Paraphlebia hunnal Ortega-Salas & González-Soriano, 2022

Ortega-Salas, Héctor, González-Soriano, Enrique & Jocque, Merlijn, 2022, Untangling the waterfall damsels: a review of the Mesoamerican genus Paraphlebia Selys in Hagen, 1861 (Odonata: Thaumatoneuridae) with descriptions of 11 new species, Zootaxa 5089 (1), pp. 1-66 : 14-15

Paraphlebia hunnal Ortega-Salas & González-Soriano sp. nov.

Figs. 8 (head ♂), 21 (thorax ♂), 77, 89 (appendages ♂), 98, 107 (posterior lobe of prothorax ♂), 151 (map).

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:74E83C0A-4560-4836-A57B-278697908431

Holotype. NICARAGUA • 1 ♂; Jinotega, Wiwilí, Cerro Kilambé , below double falls upstream of trailcrossing, near camp site; [13.587°N, 85.710°W]; 1250 m; 30 Jul 2001; González-Soriano, R. Beckemeyer leg.; IBUNAM; IBUNAM:CNIN:OD22722.

Paratypes. NICARAGUA • 1 ♂; Jinotega, Wiwilí, Cerro Kilambé , below double falls upstream of trailcrossing, near camp site; [13.587°N, 85.710°W]; 1250 m; 30 Jul 2001; González-Soriano, R. Beckemeyer leg.; IBUNAM; IBUNAM:CNIN:OD22721 • same data but 1 ♂; Matagalpa, San Ramón, Stream 10 km SE of San Ramón; [12.862°N, 85.831°W]; 700 m; 18–20 Jun 1974; T. Donnelly leg.; TWD:CNIN:OD22720 • same data but 4 ♂♂; IBUNAM:CNIN:OD22723 to 22726 .

Etymology. Named hunnal /̠hʌnˈnɑl/ (L. noun in apposition), after Hun Nal (also Hun Hunahpú or Hun Nal Yeh), the Mayan god of maize, father of the twin gods Hunahpú and Ixbalanqué. Although no evidence of any strong Mayan influence in Nicaragua has been found, there is no doubt about the existence of an extensive commerce network which linked both regions.

Description of holotype

Head. Chiefly black, labrum dark glossy blue, anteclypeus with diffuse pale medial spot, postclypeus with pale blue on anterior half, frons with pale spots between suture with postclypeus and eye margin, vertex with two pale spots anterolateral to lateral ocelli, occiput with complete pale occipital bar, eyes dark brown to black; antennal scape with pale distal margin; antennae pedicel and flagellum brown.

Thorax. Prothorax: chiefly pale on dorsum; middle lobe with medial black spot; see Figs. 98 , 107 for morphology; propleuron black. Pterothorax: chiefly black with diffuse green metallic reflections over dark colouration on mesepisternum and mesepimeron; mediodorsal carina pale; see Fig. 21 for colour pattern; sternum pale with lateral black marks; legs pale, femora with light brown distal rings, tibiae light brown, tarsi light brown, claws reddish.

Wings. Hyaline, slightly amber-tinted, FW with the vein that descends from the subnodus proximal to first post-quadrangular Vx by a distance of one-quarter of the first post-quadrangular cell; CuA in HW not forked, field between CuA and posterior margin with one supplementary vein. Px: FW 39/39, HW 36/34

Abdomen. Black with pale areas as follow: S2 with ventrolateral horizontal lines; S3–8 with basolateral spots; S9–10 and cerci pruinose on dorsum.

Caudal appendages. Cerci: see Fig. 77 (paratype) for morphology. Paraprocts: superior lobe rudimentary, only distinguished by a transverse groove; inferior lobe in lateral view with an acute projection.

Measurements. Abdomen: 41.5, FW: 35.3, HW: 34.

Variation in males.In one paratype from Kilambé, prothorax with an extra diffuse pale line parallel to mediodorsal carina and second line on pterothorax wider, covering four-fifths of metepisternum towards antealar carina.

Measurements. Abdomen: 42.3–47.3, FW: 36–38, HW: 33.3–38; Px: FW 37–42; Px: HW 28–36.

Description of female. Female unknown.

Diagnosis. This species is related to P. kinich and P. flinti and is diagnosed under the latter.

Natural history. This species has been collected along small streams within montane cloud forest.

Distribution. West Nicaragua: it has been collected in two localities on the Jinotega and Matagalpa departments in Nicaragua from 700–1250 m.a.s.l. This is the southernmost species of the genus.

Figures

FIGURES 2–11. Paraphlebia spp. colour pattern of head, frontal view.

FIGURES 95–104. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages and posterior lobe of prothorax. Caudal appendages lateral view (95–97); posterior lobe of prothorax dorsolateral view (98–100); lateral view (101–104).

FIGURES 105–116. Paraphlebia spp. posterior lobe of prothorax frontal view (105–107); dorsal view (108–116).

FIGURES 20–27. Paraphlebia spp. colour pattern of thorax.

FIGURES 73–78. Paraphlebia spp. caudal appendages. (a) dorsal view; (b) mediodorsal view. W – maximum width of mediodorsal flange, w – maximum width of the distal lobe.