Studies on neotropical Protoneuridae . 19 . Two new species of Neoneura from Southern Brazil ( Odonata , Protoneuridae )

Neoneura anaclara sp. nov. and Neoneura leonardoi sp. nov. are described and illustrated from specimens collected in Southern Brazil. These two species are unique in the genus Neoneura by the structure of their anal appendages.

Erected by SELYS-LONGCHAMPS (1860) the genus Neoneura contains 25 species, most of them Neotropical, with only two species reaching the Neartic region.Brazil has 18 species described or recorded by SELYS-LONGCHAMPS (1860, 1886), WILLIAMSON (1917), MACHADO (1975MACHADO ( , 1989MACHADO ( , 2002MACHADO ( , 2003MACHADO ( , 2004) ) and GARRISON (1999).Most Brazilian species are concentrated in the Amazonian States of the Northern region with only two species being recorded in the Southern region.We describe now two new species from the Southern States of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, thus increasing the number of known species to 27.Neoneura anaclara sp.nov.Male.Head.Labium, genae, base of mandibles and anteclypeus yellow.Postclypeus dark with a pale rounded spot at each side; frons reddish brown with the following black areas: a curved stripe connecting one eye to the other.This stripe extends behind the lateral ocelli and penetrates between them forming a small transverse band lateral to the median ocellus.This ocellar dark area is connected with a dark trident whose branches end at the frontal crest.At the hind part of the frons there is a transverse dark band and a large rounded postocular spot between it and the interocular dark stripe.Antennae brown.
Thorax.Prothorax with the median lobe and propleuron reddish brown.Posterior and anterior lobes black, united to each other through the median lobe by a longitudinal middorsal black stripe.
Pterothorax (Fig. 1).General color reddish brown.A black band at each side of the yellow middorsal carina occupying about half of the width of the sclerite containing some pale streaks and spots (Fig. 1).A black mesepisternal line along the humeral suture dilated above into an elongated black area and continuing into the mesinfraepisternum.This sclerite is black with two pale areas at its ventral and dorsal parts.Mesepimeron with a broad longitudinal black stripe connected above with the black mesepisternal area bifurcating bellow in an anterior branch connected with the humeral black line and a posterior branch connected with mesinfraepisternal black area.Metapleuron reddish brown with a metepisternal black stripe adjacent to the second lateral suture continuing into the metinfraepisternum (Fig. 1).Ventral part of the metepimeron slighly pruinose with a commashaped dark area at each side.Poststernum black with whitish pruinosity.Legs: femora laterally dark brown, medially yellow; tibiae and tarsi yellow.Wings hyaline with the apex of the hindwing slightly smoky (Fig. 2).Venation black.Pterostigma brown, occupying one cell.
Venation.(Fig. 2).Postnodals in forewing (FW) 11; in hindwing (HW) 10.R3 in FW originating at the level of the 4 th ; in HW at the level of the 3 rd postnodal.IR2 in FW originating at the level of the 7 th postnodal; in HW at the level of the 6 th (50%) or 7 th (50%) postnodal.CUP in FW ending within the cell beyond the level of the crossvein descending from the subnodus.In HW ending at the crossvein descending from the first posnodal (50%) or within the cell beyond it (50%).Arculus in both wings distinctly distant from the 2 nd antenodal.
Abdomen.General color red.Segments 1-2 dark brown laterally.Segments 3-5 with the ventral part of tergum adjacent to the lateral carina with a dark brown stripe that increases in width on segments 6 -7 enlarging into a lateral subtriangular spot at segments 7-10.Superior appendages dark brown with a pale area at the lateral part of the ventral branch.Inferior appendages dark brown with the apex reddish.
Structural characters.Posterior lobe of prothorax with the hind margin smoothly rounded.Superior appendages in dorsal view (Fig. 3), bean-shaped with two medially directed teeth.In lateral view (Fig. 4) the dorsal and ventral branches are directed posteriorly.They are united at their ¼ length, then separated by a narrow cleft and fitted together at the apex were the dorsal branch bears a ventrally directed tooth that has as counterpart a dorsally directed tooth of the ventral branch.In postero medial view (Fig. 5) the dorsal branch appears as a large concavity with two medio ventrally directed teeth at its dorsal margin and one ventrally directed apical tooth at the point where the dorsal and ventral margins meet.The narrow and elongated ventral branch is located alongside the ventral margin of the dorsal branch and its dorsally directed tooth is lodged in the small concavity immediately in front of the ventrally directed apical tooth of the dorsal branch.
Neoneura leonardoi sp.nov.Male head.Color as herein described for N. anaclara.In some paratypes, however, the black postocular spot may be completely separated from the interocular stripe or partially fused with it.
Thorax.As herein described for N. anaclara (Fig. 1) except for: a) the mesepimeral black stripe does not reach the upper part of the sclerite and, in some paratypes, its upper part is broken; b) there is no black area on the mesinfraepisternum; c) the metepisternal black stripe is reduced to a line and does not reach the metinfraepisternum.
Abdomen.Orange red throughout with a narrow, scarcely discernible brownish ring at the transverse carinae.Segments 1-2 with a brownish lateral stripe.Distal part of segment 7 with a rounded dark brown spot.Proximal and distal parts of 8-9 and posterior part of 10 dark brown.Superior appendages brown.Inferior appendage yellowish brown.

7 9 8
provided with an apical tooth; in dorsal view (Fig. 7) broad on the basal half, narrowing to the apex, inner border with two teeth.Ventral branch triangular, with the tip produced in an upturned tooth (Fig. 6).The medial surface of the dorsal branch shows a decumbent process shaped as a slightly curved toothless shelf, extending from the base to the apex (Figs. 6,8,9).Inferior appendage conical (Fig. 6) slightly smaller than the superior one.

DISCUSSION
The two species of Neoneura herein described are unique in the genus and have characters that allow their easy identification.In N. leonardoi the decumbent process of the superior appendages is shaped as a toothless shelf, occupying the whole extension of the medial part of the appendage from the apex to the base.This contrasts with the other Neoneura in which the decumbent process has a tooth and is variously shaped, but never as a shelf.In N. anaclara the dorsal and ventral branches of the superior appendages are directed posteriorly and fit together at the apex with only a narrow cleft separating them.This is in marked contrast to the appendages of the other Neoneura species in which the ventral branch either lacks completely, as in N. schreiber Machado, 1975 or is widely separated from the dorsal one.Another unique character of N. anaclara is the absence of a decumbent process as described by GARRISON (1999) and MACHADO (2002).It is possible that the fitting together between the ventrally directed tooth of the dorsal branch and the dorsally directed tooth of the ventral branch might improve the mechanical stability of the superior appendage, simplified by the lack of a decumbent process.This would enhance the efficiency of the appendage in grasping the thorax of the female during the tandem position for mating and guarding the female during oviposition.Examples in which the superior and inferior appendages fit to each other are known for many Zygoptera and Anisoptera.As far as I know, however, no such example exists between the dorsal and ventral branches of the same appendage, as now described for N. anaclara.Another unique character of N. anaclara seems to be the smoky area at the apex of the hindwing although it is difficult to know whether this character will be constant or not.Based on the structure of the male superior appendages, GARRISSON (1999) recognized three species groups of Neoneura: the fulvicollis, the rubriventris, and the maria group.Neoneura anaclara and N. leonardoi do not belong to any of these groups and should be placed, together with six other species, into the category regarded by GARRISON (1999) as containing species whose affinities are unclear.With regards to the venation characters, in N. anaclara and N. leonardoi the ending of CUP in HW at the crossveins descending from the 1 st postnodal or within a cell beyond it is also an unique character among the Neoneura only similar to that of N. jurzitzai Garrison, 1999 where CUP ends at the cell beyond the crossvein descending from the 2 nd postnodal.The fact that in N. leonardoi 19% (FW) and 45% (HW) of the studied wings CUP is forked at its termination enclosing a four sided cell shows that this character is quite variable and not specific of N. waltheri Selys, 1880 as stated by SELYS-LONGCHAMPS (1886) and WILLIAMSON (1917).Indeed it seems to be a taxonomically unimportant character as shown by JURZITZA (1981) for N. waltheri and now for N. leonardoi.
Both N. anaclara and N. leonardoi were collected in Southern Brazil in the States of Paraná (N.anaclara), Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul (N.leonardoi).Neoneura anaclara is the first species of Neoneura recorded for Paraná and N. leonardoi the second from Rio Grande do Sul, the first one being N. ethela Williamson, 1917, collected by H. von Ihering.With the addition of these two species the number of Neoneura species recorded from Southern Brazil is 4 contrasting, for instance, with the Amazonian States of Northern Brazil, that have 13 species.Further studies might reveal whether the poor representation of Neoneura in Southern Brazil is due to a low collection effort, to a poor Neoneura fauna or both.There is no information about the habitat of N. anaclara and N. leonardoi but as virtually all Neoneura species are lotic it is likely that these two species inhabit rivers.Since the two localities where the specimens of N. leonardoi were collected (Nova Teotonia and Erechim) are in the basin of the Uruguay river it is probable that they have been collected on this river or its tributaries.The females of N. anaclara and N. leonardoi remain unknown.The finding of the females of these two species, especially that of N. anaclara would be interesting in order to verify whether the unique structure of the male anal appendages in these species would have a counterpart in the posterior prothoracic lobe and mesostigmal complex of the female.