 2–11. Paraphlebia spp. colour pattern of head, frontal view.

FIGURES 117–128. Paraphlebia spp. posterior lobe of prothorax dorsal view.

FIGURES 20–27. Paraphlebia spp. colour pattern of thorax.

FIGURES 67–72. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages. (a) dorsal view; (b) mediodorsal view. W – maximum width of mediodorsal flange, w – maximum width of the distal lobe.