Protonemura berberica Vincon
Creators: name: Vinçon, Gilles
name: Mur, vid
name: Nyi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Plecoptera
Nemouridae
Protonemura
Protonemura berberica

description: <i>Protonemura berberica</i> Vinçon &amp; S{nchez- Ortega, 1999 (Figs. 1-2, 4, 6, 11-12, 46-58) <i>Protonemura berberica</i> Vinçon &amp; S{nchez- Ortega, 1999:231. (original description from Morocco); Vinçon &amp; Zhiltzova, 2004:193. (composition of the <i>P. corsicana</i> group); Lounaci &amp; Vinçon, 2005:(distribution); Mur{nyi, 2007:28. (distribution) <i>Nemoura (Protonemura) algirica</i> auctt., nec Aubert, 1956: Aubert, 1961 (partim):218. (records from the Moroccan Rif). <i>Protonemura sp.</i>: S{nchez- Ortega &amp; Azzouz, 1998:452. (records from the Moroccan Rif). <b>Material examined.</b> <b>Morocco, Rif:</b> Ketama, Djebel Tidirehine, 1800 m, 24-IV-1960, 1&amp;male; nymph and 7 larvae - 2&amp;female; 1&amp;male; larvae (1&amp;female; larva prepared for SEM, &amp;male; larva pharate, terminalia of the larval skin missing) (Besuchet leg, labeled <i>P. algirica</i> det. Aubert, Aubert coll. ZML, published as <i>N. (P.) algirica</i> in Aubert 1961); spring 14 Km South West Ketama, 1500 m, 21- VII-1980, 2&amp;male; 1&amp;female; (Berthélemy coll. CGV); 14 km from Boohivid, 3-VI-1992, 2&amp;male; 1&amp;female;; Loukous brook, 300 m, 5-VI-1992, 1&amp;male; 2&amp;female; (dried specimens, labeled <i>P. algirica</i> Azzouz 1992 det and leg, GUC); Spring between Bab- Besen and Ketama, 1600 m, 22-II-1996, 2&amp;male; 5&amp;female;; above Azila Ketama, Djebel Tidirehine, 1600-1800 m, 4-VI- 2006, 3&amp;male; 9&amp;female;; Djebel Tidirehine, 2000-2100 m, 4-VI- 2006, 6&amp;male; 16&amp;female; 1 larva (Vinçon leg, CGV) - 3&amp;male; 3&amp;female; (HNHM; 1&amp;male; and 1&amp;female; terminalia prepared for SEM). <b>Imago</b> (Figs. 1-2, 4, 11-12, 46-51). A detailed description is already given in Vinçon &amp; S{nchez- Ortega (1999). The male is well characterized by the apex of the paraproct’s outer lobe, bordered by a regular comb-shaped fringe of spines (Fig. 49), and by the terminal filament of the epiproct risen upwards (Figs. 4, 11, 48). This filament is short and bifid at the tip (Figs. 1-2, 4). <b>Mature larva</b> (Figs. 52-58). Body relatively slender, body length 9.0–10.5 mm (Fig. 52). General color pale, yellowish brown. Pilosity pronounced but not distinct. Scales present only in the dorsal midline of the femora and on the tarsi. Legs typical of the genus, tibiae slightly longer than femora; width of hind femora more than one third of its length. Head stout, pale with indistinct, slightly darker patches. The pronotum is subtrapezoidal, with hardly visible granules and rounded corners; it is slightly narrowing towards the posterior margin and its length is two thirds of its maximum width. Cervical gills simple, the longest one equivalent to the width of the fore coxa. Wing pads of typical length for the genus. Abdomen relatively slender, integument light and matt, first 6 abdominal segments divided by pleura. Terminalia of the larval skin is missing on the single examined pharate male. Genital opening well visible on the mature female larva and placed under the anterior half of sternite VIII; paraprocts not pointed. Cerci long, with more than 30 segments; segment sides nearly parallel, the width of segments 13–17 is three fourths of their length. Pilosity: Head with dense, stout but acute bristles, and a few sensilla; eyes bearing small setae between the ocelli. Antennal segments with short pilosity. Pronotum with dense, stout but acute bristles, and a few sensilla. Margin of the pronotum bearing acute bristles, the length of the longest ones is less than 1/15 of the pronotum’s width (Fig. 53). The bristles on the anterior corners of the meso and metanotum are as long as the marginal bristles of the pronotum. The setae placed in lines on the wing pads are short but acute. Legs with dense setation. All femora bear both short and long, acute bristles and a few thin hairs. Long bristles occur mostly on the outer surface; on hind femora they are placed all along its length. Bristles not in a regular arrangement; the longest ones reach one fourth of the femur’s width on all legs (Figs. 54-55). A bald median line is conspicuous on the dorsal surface of all femora and it is covered with rounded scales. Tarsi relatively slender, covered with thin hairs and bristles, metatarsi with triangular scales on the dorsal surface; apical spike of tibiae short. Tergal segments with short bristles and a few thin hairs. Paired spines on the posterior margin acute, not much longer than the other spines of the row; on tergite V they reach one fourth of the segment’s length (Fig. 56). Distal margin lacking tiny triangular spikes around the row of bristles. Cercal segments with acute bristles, blunt or thin ones occur only in the apical whorl (Figs. 57-58). The apical whorl on segments 13-15 is a set of 9–11 strong, acute spikes mixed with short, blunt and short, thin setae. Longest bristles reach two fifths of the segment’s length on segments 13–15. <b>Affinities.</b> <i>Protonemura berberica</i> is closely related to <i>P. dakkii</i> sp. n. by the shape of the epiproct, with its terminal filament rising upwards in lateral view; this character is not observed in the other species of the <i>P. talboti</i> subgroup. The male clearly distinguishes by the shape of the paraproct’s outer lobe with its regular fringe of spines, and the female by its strongly developed vaginal lobes and the presence of a strongly pigmented pregenital plate on sternite VII. This plate is also present in <i>P. talboti</i>, but absent or hardly visible in the other mentioned species. The larva is very similar to those of <i>P. dakkii</i> sp. n. and <i>P. talboti</i>, and only the pharate males can be identified with sure, on the basis of the male imago terminalia under the larval skin. However, it differs from <i>P. talboti</i> by its pale habitus and the scarcity of stout, blunt bristles on the pronotum, tergites and femurs, from <i>P. dakkii</i> sp. n. by the longer bristles on the margin of the pronotum. <b>Geographical distribution.</b> This species is probably endemic of the Moroccan Rif (Fig. 6). The previous citations of <i>P. algirica</i> from the Rif all concern <i>P. berberica</i>, as it was verified by the study of adults and male nymphs from the collections of Aubert, Berthélemy, S{nchez- Ortega and Tierno de Figueroa.
description: Published as part of <i>Vinçon, Gilles, Mur, vid &amp; nyi, 2009, Contribution To The Knowledge Of The Protonemura Corsicana Species Group, With A Revision Of The North African Species Of The P. Talboti Subgroup (Plecoptera: Nemouridae), pp. 51-79 in Illiesia 5 (7)</i> on pages 68-72, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4759484
description: {"references": ["Vincon, G. &amp; L. Zhiltzova. 2004. The genus Protonemura in Turkey (Plecoptera, Nemouridae). Nouvelle Revue d'Entomologie (N. S.), 21 (2): 171 - 195.", "Lounaci, A. &amp; G. Vincon. 2005. Les Plecopteres de la Kabylie du Djurdjura (Algerie) et biogeographie des especes d'Afrique du Nord (Plecoptera). Ephemera, 6 (2), (2004): 109 - 124.", "Aubert, J. 1956. Contribution | l'etude des Plecopteres d'Afrique du Nord. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 29: 419 - 436.", "Aubert, J. 1961. Contribution | l'etude des Plecopteres du Maroc. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 33 (1960): 213 - 222.", "S {nchez- Ortega, A. &amp; M. Azzouz. 1998. Faunistique et phenologie des Plecopteres (Insecta, Plecoptera) du Rif marocain (Afrique du Nord). Relations avec les autres aires de la region mediterraneenne occidentale. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 71: 449 - 461."]}