Discovery in the Alps of Provence (France) of a new taxon in the entirely parthenogenetic superspecies Apatania muliebris (Trichoptera: Apataniidae)

Abstract

Various aspects of a remarkable complex of parthenogenetic taxa are reviewed, pros and cons being examined concerning their taxonomic status. Apatania mercantoura sp. n. is described from alpine wetlands in three localities (2350-2440 m a. s. l.) in the Parc National du Mercantour. This is the first discovery in France of a taxon belonging to this parthenogenetic complex; the known localities are almost at the highest altitudes known for a member of the A. muliebris complex, and the new species is possibly the most meridional of all taxa in this complex.