Labiobaetis novikova & kluge in ethiopia (Ephemeroptera, baetidae), with description of a new species

Abstract

Material collected between 2017 and 2019 in Ethiopia in the Awash River catchment substantially increased our knowledge of Labiobaetis Novikova & Kluge in this country. Four species were previously reported based on ecological investigations of Ethiopian rivers: L. glaucus (Agnew, 1961), L. latus (Agnew, 1961), L. vinosus (Barnard, 1932) and L. bellus (Barnard, 1932). We have identified six different species using a combination of morphology and genetic distance (COI, Kimura 2-parameter). Two of them, L. alahmadii Gattolliat & Al Dhafer, 2018 and L. potamoticus Gattolliat & Al Dhafer, 2018 were previously assumed to be endemic to the Arabian Peninsula. The status of L. bellus is discussed and remains unresolved. One species is new to science; it is described and illustrated based on its nymphs. A key to the nymphs of all Ethiopian species is provided. The interspecific K2P distances in Ethiopia are between 17% and 23%, the intraspecific distances are usually between 0% and 1%. The total number of Labiobaetis species worldwide is augmented to 145. The Afrotropical species of Labiobaetis are discussed in comparison to the species of other realms.