Wellsomina Cartwright, 2010, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Cartwright, David I.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Trichoptera
Ecnomidae
Wellsomina

description: Genus Wellsomina gen. nov.
Type species. Wellsomina stuarti sp. nov. by original designation, from the Northern Territory, Australia.
Diagnosis. Forewings each with forks 2, 3, 4 and 5, both forks 2 and 3 relatively short and with long footstalks, and hind wings each with humeral lobe and forks 2, 3 and 5 present, fork 2 relatively short with long footstalk and fork 3 shorter than footstalk. In male genitalia, superior appendages relatively short, complex; inferior appendages fused basally, usually with pair of processes distally. In female genitalia, abdominal sternite VIII basally has a single slender or robust mesal process; segment X is relatively long, usually forming a slender ovipositor.
Description. Smallish adults, head dorsally with occipital warts aligned transversely; scutellum with oval scutal wart (Fig. 8). Length of forewing: male 2.4–3.1 mm, female 2.6–3.1 mm. Wing venation: forewings relatively narrow, each with length about 3.3–4.0 times width, R1 divided distally, forks 2, 3, 4 and 5 present, fork 2 relatively short, fork 2 nygma absent, fork 2 footstalk relatively very long, length between 1.4–3.6 times length of cross-vein r -m, length fork 2 ranges from 1.3–2.5 times length of fork 3, fork 3 very short, length fork 3 about 0.5–1.2 times length of footstalk, footstalk fork 3 very long ranges from 2.6–7.0 times length of cross-vein m, cross-veins r -m and m usually contiguous or nearly oppose at footstalk fork 3, discoidal cell closed, length about 3 times width; hind wings relatively narrow, each with length between 3.8– 4.7 times width, forks 2, 3 and 5 present, all relatively short, fork 2 footstalk relatively very long, length range 2.0–5.0 times length of cross-vein r -m, humeral lobe developed, discoidal cell narrow, length about 3 times width, 2 anal veins (Fig. 7). Male genitalia with superior appendages relatively short, complex with robust spiny setae apically; phallus generally robust, tube- like; inferior appendages depressed, elongate, fused basally and typically with pair of processes distally (Figs 9, 10, 12, 13). Female genitalia with abdominal sternite VIII relatively broad, basally with slender or robust mesal process, with small groups of long hairs distolaterally, segment IX relatively short, broad-based, distally tapered slightly, segment X relatively long, typically forming slender ovipositor tipped by pair of small cerci (Figs 45–53).
Etymology. Wells - named after Dr Alice Wells, for her contribution to the study of Trichoptera in Australia, combined with part of the generic name Ecnomina.
Remarks. Wellsomina is a widespread northern Australian endemic genus most similar to the species Ecnomina kavinia from New Caledonia (Ward and Schefter, 2000) which also has relatively short forewing forks 2 and 3 (Ward and Schefter 2000). Wellsomina species differ from E. kavinia in several hind wing characters including absence of fork 3 in each wing, the presence of a humeral lobe and the relative length of fork 2. The genus comprises 12 species from across northern Australia: northern Western Australia, Northern Territory and northeastern Queensland.
description: Published as part of Cartwright, David I., 2010, Descriptions of 2 new genera and 13 new species of caddisflies from Australia (Trichoptera: Ecnomidae), pp. 1-21 in Zootaxa 2415 on pages 6-7, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.194387