Capnia nigra (Pictet, 1833)

Judson, Sarah W. & Nelson, C. Riley, 2012, 3541, Zootaxa 3541, pp. 1-118 : 19

Capnia nigra (Pictet, 1833)

SYNONYMY

Perla nigra Pictet, 1833

Capnia conica Klapálek, 1909

Capnia maynari Navás, 1917

Capnia apicalis Navás, 1930

Capnia nigra Zwick, 1972

TYPE LOCALITY: Switzerland

DIAGNOSIS: Both sexes of C. nigra are macropterous ( Fig. 38). The male epiproct ( Fig. 39) is composed of two separable portions ( Fig. 40), with a simple ventral segment which gradually tapers to the apex. The upper portion is more complex with fluctuations in width and characterized by a bulge in the apical half,then quickly narrows to a blunt point. The female subgenital plate is slightly produced and has a strong scelerotized rectangle in the center ( Fig. 41). The lateral edges of the sclerotized region are more starkly contrasting and demarcated than in C. khubsugulica ( Fig. 35), with sharply defined corners especially at the anterior margin. The nymphal head and abdomen are punctuated with dark spots, including four spots anterior to the ocellus. The nymph metanotum has regular rows of minute setae, a diagnostic character that distinguishes it from other Palearctic Capnia that we examined.

DISTRIBUTION—Global: Trans-Palaearctic— Regional: AOB, IDB— Aimag: BO^, KhG, UB*, ZA.

DISCUSSION: Capnia nigra is the most widespread of the Mongolian capniids, both in terms of its entire Palearctic distribution extending to Europe as well as its frequency of occurrence and greater relative abundance in our sampling. We collected C. nigra in a variety of habitats, ranging from braided channel rivers at moderate elevations to small streams in mountainous areas.