Anacroneuria clarki, Stark & Baumann, 2011

Stark, Bill P. & Baumann, Richard W., 2011, Records Of Anacroneuria (Plecoptera: Perlidae) From Bolivia And Paraguay With Descriptions Of Three New Species, Illiesia 7 (19), pp. 182-191 : 183-189

Anacroneuria clarki sp. n.

( Figs. 1-5 )

Material examined. Holotype ♂, BOLIVIA, La Paz Department, Province Nor Yungus, Huarinilla, Rio Selva Resort , 16.20198 ° S, 67.79363 ° W, 3821’, 28 April 2006, R.L. Johnson, V.J. Anderson, S.M. Clark ( USNM).

Adult habitus. General color brown, patterned with pale brown or yellow. Head mostly yellow but with a pair of dark brown curved bars extending from between ocelli and curved forward and laterad of ocelli; a pair of pale brown diagonal bars located on occiput behind ocelli and dark brown lappets and a pair of small dark triangles occur near anterior of frons ( Fig. 1 ). Pronotum mostly brown but with pale area located near anterolateral margin. Wing membrane and veins brown except for pale costa and pale spot near cord. Fore and mid femora with dark brown dorsoapical band which is much reduced on hind femora; fore and mid tibiae dark brown along outer margin but pale along inner margin. Antennae dark brown.

Male. Forewing length 9 mm. Hammer thimble shaped ( Fig. 2 ). Aedeagal apex trilobed in ventral and dorsal aspect ( Figs. 3, 5 ); pale mesal lobe projecting beyond lateral lobes and dark along lateral margins in basal half; lateral lobes strongly sclerotized and divergent from mesal lobe giving an ear-like appearance in lateral aspect ( Fig. 4 ). Dorsal edge of aedeagal apex bearing a strong keel with short basal arms ( Fig. 5 ). Hooks slender.

Female. Unknown.

Larva. Unknown.

Etymology. The patronym honors Dr. Shawn Clark, Coleopterist of Brigham Young University. In addition to his expertise in the Coleoptera family Chrysomelidae, Shawn is well known to students of Plecoptera as an outstanding stonefly collector.

Diagnosis. Anacroneuria clarki is part of a small Andean complex of species which includes A. cayapa Stark ( Ecuador) , A. marta Zúñiga & Stark ( Colombia) , A. tejon Baena & Stark ( Colombia) , A. x-nigrum Klap á lek ( Peru) and A. zwicki Stark & Sivec ( Bolivia, Peru) ( Stark 2001; Stark & Sivec 1998; Stark et al. 1999; Zúñiga & Stark 2002). The aedeagus of the new species is similar to A. cayapa and A. x-nigrum in having the apex tri-lobed with a slender, mostly membranous mesoapical lobe projecting beyond the lateral lobes, and it further resembles A. x-nigrum in having a well developed dorsal keel along the entire length of the mesal lobe ( Stark 2001; Stark & Sivec 1998). The two may be sister species within this complex and they are distinguished by the dark interocellar pigment, said to form an X-pattern in A. x-nigrum (Klap á lek 1921; Stark & Sivec 1998), and also by details of the aedeagal apex. In A. x-nigrum the mesoapical lobe is gradually narrowed from base to apex and does not have dark sclerotized edges whereas in A. clarki the mesoapical lobe is constricted near midlength and has dark lateral margins in the basal half.

Anacroneuria clarki sp. n. La Paz

Figures

Figs. 1-5. Anacroneuria clarki structures. 1. Head and pronotum. 2. Male sternum 9. 3. Aedeagus, ventral. 4. Aedeagus, lateral. 5. Aedeagus, dorsal.