Abstract
The unique Neotropical species of the alderfly genus Protosialis van der Weele, 1909, P. bifasciata (Hagen, 1861), is herein transferred to the newly described genus Caribesialis gen. nov. This new taxon is proposed to be sister to the clade Protosialis + Sialis Latreille, 1802, after a phylogenetic analysis that included male genital characters scored on a previous morphological matrix of the family. Also, Ilyobius nigrocephalus sp. nov., a remarkable new species from Ecuador, is described and its phylogenetic position is discussed. Furthermore, Ilyobius bimaculatus (Banks, 1920) from Bolivia, known solely from the female holotype, is redescribed. Based on the present study, the Neotropical fauna of Sialidae is proposed to be constituted by two genera, one insular (Cuba) and one continental (Mexico to Chile and Argentina).
Highlights
The family Sialidae – commonly known as alderflies – of the order Megaloptera, is a small group of insects currently comprising 97 fossil and living species grouped in 13 genera distributed in all biogeographical realms
Species of Stenosialis Tillyard, 1919 and Sialis navasi Liu et al, 2009 have this structure fused to the ectoproct; in Stenosialis the gonocoxites 11 are fused only with the ventral region of the ectoproct, while in S. navasi the gonocoxites 11 are completely fused with the ectoproct
The Cuban archipelago is considered an important part of the Caribbean Islands, which are classified as a hotspot of biodiversity with a high concentration of endemism of genera and families (Myers et al 2000; Smith et al 2005)
Summary
The family Sialidae – commonly known as alderflies – of the order Megaloptera, is a small group of insects currently comprising 97 fossil and living species grouped in 13 genera distributed in all biogeographical realms (Liu et al 2015a; Martins et al (accepted). Of the Ilyobius species, I. flavicollis (Enderlein, 1910) and I. bimaculatus (Banks, 1920) lack descriptions of genital structures (Liu et al 2015b) This family has received little attention in Tropical America due in part to its presumed rareness, recent contributions have significantly increased our knowledge about its taxonomy and biology (Contreras-Ramos 2008; Azevêdo & Hamada 2014; Liu et al 2015a, 2015b; Archangelsky et al 2017). I. bimaculatus, previously known only from the Bolivian holotype (a female specimen), is redescribed after the reexamination of the specimen
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