A new stonefly species (Plecoptera, Perlidae) from the Interior Highlands USA, with morphological and molecular comparison to other congeneric species

Eric J South; R Edward DeWalt; Mark A Davis; Michael Jared Thomas

doi:10.3897/zookeys.858.33818

A new stonefly species (Plecoptera, Perlidae) from the Interior Highlands USA, with morphological and molecular comparison to other congeneric species

Zookeys. 2019 Jul 1:858:45-70. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.858.33818. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Eric J South¹, R Edward DeWalt², Mark A Davis², Michael Jared Thomas²

Affiliations

¹ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Entomology, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana United States of America.
² University of Illinois, Prairie Research Institute, Illinois Natural History Survey, 1816 S. Oak St., Champaign, IL 61820, USA University of Illinois Champaign United States of America.

Abstract

Thirty-one species of Nearctic Perlesta Banks, 1906 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) are recognized. A new species is described from western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, USA, Perlestasublobata South & DeWalt, sp. nov., from the adult male, adult female, and egg. Perlestasublobata males are differentiated from other congeners by a combination of a prominent ventral caecum and a distinct dorsal extension of the lateral sclerites of the aedeagus. A preliminary molecular phylogenetic hypothesis is proposed for Perlesta based on 17 congeners and three outgroup taxa using partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence data. Illustrations, stereomicroscope images, and scanning electron micrographs support the description and comparison to other Perlesta.

Keywords: Arkansas; Nearctic; Oklahoma; Perlestasublobata South & DeWalt; new species; stonefly.