Calamoceras riffensis Harrak, El Alami & Morse 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Harrak, Rihab
name: Alami, Majida El
name: Hajji, Kamilia
name: Morse, John C.
name: Dakki, Mohamed
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Trichoptera
Calamoceratidae
Calamoceras
Calamoceras riffensis

description: Calamoceras riffensis Harrak, El Alami & Morse, sp. nov.
LSIDurn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 308385B2-51DB-44F2-94C0-F49A30FE240E
Material examined. Holotype. Male adult, Chefchaouen Province, Akoumi locality, Laou watershed, Oued Kelaa II, 35°14’05.3»N, 5°09’10.7»W, 635 m a.s.l., 05.vi.2008, leg. Harrak.
Paratypes. 1 larva, same data as holotype. 9 larvae, Chefchaouen Province, Akoumi locality, Laou watershed, Oued Ferda I, 35°13’41.6»N, 5°10’33.3»W, 544 m, 18.vi.2022, 20.viii.2022, leg. Harrak. 7 larvae, Chefchaouen Province, Akoumi locality, Laou watershed, Oued Ferda II, 35°14’30.5»N, 05°10’46»W, 420, 2 m, 13.iii.2021, 14.vii.2021, leg. Harrak. 5 larvae, Chefchaouen Province, Akoumi locality, Laou watershed, Oued Kelaa I, 35°14’55.4»N, 5°10’50.0»W, 727 m, 19.vi.2022, leg. Harrak. 12 larvae, Chefchaouen Province, Akoumi locality, Laou watershed, Oued Kelaa II, 35°14’05.3»N, 5°09’10.7»W, 635 m, 13.xi.2021, 20.viii.2022, and 19.vi.2022, leg. Harrak. 20 larvae, Chefchaouen Province, Akoumi locality, Laou watershed, Oued Kelaa III, 35°14’55.4»N, 5°10’50.0»W, 400 m, 13.xi.2021 and 20.viii.2022, leg. Harrak. 11 larvae, Chefchaouen Province, Assifane locality, Bouhia watershed, Oued Igouraine, 35°07’31.1»N, 4°59’06.7»W, 1405 m, 15.viii.2021, 25.viii.2022, 12.v.2022, and 04.ix.2022, leg. Harrak. 2 larvae, Chefchaouen Province, Talassemtane locality, Adelmane watershed, Oued Madissouka, 35°9’89.2»N, 5°8’56.7»W, 1530 m, 02.vi.2022, leg. Harrak. 7 larvae, Chefchaouen Province, Beni M’Hamed locality, Adelmane watershed, Oued Beni M’Hamed 35°09’56.8»N, 5°07’56.7»W, 1330 m, 30.vii.2022 and 02.vi.2022, leg. Harrak. 20 larvae, 4 Male adult, Chefchaouen Province, Maggo village locality, Laou watershed, Oued Maggo, 35°06’29»N, 5°11’08»W, 777 m, 15.v.2007, leg. Hajji.
Other collections. 181 larvae, 16 pupae, et 8 male adults (Hajji et al. 2013); 24 larvae, 4 pupae, 2 male adults (El Bazi et al. 2017).
Description of Larva
Full body length of mature larva 17–19 mm (n = 3) with pale-yellow color (Figs 2A, 2B).
Head ovoid and longitudinally elongate, 2.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide; dark brown, with yellowish oval and elongate spots located generally laterally and posterodorsally; eyes each surrounded by whitish to yellowish aureole; in dorsal view, elongate frontoclypeus dark brown with 6 conspicuous pale spots (Fig. 3A); ventrally, two posterolateral parts of ventral parietalia slightly bulging. Submentum long, triangular, reaching posterad more than half of length of parietalia. Some pale-yellow muscle scars located ventrally on parietalia, one pair midlaterally and some grouped posterolaterally (Fig. 3B). Labial sclerite with 2 setae. Labrum yellowish to pale brown, apicolaterally dark brown, irregular rows of 20–26 pairs of finer setae arranged transversely across central area (Figs 3 Ca, 3Cb) (thus the English language name of Calamoceratidae = “comb-lipped caddisflies”). Mandibles dark brown, rather long and broad, apically with three teeth (Fig. 3D), adapted for shredding coarse particulate organic matter. Apices of maxillae with both fine and thick setae (Fig. 3E).
Thorax (Figs 4A–4C) having brownish pronotum with some light spots posterolaterally; in dorsal view, posterior margin strongly sclerotized, dark brown, thicker in center, posterior part slightly bulging; anterolateral corners acute; anterior one-third of each lateral edge concave, posterior two-thirds round and somewhat dilated. In lateral view, foretrochantin acute and hooked anterodorsad (Fig. 4A).
In dorsal view, mesonotum trapezoidal, larger than pronotum, and bearing pair of slightly sclerotized plates, each with small spots posteriorly, pair of black thickenings extending diagonally from anterior mid-line (Fig. 4B). In dorsal view, metanotum (Fig. 4C) with two pairs of small sclerites, sa 1 and sa 2, each bearing one thick and long seta, pair of sa 1 sclerites pale, pair of sa 2 sclerites almost clear. Lateral pair of sa 3 sclerites each bearing 10–11 setae directed anterolaterad. Femora, trochanters, and coxae with sparse setae. Tibiae of all legs yellowish. In lateral view, ventral edge of each forefemur and foretibia with row of fine short spines; these spines also found on mid- and hind femora and tibiae, but less prominent. Tarsi anteriorly with sparse setae, half as long as setae of tibiae. Foretarsi half as long as foretibiae, each with 3 teeth; apicoventral edge with two spurs. Tarsal claws curved in obtuse angle and each with fine basal spur (Figs 5A, 5B).
Abdomen (Figs 2A, 2B) cylindrical, long. Segment I with 3 protuberances, prominent dorsal one and pair of cylindrical lateral ones covered apically with small, sclerotized hooks. Pair of lateral fringes of fine setae on each side from anterior part of segment III to posterior end of segment VIII. Tergum IX with oval sclerite brown in center, its sides pale brown, with 6 setae (pair of long central setae and 2 pairs of small lateral setae), and two other sclerites, one on each edge, including 6–8 setae which are combination of long and small setae. Posterolateral edges of segment IX roundly dilated in pair of anal prolegs, each with anal claw with smaller accessory hook (Fig. 5D); which is smaller than the main claw (Fig 5), as usual. Lateral sclerites of anal proleg each medially excised on proximal side, forming pair of rounded lobes, each bearing two long setae distally (Fig 5E). Gills each with 1 to 4 branches from segment II to segment VII (subdorsal, dorsolateral, ventrolateral, and subventral) (Table 2).
Case up to 22 mm long, straight, constructed of mixture of sand grains, hollowed twigs, and other woody debris (Figs 6A, 6B).
Male imago: Body length 14–15 mm (n = 2). The length of the forewing is 12 mm. Pale yellow. With long antennae and hairy wings. Without ocelli. Maxillary palps 5-segmented. Spur formula 2-4-4 (Fig. 7).
Male genitalia, in lateral view (Figs 8A–8C), having segment IX synsclerotized with anterolateral margins produced anterad into right and left convex, subtriangular lobes, posterolateral margins sinuous subventrally and with short and long setae; dorsomesal process of segment IX small, subtriangular, with few setae. Superior appendages (preanal appendages) tall and nearly as long as tergum X, each with basodorsal lobe small, elliptical. Inferior appendages each with first segment (coxopodite) tapering, second segment (harpago) nearly as long as first segment, slender, and apically acute. Roof-like tergum X ovoid and bearing many spines.
In ventral view (Figs 9A, 9B), medial apices of first segments (coxopodites) of inferior appendages nearly acute. Tergum X divided apically by U-shaped excision. Apex of phallus sinuous. Segment IX with long setae laterally and with triangular apicoventral lobe medially.
In dorsal view (Figs 10A, 10B), superior and inferior appendages about as long as tergum X, superior appendages each oval with many short and long setae, especially in apical half. Anterior mid-dorsum of tergum X nearly triangular, posterior region with many small, fine setae, apically with U-shaped incision.
Female imago: Unknown.
Etymology: The species is named for the Riffian Massif in northern Morocco, its type locality.
Distribution: (Fig. 1) Morocco, the Rif
Diagnosis of Larva
The body length of the final instar larva of C. riffensis sp. nov. is 17–19 mm, which is longer than C. marsupus (15– 17 mm; Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987; Coppa & Tachet 2010) and more nearly like that of C. illiesi (Sipahiler 2013).
The color of C. riffensis is like that of C. marsupus (Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987; Coppa & Tachet 2010) and different from that of C. illliesi (dark brown; Sipahiler 2013; Evtimova & Kenderov 2016). The length and the width of the head of Calamoceras riffensis are 2.5 mm and 1.5 mm, respectively, which are much greater than those of the two other species (C. marsupus = 1.8 mm long and 1.1 mm wide; C. illiesi = 1.12 mm long and 1.17–1.65 mm wide; Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987; Sipahiler 2013; Evtimova et al. 2016).
In comparison with C. marsupus and C. illiesi, the head spots of C. riffensis also differ: C. riffensis has 6 spots on the frontoclypeus that are small and touching each other, and more than 30 spots on each parietal apotome. Calamoceras illiesi has pale testaceous oval spots located mostly on the sides and the posterior part of the head (Sipahiler 2013), and C. marsupus has three large white marks in the medial line of the frontoclypeus, with the anterior mark square, the central one irregular and subdivided, and the posterior one is elongate (Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987).
Concerning the mouthparts, each of the mandibles of C. riffensis sp. nov. has 3 teeth; but those of C. marsupus and C. illiesi have 4 teeth (Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987; Sipahiler 2013). The number of setae in the transverse row across the central area of the labrum is different because C. riffensis has 40–52 setae, C. illiesi has 32–50 setae, and C. marsupus has 22–32 setae (Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987; Coppa & Tachet 2010; Sipahiler 2013; Evtimova & Kenderov 2016).
The color of the pronotum of C. riffensis is similar to that of C. marsupus (Coppa & Tachet 2010) in the presence of pale markings, especially posterolaterally, and the dark markings of the posterior margin are interrupted subdorsally; the pronotum of C. illiesi is uniformly dark brown except that a dark band extends across the full width of the pronotum posteriorly; the anterolateral corners of the pronotum of C. riffensis and C. illiesi are acute and project anterad, but those of C. marsupus are nearly rectilinear (Coppa & Tachet 2010; Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987; Evtimova & Kenderov 2016). The mesonotum of C. illiesi has a pair of small white spots anteriorly and a pair of large white spots posteriorly; conspicuous white spots are lacking from the mesonota of C. riffensis and C. marsupus. Calamoceras riffensis and C. marsupus have 9–11 setae on each metanotal lateral sclerite (sa 3), but C. illiesi has 15 setae on each sa 3 sclerite (Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987; Coppa & Tachet 2010; Sipahiler 2013; Evtimova & Kenderov 2016).
The abdomen of C. riffensis is as long as that of C. marsupus (Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987) and as cylindrical as that of C. illiesi (Sipahiler 2013). Tergite IX of C. marsupus and C. illiesi is brown but that of C. riffensis is pale brown laterally; tergite IX of C. riffensis has 16 setae, those of C. marsupus has 8 and C. illiesi has 12 (Garcia de Jalon et al. 1987; Coppa & Tachet 2010; Sipahiler 2013).
The numbers of filaments of the various abdominal gills of C. riffensis differ from those of C. marsupus and C. illiesi (Table 2).
Imago
Since there is no non-genital description of male adults of species of Calamoceras (but see illustrations by Malicky 2004), we will compare only the genitalia of the new species with those of the two known species (Table 3).
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Ecology
The sampling of C. riffensis was conducted in various areas throughout the Rif region of Morocco, encompassing a wide range of altitudes, spanning from 400 to 1600 m a.s.l. These sites exhibited distinct characteristics within the river systems, characterized by elevated levels of dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and total dissolved solids (TDS), coupled with minimal salinity and low concentrations of nitrates, nitrites, and NO 3. The temperature range in which C. riffensis specimens were found was from 11°C to 24.3°C. The pH was a near-neutral level (~7.0). The other environmental parameters exhibited a substantial range, with BOD 5, calcium, and chloride levels varying from 16 to 152 mg /L, 8 to 75 mg /L, and 0.1 to 1350 ppt, respectively.
The three Calamoceras species habitats share similarities in appearance and characteristics. These environments predominantly consist of the upper and middle stretches of rivers that had excellent water quality. The species usually occupy the rhithral and potomal zones of these rivers, which typically measure no more than 2.5 m wide and feature rapid water flows. Notably, these habitats exhibit a prevalent limestone substrate, primarily composed of gravel and pebbles (Hajji 2017).
description: Published as part of Harrak, Rihab, Alami, Majida El, Hajji, Kamilia, Morse, John C. & Dakki, Mohamed, 2024, Calamoceras sp. nov. (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae) from the Western Rif area, Morocco, pp. 576-588 in Zootaxa 5418 (5) on pages 578-586, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5418.5.7, http://zenodo.org/record/10779894