Epipleoneura parmula Tennessen & Garrison, 2023

Tennessen, K. J. & Garrison, R. W., 2023, Epipleoneura parmula sp. nov. (Odonata: Coenagrionidae: Protoneurinae) from Amazonian Ecuador, Zootaxa 5343 (4), pp. 395-400 : 396-400

Epipleoneura parmula Tennessen & Garrison , sp. nov.

Figs. 1 , whole body scan; 2, head & thorax; 5, wings; 6, genital ligula; 7, 8, caudal appendages; 11, distribution map.

Etymology. Named parmula , noun in apposition (from L. noun parma: small shield) referring to the shape of the male epiproct.

Primary Types: Epipleoneura parmula : holotype ♁, ECUADOR: Orellana Province: Primavera, Laguna Taracoa {0.4652°S, 76.7638°W}, 247 m, 27 July 1977, Dennis R. Paulson & Susan Hills leg. [examined, in FSCA] .

Specimens examined: 23 ♁♁ (all paratypes): 6 ♁♁, ECUADOR: Orellana Province: same data as holotype [ CSCA, RWG]; 5 ♁♁, same data but 13 July 1977, S. M. & Kenneth W. Knopf leg. [ FSCA, RWG]; 9 ♁♁, pond 8.2 km west of Río Payamino at Coca, Hwy. E 20, 0.48°S, 77.08°W, 290 m, 18 November 1997, Kenneth J. Tennessen leg. [ FSCA, RWG]; 1 ♁, pond 11.2 km west of Río Payamino at Coca, Hwy. E 20, 0.4827°S, 77.0997°W, 300 m, 18 November 1997, Kenneth J. Tennessen leg. [ FSCA]; 1 ♁, Río Shiripuno , Shiripuno Lodge, 26 km southeast of Shiripuno bridge [image # 3463-68], 1.1047°S, 76.7317°W, 235 m, 23–26 January 2009, David Wagner, William Haber, Elacio Tapia, Jim Miller & Virginia Wagner leg. [ RWG]; Napo Province: 1 ♁, Airport pond, Jatun Sacha Road, road to airport at Zancudo, 3.8 km ENE of Jatun Sacha, shallow pond with water lilies formed by widening of tiny stream (waypoint 460), 1.0483°S, 77.5861°W, 382 m, 26 January 2011, William Haber, Fred Morrison & Ronald Vargas leg. [ RWG]; 1 ♁, road south to Pulini from main road to airport and La Punta, 21 km southeast of Tena , 1 km south of road junction, large pond (W-460), 1.0743°S, 77.6521°W, 470 m, 22 January 2011, David Wagner, William Haber, Fred Morrison & Ronald Vargus leg. [ RWG] .

A lentic species, slender ( Fig. 1 ), dorsum dark with metallic reflections, thorax and abdomen tan laterally, and male epiproct with two elongate fused branches.

Description of holotype.

Head. Epicranium matte black with a dark metallic transverse crossbar between antennal bases; labium and maxilla tan; sides of mandibles yellow tan with medial brown spot; genae yellow tan with an upper brown triangular mark lateral to antefrons; labrum golden tan with small dark brown basomedial spot and seven stout setae on ectal surface and anterior margin; anteclypeus tan; postclypeus dark brown distally, tan basally; frontoclypeal suture brown; antefrons tan; frons angulate; antenna mostly tan, segment 1 darker than remainder; rear of head black except border adjacent to compound eyes narrowly yellow ( Fig. 2 ).

Thorax. Prothorax black dorsally with a slight metallic luster, tan laterally (as in Fig. 1 ), posterior margin of hind lobe broadly convex, tan, the tan border extended medially; propleuron mostly brown. Mesepisternum black with a slight metallic luster, no pale antehumeral stripe; mesepimeron yellow tan with an upper brown stripe isolating an upper narrow yellow-tan stripe (below mesopleural, or humeral, suture), the brown stripe beginning as a light brown mark on mesinfraepisternum, continuing light brown on anterior 1/8 of mesepimeron then continuing and widening as a dark metallic stripe to antealar carina, then extending posteroventrally and ending above metapleural suture; metapleural suture and metapleural fossa brown; metepisternum yellow tan except posteriorly where dark brown mesepimeral stripe runs along antealar carina; metepimeron yellow tan; pterothoracic venter light tan; coxae and trochanters yellow tan; femora light yellow except for wide, diffuse light brown ring in basal third, a narrow light brown ring in posterior third, and apex dark; tibiae, tarsi and claws yellow with darkened apices, spines dark. Wings hyaline, venation black to dark brown; MP ending 1/3 of a cell distal to vein descending from subnodus; 13 Px in Fw, 10 in left Hw, 11 in right HW; Pt light brown, overlying 1.0 cell (as in Fig. 5 ).

Abdomen. Predominantly brown dorsally (as in Fig. 1 ); S1 and S2 tan laterally and ventrally; S3–7 with an extremely small anterior tan band, tan ventrally, brown laterally except light brown in posterior third of each segment; S8 largely tan laterally, S9 dark brown laterally, S10 dark brown. Anal appendages short, cercus and paraproct about ½ length of S10; cercus in lateral view with a dorsoposteriorly directed dorsal branch bearing an apical hook and a lobe-like ventral branch ( Fig. 7a ), in posterior view with a reduced, rounded medial process bearing a small black tooth ( Fig. 7c ); epiproct oriented vertically, in lateral view only partly visible ( Fig. 7a ), in posterior view with two fused, elongate parallel lobes, the tips angled medially and produced as nipple-like lobes ( Figs. 7b, c, 8 ); paraproct in lateral view about same length as cercus, apex conical and acute ( Fig. 7a ). Genital ligula lacking internal fold but with a small, sharply pointed inner process (best seen in lateral view when ligula is relaxed and carefully flexed away from basal segment ( Fig. 6 ); flexure with a pair of posterolateral membranous pedunculate processes ( Fig. 6 ); terminal segment in ectal view with lateral edges upcurved, apices expanded and rounded ( Fig. 6 ), in lateral view tapered to pointed apex ( Fig. 6 ).

Measurements of holotype. Hw 19.0, abdomen 29.0, total length 34.0

Variation in paratype males. Some males with epicranium, dorsum of prothorax and mesepisterna dark metallic green as in Fig. 2 . Pterostigma surmounting 0.7–1.0 cells; postnodal crossveins: Fw 11–14 (usually 12), Hw 9–11 (usually 10).

Measurements of paratypes (mean in parentheses). Hw 17.3–18.7 (17.9), abdomen 28.5–30.5 (29.2), total length 33.1–35.5 (34.0).

Diagnosis: In Pessacq (2014), the new species keys out to couplet 23 in which E. pallida Rácenis ( Figs. 4 , 10 ) and E. ocuene De Marmels ( Figs. 3 , 9 ) are separated. The dorsal branch of the cercus in those two species is directed dorsally compared to dorsoposteriorly in E. parmula . Compared to E. parmula , the epiproct is shorter in E. pallida ( Fig. 10 ) and longer in E. ocuene ( Fig. 9 ). The gap between the two branches in both E. ocuene and E. pallida is larger than in E. parmula . Both E. parmula ( Figs. 1, 2 ) and E. pallida ( Fig. 4 , but see below) possess a pale narrow antehumeral stripe that is lacking in E. ocuene ( Fig. 3 ). The original description of E. pallida ( Rácenis 1960) based on the holotype describes a largely pale thorax (“Cada mesepisternón, verde-metálico, color que ocupa más de la mitad de este esclerito; la parte posterior de los mesepisterna y todos los mesepimera, pardo-rojizos; en la parte dorsal de los mesepimera hay una mancha irregular, negruzca y con un brillo metálico; el resto del sintorax es de un color pardo-amarillento.”) with a metallic middorsal stripe confined to the middle half of each mesepisternum (hence the specific epithet pallida ). Our small series of males from Peru that we have identified as E. pallida has a more extensive dark thoracic pattern as shown in Fig. 4 . However, the male appendages of our Peruvian specimens match those figured by Rácenis for E. pallida in all essentials. The genital ligula of all three species is essentially the same though we have not observed the presence of the small, sharply pointed inner process in E. ocuene and E. pallida that is characteristic of E. parmula .

Discussion: The presence of an inner process on the genital ligula of E. parmula was unexpected as Garrison et al. (2010) stated that Epipleoneura lacked an inner process distal to the flexure, and Pessacq did not report an inner process in any of the 25 species he examined and illustrated. We examined 18 species for an inner process similar to that of E. parmula and found it present only in E. humeralis (Selys) . In addition, reexamination of E. haroldi Santos showed that it has a pair of hyaline, entally directed inner processes at the base of the terminal segment.

The typical habitat for Epipleoneura is slow to moderately flowing streams ( Lencioni 2005; Garrison et al. 2010; pers. obs.). However, all adults of the new species were collected only at the margin of several ponds and a lake with nearby forest. Other Odonata observed at the various sites were: Lestes sp. , Acanthallagma caeruleum Williamson , Argia pulla Hagen in Selys, Epipleoneura lamina Williamson , Metaleptobasis minteri Daigle , M. spatula von Ellenrieder , Telebasis griffinii (Martin) , Neoneura rubriventris Selys , Diastatops pullata (Burmeister) , Erythemis haematogastra (Burmeister) , Nephepeltia phryne (Perty) , Oligoclada monosticha Borror , Perithemis lais (Perty) and P. parzefalli Hoffman.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. 1, 2, 5, 6: Epipleoneura parmula ♁ paratype; Fig. 3 Epipleoneura ocuene ♁ paratype; 4 Epipeoneura pallida ♁. Fig. 1. Habitus; Figs. 2–4 head and thorax, dorsolateral (2) and lateral views; Fig. 5 wings; 6 genital ligula ectal (left) and lateral (right) views.

FIGURES 7–10. Figs. 7, 8: Epipleoneura parmula ♁ holotype; Fig. 9 Epipleoneura ocuene ♁ paratype; Fig. 10 Epipeoneura pallida ♁. Fig. 7 caudal appendages, a (lateral), b. (lateroposterior) and c (posterior) views; Figs. 8–10 caudal appendages, posterior view.