The female ofLeptobasis melinogasterGonzález-Soriano (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

2011·0.14 MB·

by  John C. Abbott

InternationalJournalofOdonatology
Vol.14,No.2,June2011,171–174
The female of Leptobasis melinogaster González-Soriano
(Odonata: Coenagrionidae)
JohnC.Abbott*
TexasNaturalScienceCenter,BrackenridgeFieldLaboratory,TheUniversityofTexasatAustin,2907
LakeAustinBlvd.,Austin,TX78703,USA
(Received21February2011;finalversionreceived24March2011)
The female of Leptobasis melinogaster González-Soriano, 2002 is formally described and illustrated.
FemaleL.melinogaster canbedistinguishedfromthesevenotherknowncongenersbytheshapeand
presenceofaventrallobebelowtheroundedlateralmarginsoftheposteriorandmedianlobesofthe
prothoraxaswellasbythedarkapicesonthefemora.
Keywords: Leptobasis melinogaster; female description; Odonata; Zygoptera; Coenagrionidae;
damselfly;USA
Introduction
LeptobasismelinogasterGonzález-Soriano,2002wasdescribedfromtwomalescollectedinthe
states of Jalisco and Oaxaca Mexico. It was not reported again until 2004 when a population
wasdiscoveredontheKingRanchinKlebergCounty,Texas,USA(Abbott,2004).Anadditional
populationwasdiscoveredatSantaAnaNationalWildlifeRefugeinHidalgoCounty,Texas,USA.
Bailowitz,Danforth&Deviche(2009)reporteditforasecondtimefromMexicosincetheinitial
description,findingitinSinaloaalongthewest-centralcoastofMexico.
ThegenusLeptobasisSelyswasrecentlyredefinedbyGarrisonandvonEllenrieder(2010)to
includeChrysobasisRácenis.Thegenusnowincludessevenspeciesdiagnosedbythefollowing
combinationofcharacters:aroundedfrons,CuPreachinghindmarginofwing,CuArelatively
short,supplementarypretarsalclawvestigial,andthepresenceofapairofchitinized,flap-like,
movableprocessesdirectedposteriorlyonthedistalsegmentofthegenitalligula.Intheirredefi-
nition,GarrisonandvonEllenrieder(2010)includedL.melinogasterintheirkeytofemalesand
illustratedthemesostigmalplates,butthefirstformaldescriptionofthefemaleofthisspeciesis
presentedhere.
*Email:[email protected]
ISSN1388-7890print/ISSN2159-6719online
©2011WorldwideDragonflyAssociation
DOI:10.1080/13887890.2011.576200
http://www.informaworld.com
172 J.C.Abbott
Descriptionofthefemale
Material
(8 (cid:2)(cid:2))TEXAS: Kleberg Co., Santa Gertrudis Creek, King Ranch, 2August 2006 (1 (cid:2)), leg. J.
Sinclair&T.Langschied(DRP);TEXAS:KlebergCo.,SantaGertrudisCreek,KingRanch,16
October 2006 (1 (cid:2)), leg. T. Langschied (DRP); TEXAS: Kleberg Co., Santa Gertrudis Creek,
KingRanch,17October2006(1(cid:2)),leg.J.Sinclair(UNAM);TEXAS:HidalgoCo.,SantaAna
National Wildlife Refuge, 25 June 2005 (1 (cid:2)), 23 May 2009 (2 (cid:2)(cid:2)), leg. J.C.Abbott (UTIC);
TEXAS: Hidalgo Co., Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, 9 June 2010 (1 (cid:2)), leg. M. Reid
(UTIC);TEXAS:CameronCo.,SabalPalmAudubonSanctuary,8October2008(1(cid:2)),leg.M.
Reid(UTIC).SpecimensdepositedintheUniversityofTexasInsectCollection(UTIC),personal
collectionofDennisR.Paulson(DRP),andColecciónNacionaldeInsectos(CNIN),Universidad
NacionalAutónomadeMexico(UNAM).
Head
Labrumblue-greenwithdarkspotmediallyalongposterioredge;anteclypeusblue-green;post-
clypeusgreenwithbrownovalspotinlateral1/4;fronsblue-greenanterolaterally,tanmedially;
postocularspotslarge,triangular,andgreen.
Thorax
Anteriorlobeofprothoraxblue-green,tanlaterally;middlelobebrownwithpairedgreenstripe
parallelingmedianlineandseparatedbythinstripeofbrown,greenspotlateraltostripe,lateral
edgeofmedianlobegreenwithroundedcornersposteriorly;posteriorlobebrown,lateraledge
slightlyraisedandconvexwithposteriormarginrounded(Figure1a).Lateraledgeofmedianand
posteriorlobesoverlyingnarrowsupplementaryshelf.Pterothoraxpalegreen,withbrownmedian
stripe twice as wide as brown humeral stripe, antehumeral stripe green, ventral surface cream-
colored. Mesostigmal plates brown in medial half and green in lateral half, rounded laterally,
concavemedially(Figure1b).Femorapalewithdarkenedapices,tibiaandtarsipalewithedges
ofsegmentsoutlinedinbrown,distalhalfoflasttarsalsegmentandtarsalclawsandremaining
armaturedark.
Wings
Wings hyaline with brown veins; pterostigma brown, a parallelogram with all sides subequal,
subtendingslightlylessthanonecell(Figure1c),forewingwithninepostnodalcrossveins(10in
one(cid:2)),7–9postnodalcrossveinsinhindwingwithaverageof8.
Abdomen
S1–S3 green, S4–S10 blue laterally. S1 with brown medial spot, S2 with brown spot dorsally
at distal fourth of segment and brown stripe along middorsal carina. S3–7 black dorsally with
expansionlaterallyindistal1/7th-1/6thofsegment.S8–S10withbrowndorsalstripenotreaching
distal end of segment and with pale median notch at posterior end (Figure 1d). Posterior edge
ofS7–9withbluering.NovulvarspineonS8.Distaledgeofoutervalveofovipositorserrated.
Ovipositorvalvesrelativelystraight,extendingwellbeyondcerci(Figure1e).
Thefemaleof LeptobasismelinogasterGonzález-Soriano 173
Figure 1. Leptobasismelinogaster female:(a)posteriormarginofprothorax,witharrowindicatingsupplementary
shelf;(b)mesostigmalplates;(c)wings;(d)S8-S10,dorsalview;(e)S8–S10,lateralview.
Measurements(inmm)
Totallength35–40;abdomenlength29–33;hindwinglength18.5–21.5;ovipositorwithoutstylus
1.54–1.85;stylusofovipositor0.30–0.36.
Colorationinlife(Figure2)
Maturefemaleswithgreeneyes;intensegreenonantehumeralstripe;lateralcolorofabdomen
mergingfromgreentoblueposteriorly.Juvenileindividualshavesamecolorpattern,buteyestan
andgreensandbluesarereplacedbytans.
Figure 2. FemaleLeptobasismelinogastershowingcolorsinlife:(a)mature;(b)juvenile.
174 J.C.Abbott
Diagnosis
Leptobasismelinogasterfemalescanbedistinguishedfromthesevenotherknowncongenersby
theshapeandpresenceofaventrallobebelowtheroundedlateralmarginsoftheposteriorand
medianlobesoftheprothorax.Darkapicesoffemoraareunique;allotherfemalecongenershave
largelypalefemora.
Biologicalnotes
Males are typically more in evident at ponds, but females can be abundant. Both sexes tend to
perchonoverhangingbranchesandvegetation,oftenrestingatheightsof1–2m.Theyflythrough
thesetangles,makingthemdifficulttofollow.Itisunknownwhethertheysurviveextendeddry
periods as adults or in the egg stage. No global conservation ranking has been assigned to this
species, butAbbott (2011) assigned it a state ranking of S2 (Imperiled because of rarity [often
6–20extantoccurrences]orbecauseoffactorsmakingitvulnerabletoextinctionforTexas).
Acknowledgements
IthankBarrettA.KleinforhisrenderingsofLeptobasismelinogaster inlife(Figure2).RosserGarrisonandNatalia
vonEllenriederkindlyprovidedcommentsonanearlydraftofthismanuscript.SantaAnaNationalWildlifeRefuge
providedaccessandallowedcollectionofspecimensunderSpecialUsePermit#21552-05-3-DRB,21551-09-10-MS,
and21551-10-02-ID.
References
Abbott,J.C.(2004).AsummerfortherecordbooksinTexas.Argia,16,16–17.
Abbott,J.C.(2011).DamselfliesofTexas:Afieldguide.Austin,TX:UniversityofTexasPress.
Bailowitz,R.,Danforth,D.,&Deviche,P.(2009).WestMexicoupdated.Argia,21,15–18.
Garrison,R.W.,&vonEllenrieder,N.(2010).RedefinitionofLeptobasisSelyswiththesynonymyofChrysobasisRácenis
anddescriptionofL.mauffrayisp.nov.fromPeru(Odonata:Coenagrionidae).Zootaxa,2438,1–36.
González-Soriano,E.(2002).Leptobasismelinogasterspec.nov.,anewspeciesfromMexico(Zygoptera:Coenagrion-
idae).Odonatologica,31,181–185.