Stonefly Genus Research Articles

A new species and new records of Sphaeronemoura Shimizu and Sivec, 2001 (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) from China

A new nemourid species of the stonefly genus Sphaeronemura Shimizu and Sivec, 2001, S. xulongcheni Li, Yang, and Li, sp. n., is described from China and compared to its most similar congeners. The new species represents the first record of the genus from Hubei Province of China. Sphaeronemoura siveci Murányi and Li, 2013 is recorded for the first time from China.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:071B002F-86B0-4DAD-AEA9-1D0767829954

First representatives of the stonefly genus Perlomyia and the beaded lacewing genus Isoscelipteron from the Upper Miocene of France (Plecoptera: Leuctridae and Neuroptera: Berothidae), with biogeographical considerations

The leuctrid stonefly Perlomyia cantalensis sp. nov. and the berothid lacewing Isoscelipteron bertrandi sp. nov. are described from the Upper Miocene (ca. 5.60 ± 0.3 Ma) Konservat-Laggerstätte of Sainte-Reine (Cantal, France). They represent the first fossil representatives of their respective genera. Perlomyia Banks, 1906 is currently distributed in the Eastern Palearctic and the Western Nearctic coasts and islands. All extant Perlomyia spp. are known to live in streams, rivers and creeks, suggesting the presence of rivers connected to the maar paleolake of Sainte-Reine. The genus Perlomyia was much more widely distributed during the Miocene than today and probably disappeared in Europe due to the Quaternary glaciations. The genus Isoscelipteron Costa, 1863 is currently distributed in the Nearctic, Eastern Palaearctic, Indomalaysia, and Australasia regions, together with two relictual Mediterranean species. These two examples show that the study of the entomofauna from the diatomite outcrops of the Miocene of center of France helps to calibrate the history and origin of modern Palearctic insects.

A new species of the genus Neoperla Needham, 1905 from China and redescription of Paragnetina insignis Banks, 1939 (Plecoptera: Perlidae)

A new species of the stonefly genus Neoperla Needham, 1905, Neoperla xuanena sp. n., is described from southwestern Hubei Province of China. Paragnetina insignis Banks, 1939 is redescribed on the basis of male specimen from northeastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, and the aedeagus of this species is described for the first time. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:02FE17BD-D99D-403E-86C3-7B6177CADC07

Perlodinellashennongjia sp. nov., a new species of Perlodinella Klapálek (Plecoptera, Perlodidae) from the central area of China.

Perlodinella Klapálek, 1912 is a small stonefly genus in the Palearctic areas of China and its biodiversity is underestimated. This paper reports a new species of Perlodinella, Perlodinellashennongjia sp. nov. in the Dajiuhu National Wetland Park of Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province, central China. The description and illustrations of the new species are provided, based on male adults, female adults and eggs. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by the characters of male and female genitalia and the egg structure.

A new stonefly of Petroperlidae (Insecta: Plecoptera) and its eggs from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber

A new extinct stonefly genus and species, Ovaloperla staniczeki gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a well-preserved female adult and its eggs from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber of northern Myanmar. The new genus is assigned to the fossil family Petroperlidae by its subequal glossae and paraglossae, and vein RA of both wing pairs almost reaching wing apex. Other diagnostic characters for Ovaloperla include the presence of two ocelli, oval pronotum, absence of highly developed gill remnants, presence of two giant tibial spurs, lack of posterolateral abdominal projections, broad oval subgenital plate without posterior notch, and sclerotized egg structure.

Two new species and records of Neoperla (Plecoptera, Perlidae) from Yunnan, China.

Two new species of the stonefly genus Neoperla, N.gaoligongshanasp. nov. and N.hajekisp. nov. are described from Yunnan Province of southwestern China based on the morphological and distributional data, and the new species are compared with two congeners, N.wuzhishana Chen & Du, 2016 and N.orissa Stark & Sivec, 2015. Neoperlahubleyi Stark & Sivec, 2008 is recorded from Yunnan Province for the first time.

A new species of the winter stonefly genus Capniella Klapálek, 1920 (Plecoptera: Capniidae) from Korea

Capniella gibba sp. n., the fourth species of the small East Palaearctic winter stonefly genus Capniella Klapálek, 1920 is described on the basis of male adults collected in the Odaesan Mts, Republic of Korea. Affinities of the new species is discussed, and characters are compared to congeners. This is the 96th stonefly species known from the Korean Peninsula.

A phylogenomic perspective on the evolutionary history of the stonefly genus Suwallia (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae) revealed by ultraconserved genomic elements

Evolutionary biologists have long sought to disentangle phylogenetic relationships among taxa spanning the tree of life, an increasingly important task as anthropogenic influences accelerate population declines and species extinctions, particularly in insects. Phylogenetic analyses are commonly used to identify unique evolutionary lineages, to clarify taxonomic designations of the focal taxa, and to inform conservation decisions. Advances in DNA sequencing techniques have increasingly facilitated the ability of researchers to apply genomic methods to phylogenetic analyses, even for non-model organisms. Stoneflies are non-model insects that are important bioindicators of the quality of freshwater habitats and landscape disturbance as they spend the immature stages of their life cycles in fresh water, and the adult stages in terrestrial environments. Phylogenetic relationships within the stonefly genus Suwallia (Insecta: Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae) are poorly understood, and have never been assessed using molecular data. We used DNA sequence data from genome-wide ultraconserved element loci to generate the first molecular phylogeny for the group and assess its monophyly. We found that Palearctic and Nearctic Suwallia do not form reciprocally monophyletic clades, and that a biogeographic history including dispersal, vicariance, and founder event speciation via jump dispersal best explains the geographic distribution of this group. Our results also strongly suggest that Neaviperla forcipata (Neave, 1929) is nested within Suwallia, and the concept of the genus Suwallia should be revised to include it. Thus, we formally propose a new taxonomic combination wherein Neaviperla forcipata (Neave, 1929) is reclassified as Suwallia forcipata (Neave, 1929). Moreover, some Suwallia species (e.g., S. amoenacolens, S. kerzhneri, S. marginata, S. pallidula, and S. starki) exhibit pronounced cryptic diversity that is worthy of further investigation. These findings provide a first glimpse into the evolutionary history of Suwallia, improve our understanding of stonefly diversity in the tribe Suwallini, and highlight areas where additional research is needed.

Two new species and a new synonym of Neoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from China, with proposal of a new species group.

Two new species of the stonefly genus Neoperla, N. jiangae sp. nov. and N. jiaoxihe sp. nov., are described from Shaanxi Province of northwest China. The new species are compared with related congeners. Neoperla flagellata Li Muryi, 2012 (in Li et al. 2012b) is placed as a synonym of N. bicornua Wu, 1973. The Neoperla sinensis species subgroup in the N. montivaga group is proposed and defined.

New perlid stonefly (Insecta: Plecoptera) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

Billoperla starki gen. et sp. nov., a new extinct stonefly genus and species is described based on a well-preserved male adult in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber and assigned to the subfamily Acroneuriinae of Perlidae. Its sternum 9 with a triangular hammer, and its epiproct is large, well-developed and upcurved, being distinctive for both the extant and extinct Perlidae. The new fossil genus is diagnostic mainly by the RA vein almost reaching wing apex, tergum 10 unmodified, paraprocts reduced, hammer present, and by the large and apically modified epiproct.

A new species of Neoperla/ (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Motuo County of Tibet, China and redescription of Neoperla perspicillata/ Zwick, 1980.

A new species of the stonefly genus Neoperla, N. bimaculata sp. nov. is described from Motuo County of Tibet of southwest China. The new species compared with related congeners. Based on strongly pigmented specimens, we redescribe the male adult of Neoperla perspicillata Zwick, 1980.

Female answer specificity to male drumming calls in three closely related species of the stonefly genus Zwicknia (Plecoptera: Capniidae).

This study examines the rate of female answers to conspecific versus heterospecific male vibratory calls in three, closely related stonefly species: Zwicknia bifrons, Z. acuta, and Z. rupprechti. In a previous study those three species were recognized on the basis of their distinct male drumming calls along with differences in genital morphology and genetic divergence. During this study no-choice playback experiments using original male call samples from each species were performed, and the answer rate of females to conspecific and heterospecific signal variants was measured. Mixed effect logistic regression models were used to test if male call species identity had a statistically significant effect on female answer probability. Females answered conspecific male calls with significantly higher probability than heterospecific calls in all the three examined species, suggesting that the divergence of vibrational communication can be an important component of the prezygotic isolation between them. Low, but well detectable responsiveness to heterospecific calls was observable between Z. bifrons and Z. acuta, the two species closest to each other regarding mitochondrial genetic divergence and male call pattern similarity. Thus, our results are most congruent with a tight, gradual coevolution of male calls and female preferences.

A new stonefly (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

A new extinct stonefly genus and species, Cretacroneuria angularis gen. et sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on a male adult in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, and assigned to the subfamily Acroneuriinae of Perlidae. Its aedeagus is well-preserved in situ, representing the first internal genitalic structure known for the extinct Plecoptera. The new fossil genus is diagnostic mainly by the RA vein almost reaching wing apex, tergum 10 unmodified, paraproct strongly curved with a finger-shaped apex, hammer drop-shaped, and by the innerly supported, membranous aedeagus.

Retention of cervical and abdominal gills in the adult of a new fossil stonefly (Insecta, Plecoptera, Petroperlidae) from mid-Cretacous Burmese amber

A new stonefly genus and species, Branchioperla ianstewarti gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a single adult female specimen from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, and attributed to the extinct family Petroperlidae. Its high extent of adult gill retention is a remarkable morphological trait exhibited by the new species. Although the specimen described herein represents a winged terrestrial life stage, it retains tufts of branched gill filaments similar to larval gills on several body parts, including the first eight abdominal segments; a pattern which is unique within the order Plecoptera. The extent of adult gill remnants is evaluated as highly variable within Petroperlidae, probably subject to selective pressures resulting from microhabitat partitioning among various species of this Cretaceous family.

Comparative mitogenomic analysis of species in the subfamily Amphinemurinae (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) reveal conserved mitochondrial genome organization

The subfamily Amphinemurinae has five genera in China, with each genus of similar morphology. To gain a better understanding of architecture and evolution of mitogenome in Amphinemurinae, mitogenomes of eight species representing four genera (Amphinemura, Indonemoura, Protonemura and Sphaeronemoura) in the subfamily Amphinemurinae were sequenced, and a comparative mitogenomic analysis of five genera (including a published stonefly genus, Mesonemoura) was carried out. By comparative analysis, we found highly conserved genome organization of ten Amphinemurinae species including genome contents, gene order, nucleotide composition, codon usage, amino acid composition, as well as genome asymmetry. GC content was the most significant factor in determining codon bias among organisms. The Ka/Ks values for all PCGs were far lower than 1, indicating that these genes were evolving under purifying selection. We also found some important conserved stem and loop in the cloverleaf structure of tRNAs, and found conserved helices and loops in each domain of the secondary structure of rRNAs. The presence of structural elements in the control region is also discussed. The phylogenetic analyses indicated that within Amphinemurinae, Sphaeronemoura was assigned the sister group of Mesonemoura. Our analyses inferred a relationship within Euholognatha: ((Nemouridae + Notonemouridae) + (Taeniopterygidae + Capniidae) + Scopuridae) + Leuctridae.

The complete mitochondrial genome of a stonefly species, Neoperlops gressitti (Plecoptera: Pelidae)

The small genus Neoperlops only contains four species over the whole world now, and the mitochondrial genome of the genus Neoperlops is still a gap. Here, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of Neoperlops gressitti representing the rare perlid stonefly genus Neoperlops. The circular mitochondrial genome is 15,699 bp in length, which consisting of A (33.30%), G (12.5%), T (29.7%), and C (24.6%), and it is composed of 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNA genes, and a control region like the other published stonefly. In all PCGs, eleven genes initial with the typical start codon ATN, the rest of the two genes (ND1, ND2) with TTG. All PCGs stop with TAG/TAA, except COIII, ND5 use incomplete T—as stop codon. Besides, the phylogenetic result based on the nucleotide of the 13 PCGs and two rRNA genes by using Bayesian (BI) method supports the sister relationship between N. gressitti and Dinocras cephalotes. The complete mitogenome of N. gressitti can provide genetics data to further explore the taxonomic status of Pelidae.

Zelandoperla maungatuaensis sp. n. (Plecoptera: Gripopterygidae), a new flightless stonefly species from Otago, New Zealand

ABSTRACTA new wing-reduced species of the stonefly genus Zelandoperla Tillyard is described from Otago, New Zealand. Zelandoperla maungatuaensis sp. n. differs from a related species, Z. denticulata, primarily by lacking full wing development. We used morphological, geographical, and genetic evidence to assess the proposed status of Z. maungatuaensis sp. n. and Z. denticulata as separate monomorphic species, as opposed to conspecific members of a polymorphic species. High genetic divergence was found between distinctly allopatric populations, supporting the status of Z. maungatuaensis sp. n. as a distinct monomorphic species.

Review of the fossil genus Largusoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae): Annotated checklist, taxonomic identification, and description of a new species.

The fossil stonefly genus Largusoperla Chen et al., 2018 is reviewed. An annotated checklist including diagnostic characters and an updated identification key to all currently known species of this genus are provided. Generic characters of Largusoperla are summarized based on all available specimens and published descriptions. In addition, a new species of this genus, L. reni sp. nov. is described, illustrated, and compared with similar taxa.

Anacroneuria iporanga (Plecoptera: Perlidae): description of the nymph and biological notes.

The Neotropical stonefly genus Anacroneuria (Perlidae) is represented by approximately 80 species in Brazil, but the nymphs of only 11 of these species have been associated and described. In this paper, we describe the previously unknown nymph of A. iporanga from Intervales State Park, São Paulo State, Brazil and present biological observations for this species.

First record of subfamily Brachypterainae (Plecoptera: Taeniopterygidae) in Baltic amber: a new genus and species.

Based on a well-preserved female specimen, a new stonefly genus and species of the family Taeniopterygidae, Balticopteryx dui gen. et sp. nov. is described and illustrated, which is also the first report of subfamily Brachypterainae from the Eocene Baltic amber. Diagnostic characters of this new genus are discussed and compared with related taxa.