Steps towards a revision of the Perla bipunctata Pictet, 1833 species complex (Plecoptera: Perlidae) Author Reding, Jean-Paul G. text Fragmenta entomologica 2023 Frag. Entomol., Roma 2023-12-21 55 2 221 262 http://dx.doi.org/10.13133/2284-4880/1526 journal article 10.13133/2284-4880/1526 2284-4880 12763176 59F2DC20-79D2-4A25-A644-92F038F5F337 Perla pyrenaica sp. n. ( Figs E.1–E .15) urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 7F837839-7A51-475E-9CC7- A4D528F09E6E Perla maxima ; Despax 1951: 190 ; Bertrand & Aubert 1952: 96 ; 1955 ; Aubert 1963: 79 . Perla grandis ; Berthélemy & Laur 1975: 278 ; Oscoz & Durán 2004: 188 ; Tierno de Figueroa et al. (2003: 112 ; 2015b ; 2018 ) Morphological diagnosis. Males and females macropterous. Body length of males 18–26 mm ; of females 20–36 mm . Body colour dark brown. Head mostly yellow with tawny markings; M-line clearly delineated ( Fig. E.1 ). Pronotum pale yellow, with a large dark central band flanked with a symmetrical darker design ( Fig. E.1 ). Inner half of the two lower ocelli circled by a narrow black band ( Fig. E.1 ) on most, and by a large black band (Fig. E.2) on some specimens. This type corresponds to putative Perla grandis from the Pyrenees. Type material . Holotype male: FRANCE . Occitania. Hautes-Pyrénées; tributary to Estaragne , cote 2193, 2240 m , 21 Jun 2022 , 1♂ , leg. B. Launay ( MZL ). Paratypes : FRANCE . Occitania. Ariège, Albiès , Gargante brook, 790 m , 21 Jul 1986 , 1♂ with separat- ed aedeagus, leg. J. Aubert ( MZL , catalogue number: GBIFCH00913253) . SPAIN . Lleida. Bono, Noguera Ribagorzana , 1100 m , Jul 1951 , 1♂ microscopic prepa- ration, leg. H. Bertrand ( MZL , catalogue number: GBIFCH00913240) . Additional material is listed in the Appendix 1, under type E. Male adults. Sclerotized apex of aedeagus slightly bulging out in its middle section ( Fig. E.3 ). Proximal part of aedeagus with a strong row of aligned brush-like setae ( Fig. E.3 ); distal part terminated by two narrow blunt ends, medially interrupted ( Fig. E.3 ). Length of aedeagus: 0.65 mm; width: 0.30 mm. Aedeagal tube with parallel sides ( Fig. E.4 ) and covered by a dense grid of short setae ( Fig. E.5 ). Mesal field on tergite IX short and narrow, with few spiny projections, and shallow distal division (Figs E.6, E.7). Distal side of hemitergal lobes of tergite X apically enlarged, in lateral view (Fig. E.8). Apex of hemitergal lobes with very strong spines (Fig. E.8). Morphological affinities. Adult males of types E and F are separable by the shape of the sclerotized apex of their aedeagus. Whereas the one of Perla pyrenaica sp. n. ends into two blunt extensions ( Fig. E.3 ), putative specimens of Perla bipunctata from the Pyrenees ( type F) have a much shorter, and distally indented aedeagus ( Fig. F.1 ). Perla pyrenaica sp. n. ( Fig. E.3 ) differs from alpine P. grandis ( Figs. A.4 , A.8) by its much shorter and medially enlarged apex of its aedeagus. Female adults. Subgenital plate with two distinct triangular extensions (Fig. E.9). Nymphs. Length: 24 to 36 mm . Pronotum with a large, dark, central stripe flanked by two irregularly shaped dark bands loosely connected to the upper and to the lower edges of the pronotum ( Figs. E.10 , E. 11 ). Rim of pronotum with a wide, half-circled dark band ( Fig. E.10 ). Lateral edges of pronotum yellow ( Fig. E.10 ). Yellow markings on tergites III to V dot-like, medially separated by a dark stripe ( Fig. E.12 ). Dorsal faces of femora of middle and hind legs with an indistinct dark area connected to the dorsal edge of the femora ( Fig. E.13 ). Cerci with separated bunches of basal mediodorsal setae (Fig. E.14). Tergites with long mediodorsal flexible setae, in lateral view. Paraprocts with conical apex (Fig. E.15). Morphological affinities. Nymphs of Perla pyrenaica sp. n. are characterized by the presence of separated bunches of basal mediodorsal setae on their cerci (Fig. E.14), whereas P. grandis nymphs exhibit a continuous row of long, mediodorsal setae (Figs. A.14, A.15). Distribution . This species is known from high altitude brooks and springs on both slopes of the Pyrenees. The material is listed in the Appendix 1, under type E. Derivation nominis . This species is named after the region which it inhabits. The adjective pyrenaica is to be treated as a feminine Latin adjective in the nominative case combined with Perla .