Afronurus gilliesiana (Braasch, 1990)

Wongyam, Anuntaya, Sartori, Michel & Boonsoong, Boonsatien, 2023, Unravelling the diversity of the genus Afronurus Lestage, 1924 (Ephemeroptera, Heptageniidae) in Thailand, ZooKeys 1176, pp. 55-78 : 55

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1176.105159
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BDB513E5-B703-45C3-AAE4-89670655B19B
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/54D8775D-7CAD-59B0-8DB7-250B0454CFDF
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Afronurus gilliesiana (Braasch, 1990)
status

Treatment

Figs 5A-E View Figure 5 , 6A-E View Figure 6 , 7A-C View Figure 7 , 8A-E View Figure 8 , 17C, D View Figure 17

Cinygmina gilliesiana Braasch, 1990: 8, figs 13-16, original description (nymph).

Afronurus gilliesiana - Boonsoong and Braasch 2013: 86.

Material examined.

5 nymphs, Chiang Rai Prov. , Khun Korn waterfall, 19°51'46.10"N, 99°39'4.70"E, 534 m, 6.V.2019, W. Anuntaya leg. (ZMKU); 4 nymphs, Chiang Rai Prov., Nang Lae Nai Waterfall, 20°3'9.50"N, 99°49'16.90"E, 529 m, 6.V.2019, W. Anuntaya leg. (ZMKU); 3 larvae Chiang Rai Prov., Pong Phrabat Waterfall, 20°0'41.80"N, 99°48'15.10"E, 470 m, 7.V.2019, W. Anuntaya leg. (ZMKU) GoogleMaps .

Description.

Nymph. See Braasch (1990: 8, 10, figs 13.1-13.4, 14-16, original description).

Adult. Male subimago (in alcohol, Fig. 7A, C, E View Figure 7 ). Head. Eyes rounded, blackish on both dorsal and ventral parts, pale laterally. Thorax. Yellowish with triangular brown patch on sub-median of mesonotum. Forelegs brownish; lengths of femur, tibia, and tarsi 1.64 mm, 1.24 mm, and 0.63 mm, respectively. Midlegs brownish; lengths of femur, tibia, and tarsi 1.68 mm, 1.38 mm, and 0.72 mm, respectively. Hindlegs brownish; lengths of femur, tibia, and tarsi 1.7 mm, 1.42 mm, and 1.22 mm, respectively. Wings transparent; forewing C, Sc and RA thick and yellowish brown, other veins thinner, Sc and RA parallel along the wing, convergent at base, RS and MP forked basally, MA forked at the middle, and CuP and CuA adjacent at base; hindwings rounded, RA and MA adjacent at base of wing, MA and MP forked at the middle (Fig. 7E View Figure 7 ). Abdomen. Middle area brown with one pair of longitudinal yellow marks, outer margin pale yellow (Fig. 7A View Figure 7 ). Genitalia: penis bilobate, expanding laterally to the enlarged lobes, the inner part of lobes with a small cleft (Fig. 17C View Figure 17 ). Titillators very short, canine-like (Fig. 17C, D View Figure 17 ), forceps 4-segmented, segment I very small, length ratio of segment II to segment III to segment IV is 0.29: 0.12: 0.1 (Fig. 7C View Figure 7 ).

Female subimago (in alcohol, Figs 7B, D View Figure 7 ). Head. Eyes rounded with brownish dorsal part and ventral part dark brown. Thorax. Yellowish with brown patch at margin. Midlegs brownish; lengths of femur, tibia, and tarsi 1.89 mm, 1.46 mm, and 0.66 mm, respectively. Hindlegs brownish; lengths of femur, tibia, and tarsi 2.3 mm, 1.49 mm, and 0.57 mm, respectively. Wings as in male imagos. Abdomen. Tergites VII-IX, middle area pale brown with one pair of pale marks on anterior margin, tergite X pale yellow (Fig. 7B View Figure 7 ). Subanal plate trapezium-shaped and concave at tip (Fig. 7D View Figure 7 ), length 0.2 mm, width 0.5 mm.

Egg.

Chorionic surface covered with pKCTs and eKCTs. Both poles densely covered with pKCTs. Equatorial and subequatorial areas with eKCTs and micropyle beside eKCTs (Fig. 8C View Figure 8 ); area between pKCTs and eKCTs with indistinct small tubercles (Fig. 8B View Figure 8 ), areas of two poles of pKTCs ~ 0.7 × the size of the whole egg (Fig. 8A View Figure 8 ).

Remarks.

Nymph of Afronurus gilliesiana is distinguishable from other species by gill shape, particularly oval-elongated gill I as well as by two large round femoral markings (Figs 5E View Figure 5 , 6D View Figure 6 ). Anterior margin of head with four weak markings (Fig. 5D View Figure 5 ). Abdomen with marking as shown in Fig. 5A View Figure 5 , tergites VIII and IX with pale markings (Fig. 5B View Figure 5 ) and sternites without marks (Fig. 5C View Figure 5 ). Gill V (Fig. 6A View Figure 6 ) and gill VI (Fig. 6B View Figure 6 ) obliquely rounded, triangular, with small projection; gill VII (Fig. 6C View Figure 6 ) broad and asymmetrically oval. Bristles on dorsal face of hind femur spatulate in shape (Fig. E).

Adult male can be distinguished by its genitalia: penis bilobate, expanding into laterally enlarged lobes, the inner part of lobes with a small cleft (Fig. 17C View Figure 17 ).

Habitat.

The nymph of Afronurus gilliesiana was reported by Braasch (1990) from Mae Sot district, Tak province in northern Thailand. In this study, A. gilliesiana was found restricted to three localities in Chiang Rai province. The habitats are unique with high mountain areas, waterfalls, base rock, and some areas of cobbles. The altitude is higher than 400 meters. The nymphs were found attached to the cobbles, away from the base rock with strong water falling from the waterfall. The male and female adults and eggs are described for the first time.

Distribution.

Chiang Rai province (Fig. 18 View Figure 18 ).