Philogenia realpei, Cano-Cobos & Montes-Fontalvo & Bota-Sierra, 2023

Cano-Cobos, Yiselle, Montes-Fontalvo, Jenilee & Bota-Sierra, Cornelio A., 2023, Philogenia realpei sp. nov. (Zygoptera: Philogeniidae), a new damselfly species from Colombia, International Journal of Odonatology 26, pp. 74-81 : 76-79

Philogenia realpei sp. nov. Cano-Cobos & Bota-Sierra

Etymology

Named realpei (genitive noun) afer Dr. Emilio Realpe, a passionate and kind teacher, curator of the entomology collection ANDES-E, and pioneer of the studies of Odonata in Colombia, who contributed to the understanding of the diversity of its dragonflies and damselflies.

Material examined

Five males, two females

Holotype

Male, Colombia, Cauca Department, Santa Rosa Municipality, El Dorado Township , El Pato stream,

1.4122670° N, 76.491950° W, 1,130 m a.s.l., 09-09- 2021, Y. Cano leg. ( ANDES-E 27993 ). Allotype: Female, same as holotype ( ANDES-E 27994 ).

Paratypes

Four males, one female: three males, Colombia, Putumayo Department, Mocoa Municipality, Sangoyaco Stream , 1.151389° N, 76.651111° W, 650 m a.s.l., 17- 01-2010, L. Perez, J. Montes, J. Villamil leg. (SAIA_0342, 0345, 0346) ; one female, same data (SAIA_0335) ; one male, same data, but 16-01-2010 (SAIA_0331) .

Male holotype

Head. Labium, labrum, base of mandibles and basal half of genae yellow, antennal socket yellow. Clypeus, frons, and upper part of head dark brown with poorly defined lighter brown area between vertex and antennae ( Fig. 2b ). Postocular area brown, rear of head yellow. Frons slightly rounded. Postocular lobes reaching the level of hind margin of the compound eye.

Thorax. Prothorax ( Fig. 2a ) brown with a dorsal band and propleuron dark brown; posterior prothoracic lobe rounded and convex. Pterothorax light brown, dark brown antehumeral and mesepimeral stripes, black metepisternal stripe. Coxae and legs yellowish, external carina, armature, apex of femur, and base of tibia brown. Spurs gradually increasing in size towards the apex of femora and towards the base of tibia except for the protibia in which the apical half bears tibial combs on the external sides. Tarsal claws with developed supplementary tooth.

Wings. Hyaline ( Fig. 2a ). Pt dark brown surmounting four and a half cells in Fw, four cells in lef Hw and four and half cells in right Hw. Px 25 in lef, 24 in right Fw, 22 in lef, 21 in right Hw.

Abdomen. S1–2 brown with a pale lateral stripe; S3 brown with a pale lateral stripe until 3/4. S4–6 dark brown with a yellow basal ring; S7 black with a yellow basal ring; S8 black; S9–10 black with dorsal white pruinosity ( Fig. 2a ). Genital ligula bifurcated in two long flagella ( Fig. 2c ).

Cerci in lateral view directed downwards at approximately 2/3 for slightly less than the width of the appendage ( Fig. 2f ); in dorsal view, curved medially and of uniform width but expanding at apex, covered with strong teeth gradually increasing in size from base to apical portion ( Fig. 2d ). Paraprocts as long as cerci ( Fig. 2e, f ), with a medial sharp preapical process directed laterodorsally and with pointed tips.

Measurements (length in mm): Fw 33; Hw 34; abdomen 40; total 50.

Allotype

Similar to the holotype, except for the following:

Head. Labrum and base of mandibles dark brown

( Fig. 3a, b ).

Thorax. Anterior and posterior lobes of prothorax paler brown ( Fig. 3b–d ). Intersternite with a blunt point; setifer with tuf of hairs decreasing in size ventrally.

Wings. Pt surmounting four and a half cells in lef and three and a half cells in right Fw, four and a half cells in lef and five and a half cells in right Hw ( Fig. 3a ). Px 26 in right, 27 in lef Fw, 25 in both Hw.

Abdomen. Paler without white pruinosity on S9–10 ( Fig. 3a ); 2/3 of S9 dorsum yellow. Genital valves black ( Fig. 3e ); with a pointed process above the base of styli. Cerci black and conical. Paraprocts black and rounded.

Measurements (length in mm): Fw 33; Hw 34; abdomen 34; total 43.

Variation among paratypes

Males. Antehumeral stripe coppery red in all paratypes, some males with a paler yellow basal ring on S4–7. The amount of pruinosity in S9–10 varies among the specimens. The variation in coloration between the specimens is probably related to preservation methods and postmortem differences. Pt surmounting four to five cells in Fw and four to four and a half cells in Hw. Px in Fw 24–27, Px in Hw 22–25.

Measurements (length in mm): Fw 32–33; Hw 33–35; abdomen 40–44; total 50–54.

Female. Pt surmounting four and a half cells in Fw and four in lef and four and a half cells in right Hw. Px 26 in lef, 27 in right Fw, 24 in lef, 25 in right Hw.

Measurements (length in mm): Fw 34; Hw 34; abdomen 35; total 45.

Diagnosis

This species belongs to the Philogenia helena group sensu Bick & Bick (1988) due to the meso-ventral process of cerci projecting ventrad in lateral view less than its width. Ten species have been included in this group ( Fig. 1 ): Philogenia berenice Higgins, 1901 , P. compressa Dunkle, 1990 , P. gaiae Vilela & Cordero-Rivera, 2019 , P. helena Hagen, 1869 , P. iquita Dunkle, 1990 , P. macuma Dunkle, 1986 , P. minteri Dunkle, 1986 , P. peacocki Brooks, 1989 , P. raphaella Selys, 1886 , and P. zeteki Westfall & Cumming, 1956 ( Bick & Bick, 1988; Brooks, 1989; Dunkle, 1990a, 1990b; Vilela et al., 2019). Philogenia realpei sp. nov. can be easily differentiated from all these species by the unique morphology of its paraprocts ( Fig. 2c, d ) which are almost as long as the cerci, bear a sharp preapical middorsal process and directed laterodorsally, ending in a pointed tip, which is unique not only in the P. helena group, but also in the whole genus Philogenia .

Distribution

This species is known from two localities in Colombia ( Fig. 1 ), one in the eastern part of the Cauca department, which is known as “Bota Caucana”, and another located in the department of Putumayo. Both localities are found in the western slope of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia towards the Colombian massif. The Colombian massif divides the Andean mountain range into branches that give rise to multiple tributaries, which are the sources of the rivers that define the Colombian landscape ecologically and culturally ( Guhl, 2016).

Biology

Philogenia realpei sp. nov. was found on a fast-flowing, well preserved little stream, with sand and gravel substrates surrounded by a mix of boulders and exposed bedrocks ( Fig. 4 ). It coexisted with other damselflies of the genera Polythore Calvert, 1917 , Palaemnema Selys, 1860 , and Heteragrion Selys, 1862 .

Figures

Figure 1. Distribution map of the species within the P. helena group.

Figure 2. Male holotype: a – habitus; b – head in dorsal view; c – ligula in ventral view; d – Cerci in dorsal view; e – paraprocts in ventral view; f – cercus and paraproct in lateral view.

Figure 3. Female allotype: a – habitus; b – head and thorax in dorsal and lateral views. Detail of middle and hind lobes of prothorax in dorsal (c) and lateral (d) views. e – S8–10 lateral view.

Figure 4. El Pato Stream, Santa Rosa, Cauca, Colombia. Habitat of Philogenia realpei. Photo by Lorenzo Comoglio.