Unravelling the diversity of the genus Afronurus Lestage, 1924 (Ephemeroptera, Heptageniidae) in Thailand

Abstract

The genus Afronurus in Thailand is investigated using an integrative approach (morphology based, ootaxonomy and molecular data) for species delimitation. A total of four species of Afronurus was identified; A. cervina (Braasch & Soldán, 1984), A. gilliesiana (Braasch, 1990), A. rainulfiana (Braasch, 1990), and A. rubromaculata (You et al., 1981). The subimago of A. gilliesiana is described for the first time based on reared specimens. The egg structure of all four species is also described for the first time. Morphological and molecular data strongly support their species delimitation. The egg chorionic structure of the genus Afronurus, together with other morphological characters, is useful for species identification. A key to mature nymphs of the known species is provided.