Perlodes floridus subsp. peloponnesiacus Kovacs et Vincon 2012, sp. n.

Perlodes floridus peloponnesiacus Kovács et Vinçon sp. n.

(Figs. 4b, 5b, 12-15, 16f)

Perlodes dispar (Rambur, 1842) Tierno de Figueroa & Fochetti (2001):214.

Material examined. Holotype: GREECE, West Greece, Achaea regional unit, Erimanthos Mts, 6 km W Agridi, 19.04.1990, 1♀ +O (Fig. 14), HB-SI, PMSL: 03187 (22 O, MM: A2012-5). Paratypes: same locality and date: 20E, 6♂, HB-SI (14E, 3♂, PMSL: 03187; 3E, 1♂ (Figs. 4b, 5b), MM: A2012-5; 3E, 1♂ HNHM: PLP 3960); Ano Vlassia, Oberlauf des Selinous, N37°57’, E21°47’, 1000 m, (GR 59), 25.05.1992, 1♂, 1♀ +O (Figs. 12-13), BC-GR, CGV; Kalavrita, Vouraikos River, 23.05.1985, 1♀ +O (Figs. 15, 16f), NP, SU (Tierno de Figueroa & Fochetti 2001: 2 ♀, sub nomen: Perlodes dispar).

Diagnosis. Head of the imago lacks yellow pattern by the M-line. Male macropterous, paraproct sclerite with long and curved apical part, apex angled. Female subgenital plate narrow. Larval hind femur long and narrow, last sternites with distinct setation. Egg with flower-like anchor, shape short pyramidal, FCIs distinct on most surface.

Description. Both imago and larva similar to the nominal Perlodes floridus as described above. Differences are in male paraproct and egg structures. Male genitalia (Figs. 4b, 5b). Paraproct similar to that of P. floridus but in ventral view, apex of the sclerite starts to curve inward before the sharply angled part (Fig. 4b); curve can be seen also in ¾ ventrolateral view, making an appearence of a larger curved apex (Fig. 5b).

Egg (Figs. 12-15, 16f). Typical of the tribe Perlodini, trilateral (Figs. 13, 16f). Length 360 µm, width 370 µm. Shape short pyramidal, approximately tetrahedric, widest at its base (Fig. 12); triangular with concave sides in apical view (Fig. 13). Collar is lacking. Anchor with several rows of rounded, petal-like plates on the disc margin; globular bodies arranged in 3-4 peripheral rows just inward the petal-like plates, anchor surface wrinkled (Fig. 14 – egg is not completelly cleared from follicular membrane). Chorion covered with tiny warts; ornamentation of polygonal FCIs distinct on all surfaces, though weaker beneath operculum and around microphyles (Fig. 15). Micropyles placed in a transverse row around midlength, not raised (Fig. 15).

Affinities. Imago and larva differ from other species of Perlodes as detailed under the nominal subspecies. The male differs from P. floridus floridus by the more curved apex of paraproctal sclerite. Egg is more similar to P. dispar and P. microcephalus in shape and size (Figs. 16c, d, f), but flower-like anchor and polygonal FCIs ornamentation distinguish it. Besides shape, more distinct FCIs all over the surface separate the egg from those of the nominal subspecies.

Etymology. The name peloponnesiacus refers to the distribution of the subspecies, the Peloponnes peninsula of Greece (Fig. 25).

Further notes on the genus.

Zwick (1997) calls attention to the systematic problems of genera in the Perlodes group. Many Central Asian and Far East species originally described in Perlodes were classified in closely related genera: Filchneria amabilis, F. irani, F. kuenluensis, F. nuristica, F. shobhaae, F. stigmata and Zhiltzovaia cachemirica (DeWalt et al. 2012, Illies 1966, Teslenko et al. 2010, Zhiltzova 1971, 1995, Zwick 1973), while three species are considered as species inquirenda or nomen dubium: P. lobata, P. truncata, P. sinensis (DeWalt et al. 2012, Hallan 2006, Illies 1966).

Division of abdominal segments 1-4 by pleural membrane was first reported by Hynes (1941) in case of Perlodes mortoni larvae. Since then, this character used as a diagnostic larval feature of the genus by many subsequent authors regarding all the European species (Aubert 1959, Illies 1955, Lillehammer 1988, Raušer 1980, Steinmann 1968), and the entire genus in the Palaearctic (Teslenko & Zhiltzova 2009, Zhiltzova 1997, Zwick 2004).

Among the East Palaearctic Perlodes species, P. frisonanus has 1-4 abdominal segments divided (Ra et al. 1994, not mentioned in the original description). As only two segments divided in P. kippenhani larvae (Stark 2010), this species hardly belongs to Perlodes but cannot simply transfer to any of related genera. More material will be needed to solve its classification, especially the discovery of the hitherto unknown female.

It is worth mentioning that the figures in Kawai (1967:113., Figs. 64 a-c) show not Perlodes frisonanus but Megarcys ochracea (cf. Kohno 1943: 49., Fig. 1 and Klapálek 1912: 10., Fig. 4).