Argia mauffrayi Garrison & Ramón-Cabrera, 2019

Garrison, Rosser W. & Ramón Cabrera, Giovanni M., 2019, Argia mauffrayi n. sp. from Ecuador (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), Zootaxa 4545 (2), pp. 286-292 : 287-291

Argia mauffrayi Garrison & Ramón-Cabrera , n. sp.

Figs. 1 (head, thorax, S1–4), 2 (S7–10 lateral), 3 (S5–10 dorsal); 4 (appendages mediodorsal); 5 (appendages lateral), 6 (cerci dorsal), 7 (genital ligula lateral), 8 (genital ligula entolateral); 9 (genital ligula ectal); 10 (thorax), 18 (map).

Etymology. Named mauffrayi (Latinized name) in honor of the collector William F. Mauffray in recognition to his valuable contributions to the knowledge of Neotropical Odonata .

Specimens examined. 2 ♂♂. Types. Holotype ♂: ECUADOR, Pichincha Province, San Miguel de Los Bancos Cantón, Recinto Milpe, Milpe Bird Sanctuary , Mirador Uno Trail , 0.0333° N, 78.8661 W, 1101m., 4 ix 2018, WFM leg. ( ZSFQ); Paratype ♂: Esmeraldas Province, Reserva Canande , 0.5203° N, 79.0866° W, 470m, 15 v 2012, Jessica Ware & Melissa Sanchez leg. ( RWG) .

A largely orange species with forcipate cercus armed terminally with a decumbent tooth and with a small unilobate paraproct.

Description of holotype. Head ( Fig. 1 ). Labrum, genae, clypeus and antefrons orange, epicranium black with small orange spot anterolateral to lateral ocellus, large orange postocular spots confluent laterally with margin of compound eye; scape orange, pedicel black; rear of head black above, pale orange below with an ill-defined isolated black spot above gena.

Thorax. Prothorax orange except for anterior margin of anterior lobe black and dorsal portion of middle and hind lobes black with narrow middorsal stripe of orange on middle and posterior lobes. Mesothorax ( Fig. 1 ) with mesepisternum orange, paler orange laterally, black parallel middorsal stripe as wide as pale antehumeral stripe; black humeral stripe divided at upper 0.60, the anterior branch a narrow line along mesopleural suture with mesopleural fossa black, the posterior branch gradually narrowing and ending before subalar carina; metapleural stripe black, slightly narrower than humeral stripe, metapleural carina edged with black; anterior half of mesepisternum and most of metepimeron black; venter of thorax pale orange.

Wings. Slightly flavescent with venation black; pterostigma trapezoidal, dark brown, surmounting one cell in all wings; postnodals Fw 13/13, Hw 12/11; postquadrangular cells Fw 3/3, Hw 3/3; RP 2 at Fw 6/7, Hw 5/5. Coxae and trochanters orange, femora orange with tip becoming black, tarsi and armature black, tibiae orange, black basally.

Abdomen ( Figs. 1–3 ). Mostly orange; S1 orange with a wash of black at basal 0.30; S2 orange laterally with an ill-defined black stripe constricted medially, apical annulus black; S3 orange with a poorly defined narrow dark lateral stripe interrupted medially, annulus black; S4–6 similar to S3 but posterior darker portion of succeeding segments becoming more extensive and defined; S7 with orange basal annulus followed by dorsolateral black interrupted dorsally with orange terminating with black at apical fifth; S8 black dorsally, orange laterally ( Fig. 2 ); S9 black with a small longitudinal tear-shaped, middorsal spot ( Fig. 3 ); 10 entirely black; torus orange, appendages black.

Genital ligula (as in Figs. 7 ‒ 9 ). With a long stiff flagellum, and a shorter medial trilobed process, the two lateral lobes of which are triangular in ventral (ectal) view (as in Fig. 9 ), and the decumbent median lobe is quadrate apically (as in Fig. 8 ); the latter process with an evenly curved arcuate ridge; more basally at base of flagellum a pair of decumbent rounded lobes.

Caudal appendages. Torifer orange, torus large, planar, roundly triangular (as in Fig. 4 ), occupying entire ventral margin of torifer and not overlapping bilobed epiproct; epiproct black, small, slightly bilobed (as in Fig. 6 ); cercus (as in Figs. 4–6 ) slightly longer than paraproct, about three times longer than wide, slightly swollen basally with medial basal margin slightly convex and slightly narrowing distally with a strongly acuminate mediolaterally directed tooth, dorsal surface of cercus with long cluster of thick hairs; mediodorsal surface of cercus slightly depressed along medial margin; paraproct unilobate, almost quadrate in lateral view with a narrow tuberculate tip (as in Fig. 5 ).

Female. unknown.

Measurements. Hw 19.0, abdomen 26.5, total length 33.0.

Variation in paratype. Similar to holotype but with black humeral stripe divided at upper 0.70 (e. g. Fig. 10 ), wings slightly more flavescent and with small middorsal orange stripe confined to hind lobe of prothorax and S9 entirely black. Pterostigma surmounting one cell in all wings; postnodals: Fw 12–12, Hw 11–10; postquadrangular cells Fw 3–3, Hw 3–3; RP 2 at Fw 6–5, Hw 4–4. Dimensions. Hw 18.0, abdomen 24.5, total length 31.0.

Diagnosis. This species is unique by overall orange coloration, mostly black S9 and 10, and genital ligula and caudal appendage morphology. The only other South American species of Argia with a largely orange body is A. infumata Selys but it differs greatly in genital and appendage morphology (Garrison & von Ellenrieder 2015). Genital ligula and appendage morphology of A. mauffrayi resemble those of A. cuspidata Garrison & von Ellenrieder, 2018 and A. acridens , although appendage morphology is most similar to that of A. acridens ( Fig. 11–17 ). However, they differ by: 1) dorsal surface of cercus covered with thick hairs in A. mauffrayi ( Figs. 4, 5 ) compared to being bare in A. acridens ( Figs. 13, 14 ), and 2) the cercus in dorsal view being slightly forcipate, with basomedial margin only slightly convex in A. mauffrayi ( Fig. 6 ) versus greatly expanded into a basomesal round lobe as in A. acridens ( Fig. 15 ). Additionally, the torus in A. mauffrayi ( Fig. 4 ) is roughly triangular but is smaller and more oval in A. acridens ( Fig. 13 ). The apical process of the paraproct of A. mauffrayi in lateral view is small and minutely bilobed ( Fig. 5 ) whereas the apical process in A. acridens is broader and roughly quadrate ( Fig. 14 ). The basal trilobate process and paired lateral lobes in the genital ligula in A. mauffrayi ( Figs. 7–9 ) are lacking in A. acridens ( Figs. 16, 17 ).

Remarks: Argia mauffrayi is unusual in its overall orange coloration and lack of any pale color on the terminal abdominal segments. Specimens are noticeable in the field as Sanchez, one of the collectors of the paratype, noted its orange color when reporting its capture to Garrison. Mauffray and Tennessen noted the following: "[The holotype] was collected at approx 9:30am along forested trail on a very steep hill with a few small sun-lit spots. It was collected as it flew upward and perched on a leaf in one of these sunny spots along with Argia variegata [Förster], Argia oculata [Hagen in Selys] and Polythore gigantea [(Selys)]. There was no seepage nor stream at that location; however, there was a small seepage stream about 50 meters from the location. Ken and I continued to look for other specimens and even returned to the site about an hour later, but the weather had turned cloudy" and "..when I first saw the specimen flying–it appeared mostly orange–[and thought] it's a small Heteragrion !"

Although the female of A. mauffrayi is unknown, we suspect that the mesostigmal plates will likely be poorly developed similar to the female sex of A. acridens , A. cuspidata (Garrison & von Ellenrieder 2018, Figs. 69 & 72 respectively) and A. mishuyaca Fraser, 1946 (Garrison & von Ellenrieder 2015, Fig. 7c ). The curvilinear cercus in the males of these three species are longer than the paraproct and are armed terminally with a apical decumbent tooth—a condition similar to that illustrated here for A. mauffrayi .

Argia mauffrayi , which is sympatric with A. acridens and A. cuspidata , is thus far known only from Esmeraldas and Pichincha Provinces in western Ecuador ( Fig. 18 ).

Figures

FIGURE 18. Distribution of Argia acridens and A. mauffrayi.

FIGURES 1–10. Color pattern of head, thorax, S1–4, lateral view (1); S7–10, lateral view (2); S5–10, dorsal view (3); appendages, mediodorsal view (4); same, lateral view (5); cerci, dorsal view (6); genital ligula, lateral view (7); same entolateral view (8); same ectal view (9); thorax, lateral view (10).

FIGURES 11–17. Color pattern of head, thorax, S1–4, lateral view (11); S7–10, lateral view (12); appendages, mediodorsal view (13); same, lateral view (14); cerci, dorsal view (15); genital ligula, lateral view (16); same ectal view (17).