^JJJ|F Ogbogu, Sylvester S. 2006. First Report of the Nymph of Neoperla Needham, 1905 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Ile-Ife, southwestern Nigeria. Illiesia, 2(4):27-30. Available online: http://www2.pms-lj.si/illiesia/Illiesia02-04.pdf FIRST REPORT OF THE NYMPH OF NEOPERLA NEEDHAM, 1905 (PLECOPTERA: PERLIDAE) FROM ILE-IFE, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA Sylvester S. Ogbogu Department of Zoology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220005, Osun State, Nigeria. E-mail: sly58@yahoo.com ABSTRACT The nymph of the stonefly genus Neoperla Needham (1905) is reported for the first time from Ile-Ife in Osun State, southwestern Nigeria. Keywords: Afrotropical Region, Plecoptera, Nigeria, Neoperla INTRODUCTION The taxonomy of aquatic insects in Nigeria has received little attention over the years in spite of the considerably diverse fauna in its freshwater bodies. However a few orders such as Odonata and Ephemeroptera have received some attention in the past (Gillies 1980, 1988; Hassan 1981; Ogbogu 2001). Information in literature on the Nigerian stonefly fauna is sparse. Only one genus is listed in Medler’s (1980) checklist, which is based on Hynes’ (1952) review of adult Neoperlinae from Africa. In a recent survey of macroinvertebrates, some nymphs of a stonefly belonging to the Family Perlidae were encountered for the first time in one of the streams in Opa River drainage basin in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The genus, Neoperla Needham (1905) belongs to the Perlidae and is thought to have originated in the Oriental region (Sivec at al. 1988). Its range of distribution includes areas in North America (Stark & Baumann 1978; Stark & Lentz 1988; Stewart & Stark 2002), Asia (Stark 1987; Sivec & Zwick 1988; Sivec et al. 1988; Zwick 1988; Yuzhou 2000), and Afrotropical region (Zwick 1973b, 1976a & b). Of all the records of Neoperla from the Afrotropical region, no species was described from Nigeria unlike in other West African countries such as Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone (Hynes 1952; Zwick 1973b). The present study has the objective of describing the morphological features of the nymphs, with the aid of illustrations and identification keys existing in literature. This study is important because although it is a description of an unknown species, it is the first time the nymph of the genus has been recorded from Nigeria, from where adults have earlier been collected (Hynes 1952). It would also add to the knowledge of the range of geographical distribution of Neoperla in the Afrotropical Region. Neoperla Needham (1905), (Figs. 1-3) Neoperla Needham, 1905, p. 108. Material examined. The specimens (mature nymphs) examined were collected by Elo Okeze from a stream that cross Ede road at a distance of 1km below Opa reservoir in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State in southwestern Nigeria (2.12.2004, 007°30.2’N, 004°31.8’E; 141m). The stream is shaded, with gravel bottom and varying seasonal water current velocity. One specimen was stored in 70% ethanol and has been deposited in the Natural History Museum (NHM) at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria. To observe the morphological features of nymph, one specimen was whole-mounted on a slide in Canada balsam and viewed under the microscope. Further observations were made with the microscope on fresh specimens as well as those preserved in 70% ethanol. Illiesia - http://www2.pms-lj.si/illiesia/ Volume 2 - Number 4 - Page 27 Ogbogu, Sylvester S. 2006. First Report of the Nymph of Neoperla Needham, 1905 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Ile-Ife, southwestern Nigeria. Illiesia, 2(4):27-30. Available online: http://www2.pms-lj.si/illiesia/Illiesia02-04.pdf 1 Fig. 1. Neoperla sp. larva. Head and pronotum, dorsal view. o r 'Jß, y/ ,0 / 'Mi- W /i w 2 ¦ , ^m-ä'i^ . '¦:§& Figs. 2-3. Neoperla sp. larva. Proventriculus armature. Illiesia - http://www2.pms-lj.si/illiesia/ Volume 2 - Number 4 - Page 28 Ogbogu, Sylvester S. 2006. First Report of the Nymph of Neoperla Needham, 1905 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Ile-Ife, southwestern Nigeria. Illiesia, 2(4):27-30. Available online: http://www2.pms-lj.si/illiesia/Illiesia02-04.pdf Diagnostic characters of larva. Neoperla nymphs are relatively distinctive at the generic level by virtue of their two close-set ocelli and the occipital spinule row which transverses over head forming an elevated ridge behind the ocelli. Species level identifications, at least at present, require adult specimens. Figure 1 shows the head and pronotal pattern and Figures 2-3 show the proventricular armature for an undetermined specimen. The latter character has been shown to have some potential for recognition of perlid nymphs by Stark & Gaufin (1976). DISCUSSION The genus Neoperla has been recorded from several countries in the Afrotropical region (Hynes 1952, 1953, 1969; Tjonneland 1961; Zwick 1973a, 1976a, b; Picker 1980) and the species N. spio is reported to be widespread (Needham 1920; Picker 1980). In the checklist of Neoperla from South Africa (Villet 2000), three species are recognized, two of which are unknown and recorded as Neoperla spp. 1 and 2. The difficulty in the identification of specimens down to species level may be linked to the problem arising from the possible existence of a species complex among the Afrotropical region Neoperla (Hynes 1952; Picker 1980). The occurrence of species complexes appears to be a common phenomenon in the genus as has been observed in N. clymene (Stark 1990; DeWalt et al. 2002) and Neoperla montivaga (Zwick 1983, 1986). Recently, Zwick (2003) suggested many morphospecies may be widespread across Africa, and noted that there are examples of differences in similar specimens from different regions. Arising from this, Zwick (2003) suggested two possibilities: 1) geographic variation between conspecifics and, 2) close relationship between different species of Neoperla. In line with Zwick’s (2003) suggestion it can be inferred that contrary to the belief that all African Neoperla belong to one extremely variable N. spio (Hynes 1952), there may be a number of species that are unknown. Moreover, known species may have wider geographical ranges in the Afrotropical region than are currently thought. This is possible given at least some American species of Neoperla are univoltine and can survive even in unusual habitats such as temporary streams (Stewart et al. 1974). N. spio has been observed in open shores Illiesia - http://www2.pms-lj.si/illiesia/ of large lakes such as Lake Nyasa in addition to its occurrence in cool, forested streams elsewhere (Hynes 1976). Further examination of nymphs and adults of Neoperla from Nigeria is needed to determine whether they are those of N. spio or some entirely different species. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The assistance rendered by Elo Okeze during the collection of specimens in the field is highly appreciated. My gratitude goes also to Victor Alumona for reading through the manuscript, and Ignac Sivec for his suggestions which improved the quality of the paper. REFERENCES DeWalt, R.E., D.W. Webb & A.M. Soli. 2002. The Neoperla clymene (Newman) complex (Plecoptera: Perlidae) in Illinois, new state records, distributions, and an identification key. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 104(1):126-137. Gillies, M.T. 1980. An introduction to the study of Cloeon Leach (Baetidae, Ephemeroptera) in West Africa. Bulletin de l’IFAN, T42 Ser. A No. 1:135-156. Gillies, M.T. 1988. Descriptions of the nymphs of some Afrotropical Baetidae (Ephemeroptera) 1. Cloeon (Leach) and Rhithrocloeon (Gillies). Aquatic Insects, 10(1):49-59. Hassan, A.T. 1981. Coupling and oviposition behaviors in two macrodiplacinid libellulids – Aethriamatha rezia (Kirby) and Urothermis assignata (Selys) (Libellulidae: Odonata). Zoology Journal of the Linnaean Society, 72:289-296. Hynes, H.B.N. 1952. The Neoperlinae of the Ethiopian region (Plecoptera, Perlidae). Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London, 103(3):85-108. Hynes, H.B.N. 1953. The nymphs of Neoperla spio (Newman). Plecoptera: Perlidae. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London, A. General Entomology, 28:93-99. Hynes, H.B.N. 1969. The scientific results of the Hungarian soil zoological expedition to the Brazzaville Congo. 36. The Plecoptera species Neoperla spio (Newman). Opuscala Zoologica Volume 2 - Number 4 - Page 29 Ogbogu, Sylvester S. 2006. First Report of the Nymph of Neoperla Needham, 1905 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Ile-Ife, southwestern Nigeria. Illiesia, 2(4):27-30. Available online: http://www2.pms-lj.si/illiesia/Illiesia02-04.pdf (Budapest), 8:353-356. Hynes, H. B. N. 1976. Biology of Plecoptera. Annual Review of Entomology, 21:135-153. Medler, J.T. 1980. Insects of Nigeria–Checklist and Bibliography. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. No. 30, 919pp. Needham, J.G. 1905. New genera and species of Perlidae. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 17:107-110. Needham, J.G. 1920. African stoneflies and mayflies collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition. Bulletin of American Museum of Natural History, 43:35-40. Ogbogu, S.S. 2001. Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of Cloeon and Caenis (Ephemeroptera) larvae in a tropical impounded river. Nigeria. East African Wildlife Society, African Journal of Ecology, 39:106-112. Picker, M.D. 1980. Neoperla spio (Plecoptera): a species complex? Systematic Entomology, 5:185-198. Sivec, I. & P. Zwick. 1988. Some Neoperla (Plecoptera) from Taiwan. Beiträge zur Entomologie, 37:391-405. Sivec, I. , B.P. Stark & S. Uchida. 1988. Synopsis of the world genera of Perlinae (Plecoptera: Perlidae). Scopolia, 16:1-66. Stark, B.P. 1987. Records and descriptions of Oriental Neoperlini (Plecoptera: Perlidae). Aquatic Insects, 9(1):45-50. Stark, B.P. 1990. Neoperla clymene revisited: systematics of the nearctic species complexes (Plecoptera: Perlidae). Pages 299-310. In I.C. Campbell [editor]. Mayflies and stoneflies: life histories and biology. Proceedings of the 5th International Ephemeroptera Conference & 9th International Plecoptera Conference. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Stark, B.P. & R.W. Baumann 1978. New species of nearctic Neoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae), with notes on the genus. Great Basin Naturalist, 38:97-114. Stark, B.P. & A.R. Gaufin 1976. The nearctic genera of Perlidae (Plecoptera). Miscellaneous Publications of the Entomological Society of America, 10:1-79. Stark, B.P. & D.L. Lentz. 1988. New species of nearctic Neoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 69:1120-1123. Stewart, K.W. & B.P. Stark. 2002. Nymphs of North American Stonefly Genera (Plecoptera). 2nd edition, The Caddis Press, Ohio, xii +510pp. Stewart, K.W., R.W. Baumann & B.P. Stark. 1974. The distribution and past dispersal of southwestern United States Plecoptera. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 99:507-546. Tjonneland, A. 1961. Light trap catches of Neoperla spio (Newman) at Jinja, Uganda. Contributions to Faculty of Science, University College, Addis Ababa, Ser. C. (Zooogy), 1:1-6. Villet, M.H. 2000. Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of South Africa. In: Catalogue of South African Insects. www. ru. ac. za/academic/departments/zooento/ Martin/Plecoptera.html. Yuzhou, Du. 2000. Two new species of the genus Neoperla Needham (Plecoptera: Perlidae: Perlinae) from Guizhou, China. Entomotaxonomia, 22(1):1-5. Zwick, P. 1973. Entomological explorations in Ghana by Dr. S. Endrody-Younga 27. Note on some species of Neoperla (Plecoptera). Folia Ento-mologia Hungarica, 26 Suppl:381–398. Zwick, P. 1976a. Neoperla (Plecoptera) emerging from mountain stream in Central Africa. Internationale Revue der Gesamten Hydrobiologie, 61:683-697. Zwick, P. 1976b. African species of the genus Neoperla, Needham. Perlidae. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 88:412-413. Zwick, P. 1988. Species of Neoperla from the SouthEast Asian mainland (Plecoptera: Perlidae) Ento-mologica Scandinavica, 18:393-407. Zwick, P. 2003. Plecoptera research today: questions to be asked in the new millennium. Pages 245-257. In E. Gaino [editor]. Research Update on Ephemeroptera & Plecoptera. Universitá di Perugia, Perugia, Italy. Zwick, P. 2004. A key to the West Palaearctic genera of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in the larval stage. Limnology, 34(4):315-348. Received 24 March 2006, Accepted 11 May 2006, Published 2 June 2006 Illiesia - http://www2.pms-lj.si/illiesia/ Volume 2 - Number 4 - Page 30