Cloeodes Traver

Nieto, Carolina & Richard, Barton, 2008, The genus Cloeodes (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) in Argentina with new generic synonymy and new species, Zootaxa 1727, pp. 1-21 : 4

Cloeodes Traver

Cloeodes Traver, 1938: 32 ; Waltz & McCafferty, 1987a: 177; 1987b: 192; McCafferty & Lugo-Ortiz, 1995: 33 (Type species: Cloeodes maculipes Traver , original designation.

Notobaetis Morihara & Edmunds, 1980: 606 ; McCafferty & Lugo-Ortiz, 1995: 33 (Type species: Notobaetis penai Morihara & Edmunds , original designation).

Centroptella Braasch & Soldán, 1980: 123 (in part).

Maliqua Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty, 1997: 368 .

Potamocloeon Gillies, 1990: 207 .

Bernerius Waltz & McCafferty, 1987a: 179 . SYN. NOV.

Diagnosis. The genus Cloeodes can be distinguished from the other genera of the family by the following combination of characters. In the adults, 1) fore wings with paired or single marginal intercalary veins; 2) hind wings if present with 2 or 3 longitudinal veins, never bifurcate; 3) genitalia with forceps three-segmented, segment III rounded. In the nymphs, 1) antennae 1.5–3 times the head capsule, scape 1–1.5 times the length of pedicel; 2) labrum scarcely wider than long; 3) mandibles with or without setae between prostheca and mola; 4) left mandible with incisors fused apically, prostheca with denticles apically; 5) right mandible with incisors cleft in two sets, prostheca slender and branched; 6) superlinguae with apicolateral margins with short spines; 7) maxillae with palpi 1–1.5 times the length of galea-lacinia, two-segmented, segment II with a constriction; 8) segment II of labial palpi without projection; 9) dorsal margin of femora with spines, tibiae with a subproximal arc of fine setae; 10) tarsal claws 0.3–0.6 times the length of tarsi, if denticles present minute; 11) hind wing pads absent or present; 12) posterior margin of abdominal terga with spines, sterna II–VI each with long fine setae; 13) gills present on abdominal segments I–VII; 14) paraprocts with spines apically; 15) terminal filament subequal to cerci.

The above diagnosis applies to Cloeodes of South America and is modified from the diagnoses of Waltz & McCafferty (1987a,b) and Domínguez et al. (2006).

Bernerius was established by Waltz & McCafferty (1987a) and was considered to be the sister group of Cloeodes based on the shared synapomorphies of 1) left mandible with incisors fused apically, and a stout prostheca, 2) right mandible with incisors partially fused but separated apically, 3) right prostheca slender and furcate, 4) the presence of an arc of long, fine setae subproximally on the tibia, and 5) simple asymmetrically lamellate and broadly pointed gills. A comparison of the diagnostic characters listed for the two genera yields the following distinct character differences; Bernerius has the thumb of the molar area of the left mandible in the same plane as the anterior margin and abundant long, fine setae ventrally on most abdominal segments, while Cloeodes has the thumb of the molar area transverse to the anterior margin and ventral setae of the abdomen restricted to small tufts of long, fine setae laterally on each side of segments II–VI. Bernerius is said to retain the plesiomorphous condition of abundant long, fine setae on the venter of most abdominal segments, but no examples are given, nor an explanation to explain why this character state would be considered plesiomorphic. None of the outgroup taxa used in this analysis possessed any long, fine setae on the venter of the abdomen. The character of the thumb of the molar area of the left mandible being transverse to the plane of the anterior margin is also ambiguous with regard to ancestral state within the Baetidae . The majority of South American baetid genera have left mandibles with the thumb of the molar area transverse to the plane of the anterior margin. Only a few taxa possess a left mandible with the thumb of the molar area in the same plane as the anterior margin as does Bernerius . This cladistic analysis suggests that these two characters are autapomorphies for Bernerius incus .

The results of the phylogenetic analysis found Bernerius to be included within the genus Cloeodes . For this reason Bernerius is placed as a junior subjective synonym of Cloeodes and B. incus is transferred to this genus.