Taenionema jeanae Baumann & Nelson 2007, sp. n.

Taenionema jeanae sp. n.

(Figs. 1-6)

Material examined. Holotype ♂ and paratype ♀ from California, Orange Co., Silverado Creek, 0.5 miles below Silverado Library, Silverado Canyon, 18 February 1985, D.C. McClain, deposited at the California Academy of Sciences. Additional paratypes: California: Orange Co., Silverado Creek, 100 m above “fire gate”, N 33 ° 45’ W 117 ° 35’, 9 February 2005, E.F. Drake, 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Silverado Creek, at end of county road, at USFS gate, Silverado Canyon, N 33 ° 45’ W 117 ° 35’, 25 March 2005, E.F. Drake, 62 ♂, 16 ♀ (BYUC) Brigham Young University Collection, Provo, Utah and (KWSC) Kenneth Stewart Collection, Denton, Texas.

Adult habitus. General color brown, head and pronotum brown, with multiple dark rugosities, abdominal sterna light brown. Wings transparent with brown veins, legs light brown ventrally, with dark bands on tibia at junction of femur.

Male. Macropterous. Forewing length 7.5-8.5 mm, length of body 6.0-7.0 mm. Tergum 8 slightly expanded posteriorly, with dark, thin triangular pattern medially; posterior margin lightly colored (Fig. 1). Lobes on tergum 10 moderately produced, elongate, nearly parallel sided, with outer margin longer, inner margin rounded, sloping toward mid line of tergum (Fig. 6). Epiproct with dorsal scales on basal two thirds of length and on dorsal extrusion. Apex sclerotized, short and stout, upper member rounded, tip open dorsally, with indentation ventrally below apex, lower member directed downward, forming concave area near apex, outline of ventrolateral aspect nearly straight (Figs. 2-4). Basicercal processes directed upwards, lightly sclerotized, bearing many hairs, slightly pointed at apex. Sternum 9 rounded ventrally, somewhat truncate apically (Fig. 1).

Female. Macropterous. Forewing length 9.0-10.0 mm, length of body 7.0- 8.5 mm. Sternum 9 moderately produced and broadly rounded apically. Margin of sternum 8 above ovipore nearly straight, lightly sclerotized, ovipore large, with distinct lateral bars at opening (Fig. 5).

Etymology. We are pleased to name this Taeniomema species after Jean Stanger Leavitt. Jean studied the genus for her M.S. thesis (Stanger 1982), which resulted in a revision of Taenionema (Stanger and Baumann 1993). Additionally, we would like to honor Jean for the many excellent illustrations of stoneflies (Plecoptera) that she has produced over the past twenty plus years.

Diagnosis. Taenionema jeanae is most similar to T. californicum. The epiproct differs in the following ways. In dorsal view, the apex is pointed in T. californicum, and a cavity occurs below the tip (Fig. 9), while in T. jeanae the apex is broadly rounded (Fig. 3), with the apical area open. Laterally, the apex is large, with a definite upwardly directed process nearly one-half the anterior face height, and the ventral margin is convex with a prominent protruding boss at one-half its length in T. californicum (Figs. 8, 10), while in T. jeanae the apex is smaller, with a short dorsal process about one-third the anterior base height, and a small ventral process, with a pointed apex about one-third its length, while the ventral margin is almost straight, but concave apically (Figs. 2, 4). The lobes on tergum 10 are somewhat rounded with a narrow base in T. californicum (Figs. 7, 12), while in T. jeanae they are more elongate, nearly parallel sided, with a broader base (Figs. 1, 6). The females are not separable without associated males, however, figures of the female genitalia are provided for comparison: T. jeanae (Fig. 5) and T. californicum (Fig. 11).

Remarks. Taenionema jeanae is presently known only from Silverado Canyon in southern California. The type locality of T. californicum is Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, California (Needham and Claassen 1925), but it is recorded from several counties in Stanger and Baumann (1993), mostly from sites in central and northern California. However, an in depth study should be done of the specimens available, using a scanning electron microscope, so better decisions can be made regarding the specific status of other populations.