A New Species of Ceraclea (Trichopterma:Leptoceridae) Preying on Snails

Ceraclea joannae, new species, feeds on the freshwater snail Somatogyrus virginicus Walker (Hydrobiidae). Our study is the first report of prey other than sponges for a Ceraclea species and the first report of snail predation by Trichoptera larvae in North America. Ceraclea joannae larvae and adults resemble those of C. diluta (Hagen); however, the larva of the new species has a dark head, sickle-shaped mandibles, and a dark pronotum except for a pair of unique, conspicuous, oblique, white bands; the male differs in the slightly longer superior appendages, more nearly straight ventral margins of tergum X, slightly stouter inferior appendages, and the more-tapered apex and less-pronounced ventral notch of the phallus. This new species of Ceraclea is known from only 3.2 km of the Little River (Montgomery County, North Carolina, USA), downstream of the developing town of Asheboro. Because of its rarity and limited distribution, Ceraclea joannae may be highly vulnerable to changes in water or habitat quality

Sylphella puccoon gen. n., sp n. and two additional new species of aquatic oligochaetes (Lumbriculidae, Clitellata) from poorly-known lotic habitats in North Carolina (USA)

Three new species of Lumbriculidae were collected from floodplain seeps and small streams in southeastern North America. Some of these habitats are naturally acidic. Sylphella puccoon gen. n., sp. n. has prosoporous male ducts in X-XI, and spermathecae in XII-XIII. Muscular, spherical atrial ampullae and acuminate penial sheaths distinguish this monotypic new genus from other lumbriculid genera having similar arrangements of reproductive organs. Cookidrilus pocosinus sp. n. resembles its two subterranean, Palearctic congeners in the arrangement of reproductive organs, but is easily distinguished by the position of the spermathecal pores in front of the chaetae in X-XIII. Stylodrilus coreyi sp. n. differs from congeners having simple-pointed chaetae and elongate atria primarily by the structure of the male duct and the large clusters of prostate cells. Streams and wetlands of Southeastern USA have a remarkably high diversity of endemic lumbriculids, and these poorly-known invertebrates should be considered in conservation efforts.We are grateful to Dr Akifumi Ohtaka for putting at our disposal Yamaguchi's histological preparations of Lumbriculus japonicus, as well as a specimen of Styloscolex japonicus. We thank Mark Wetzel and Christer Erseus for valuable comments on the manuscript. This work was made possible for the first author thanks to a sabbatical permit of the University of the Basque Country (from October 2010 to September 2011), partially supported by the Basque Government research project GIU10/140, and to Cindy Brown for providing access to laboratory facilities at the US Geological Survey Menlo Park campus (CA, USA) during P. Rodriguez's sabbatical period

A DNA Barcode Library for North American Ephemeroptera: Progress and Prospects

DNA barcoding of aquatic macroinvertebrates holds much promise as a tool for taxonomic research and for providing the reliable identifications needed for water quality assessment programs. A prerequisite for identification using barcodes is a reliable reference library. We gathered 4165 sequences from the barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene representing 264 nominal and 90 provisional species of mayflies (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from Canada, Mexico, and the United States. No species shared barcode sequences and all can be identified with barcodes with the possible exception of some Caenis. Minimum interspecific distances ranged from 0.3–24.7% (mean: 12.5%), while the average intraspecific divergence was 1.97%. The latter value was inflated by the presence of very high divergences in some taxa. In fact, nearly 20% of the species included two or three haplotype clusters showing greater than 5.0% sequence divergence and some values are as high as 26.7%. Many of the species with high divergences are polyphyletic and likely represent species complexes. Indeed, many of these polyphyletic species have numerous synonyms and individuals in some barcode clusters show morphological attributes characteristic of the synonymized species. In light of our findings, it is imperative that type or topotype specimens be sequenced to correctly associate barcode clusters with morphological species concepts and to determine the status of currently synonymized species

Chironomidae of the Southeastern United States: A Checklist of Species and Notes on Biology, Distribution, and Habitat

We provide a current listing of the species of midges (Diptera:Chironomidae) in the southeastern United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). This checklist should aid in research on this group of insects, which have often proved useful in the assessment of water quality. We document each species\u27 distribution and general habitat and provide the best taxonomic reference to facilitate the identification or description of species in that genus. Changes in nomenclature, unique ecological traits, bibliographic sources, or other items of information are summarized in a paragraph on each genus. Of the 10 subfamilies currently recognized in the Chironomidae, 7 occur in the Southeast. The chironomid fauna of the six southeastern States now consists of 164 described genera and 479 described species. In addition we have listed 14 genera and 245 species that are tentatively noted as undescribed or that have been illustrated but not officially described. Regional distribution of the principal subfamilies indicated that the species of Chironominae and Tanypodinae were concentrated in the coastal region, whereas the Orthocladiinae were evenly distributed from the coast to the mountains. Considering the major habitats (lakes, rivers, and streams), Tanypodinae were about evenly distributed; Orthocladiinae were more predominant in streams and Chironominae in lakes

Fig. 2 in Stenelmis hollandiWhite and Lenat (Coleoptera: Elmidae), a New Species of Riffle Beetle from the Little River, North Carolina, USA

Fig. 2. Dorsal view of Stenelmis hollandi male genitalia. Parameres are splayed more than they would appear naturally.Published as part of <i>White, David S. & Lenat, David A., 2015, Stenelmis hollandiWhite and Lenat (Coleoptera: Elmidae), a New Species of Riffle Beetle from the Little River, North Carolina, USA, pp. 723-726 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (4)</i> on page 724, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x-69.4.723, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10106443">http://zenodo.org/record/10106443</a&gt

Fig. 3 in Stenelmis hollandiWhite and Lenat (Coleoptera: Elmidae), a New Species of Riffle Beetle from the Little River, North Carolina, USA

Fig. 3. Typical Stenelmis hollandi riffle habitat on the Lower Little River, North Carolina.Published as part of <i>White, David S. & Lenat, David A., 2015, Stenelmis hollandiWhite and Lenat (Coleoptera: Elmidae), a New Species of Riffle Beetle from the Little River, North Carolina, USA, pp. 723-726 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (4)</i> on page 725, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x-69.4.723, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10106443">http://zenodo.org/record/10106443</a&gt

Fig. 1 in Stenelmis hollandiWhite and Lenat (Coleoptera: Elmidae), a New Species of Riffle Beetle from the Little River, North Carolina, USA

Fig. 1. Dorsal aspect of Stenelmis hollandi female showing general features of the pronotum and elytra. Photograph courtesy of Eric Fleek, North Carolina Division of Water Resources.Published as part of <i>White, David S. & Lenat, David A., 2015, Stenelmis hollandiWhite and Lenat (Coleoptera: Elmidae), a New Species of Riffle Beetle from the Little River, North Carolina, USA, pp. 723-726 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (4)</i> on page 724, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x-69.4.723, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10106443">http://zenodo.org/record/10106443</a&gt

Stenelmis hollandiWhite and Lenat (Coleoptera: Elmidae), a New Species of Riffle Beetle from the Little River, North Carolina, USA

White, David S., Lenat, David A. (2015): Stenelmis hollandiWhite and Lenat (Coleoptera: Elmidae), a New Species of Riffle Beetle from the Little River, North Carolina, USA. The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (4): 723-726, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x-69.4.723, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1649/0010-065x-69.4.72