Of the more than 3900 described species worldwide, stoneflies (order Plecoptera) are represented in Israel, a semi-arid country, by as few as five species. As a group of highly sensitive aquatic ...insects, they are restricted to the northernmost watershed of the Sea of Galilee, where the most pristine streams in Israel are found. The Israeli stoneflies are not often collected in the field, and they have not been recorded in the literature in the last 30 years. In order to provide an up-to-date picture, I gathered the available historical records of the local fauna, as well as all verified data from the last decade, and compared the two datasets. Despite the unprecedented efforts that have recently been invested in studying freshwater macroinvertebrates in Israel, a sharp decrease in stonefly occurrence is evident. Whilst the populations of three species have dramatically declined (Protonemura zernyi, Leuctra hippopus, and L. kopetdaghi), the remaining two have not been collected at all in over four decades and are considered locally extinct (Brachyptera galeata and Marthamea beraudi). These findings highlight the joint impact of multiple stressors on the stream system in the Sea of Galilee Watershed—namely, stream pollution and water diversion on the local level and climate change on the global level. If the current trends continue, there is a great concern that the entire local stonefly fauna will become extinct, and many stream-dwelling taxa may follow soon after.
The mayfly genus
Waltz & McCafferty, 1994 encompassed 20 species and was represented across the West Palaearctic region by six species. Based on morphological (nymphal characters) and molecular ...(mitochondrial COI sequences) evidence, two new species are described:
from Sardinia and
from Israel. Both species are confined to narrow distribution ranges, in line with most of their congeners from the region. The key nymphal traits are discussed and identified to distinguish species in the group.
The taxonomy and systematics of the genus
Leach (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) in Israel is clarified for the first time as part of an ongoing comprehensive survey of the Israeli mayfly fauna. Six clearly ...defined species are currently recognized in Israel, four of which are described here as new to science. The validity of all species is supported by a molecular analysis of the mitochondrial COI gene. A key for the identification of the Israeli species based on the nymphal stage is provided, as well as data on their distribution patterns and ecology. The local fauna represents four Palearctic species groups, three of which reach their limit of distribution range in Israel.
species typically inhabit lotic, pristine habitats in northern Israel, with few exceptions for some species that can be found in the Dead Sea area or in ephemeral ponds.
The distinction between the two closely related genera Oligoneuriella Ulmer, 1924 and Oligoneuriopsis Crass, 1947 has been much debated. First described from South Africa, Oligoneuriopsis seemed to ...be a clearly defined genus. However, as the known distribution of the genus widened and knowledge on it expanded, species delimitation based on morphology became less clear due to overlap in several apparently defining morphological characters, especially in the nymphs. This work attempts to reassess Oligoneuriopsis morphology in the context of all currently known species. The type species, Oligoneuriopsis lawrencei Crass, 1947 is redescribed at the imaginal and nymphal stages and a neotype is designated. The putative nymph of Oligoneuriopsis dobbsi (Eaton, 1912) is described based on material collected around Mt Elgon (Kenya). The adults of Oligoneuriella orontensis Koch, 1980 are described for the first time and the species is transferred to the genus Oligoneuriopsis (Oligoneuriopsis orontensis comb. nov. ). Egg structure is also described for the first time for the species Oligoneuriopsis skhounate and O. orontensis . Some biogeographical considerations are also given. It is likely that more species will still be discovered, especially in Africa.
We here list four unreported mayfly species from Israel and the Palestinian Authority:
Cloeon vanharteni
Gattolliat & Sartori, 2008,
Cheleocloeon soldani
Gattolliat & Sartori, 2008,
Oligoneuriella ...orontensis
Koch, 1980 and
Prosopistoma oronti
Alouf, 1977. They are reported, morphologically distinguished from other local relatives, and sequenced for their mitochondrial COI barcoding segment. Two species,
C. vanharteni
and
Ch. soldani
, are known from the Arabian Peninsula, while
O. orontensis
and
P. oronti
are Levantine (with wide or more restricted ranges), emphasizing the importance of the Jordan River catchment as a biogeographic meeting-point.
Cloeon perkinsi was described from South Africa in 1932 by Barnard. Despite being relatively common in Africa, it was mentioned in the literature quite rarely, and its known distribution to date ...includes most of sub-Saharan Africa. Material collected recently in Ethiopia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen extends its distribution in East Africa, Arabian Peninsula and the Levant. We examined this material, and provide a re-description of adults (females and males) and nymphs of the species. It represents a much-needed urge mainly due to inconsistencies in literature reports regarding colouration, and sometimes incomplete morphological description of all stages. We demonstrate the intraspecific morphological variability that we have witnessed, and provide information regarding the range of habitats colonised by C. perkinsi. Based on geological and climatic history of the studied region, taken together with among countries genetic distances of the mitochondrial barcoding gene COI, we propose colonisation mechanisms for the north-easternmost limit of distribution. The fragmented distribution pattern of the species highlights the conservation importance of isolated aquatic habitats in the region, as well as current knowledge gaps.
Insects have successfully inhabited all freshwater habitats on Earth and are often the most diverse and abundant species in streams and ponds. With a disproportionally high species richness compared ...to the area covered by freshwaters, aquatic insects represent a hotspot of diversity. They play crucial roles in aquatic food webs as primary consumers, detritivores, and predators, but they also represent an important food resource for aquatic and terrestrial predators. Many aquatic insect orders, such as mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, include taxa that are highly sensitive to habitat alterations, reflecting the health of the overall aquatic ecosystem. This feature is exploited by many scientists and practitioners around the world for water and environment quality monitoring. Despite their importance in term of diversity, ecosystem services and bioindication, many aquatic insect species are critically endangered, mainly due to anthropogenic pressures on freshwaters and climate change. Although the research efforts on aquatic insects tremendously increased during the 21st century, much is still left undiscovered. This Special Issue addresses existing knowledge gaps and increases our understanding of taxonomic diversity and phylogeny, distribution patterns, and community ecology of aquatic insects through 15 new studies that cover most of the aquatic insect orders over a wide geographic range. In a context of rapid global biodiversity loss, accelerating the acquisition of both fundamental and applied knowledge is crucial.
 The mayfly genus Alainites Waltz & McCafferty, 1994 encompassed 20 species and was represented across the West Palaearctic region by six species. Based on morphological (nymphal characters) and ...molecular (mitochondrial COI sequences) evidence, two new species are described: A. bengunn sp. nov. from Sardinia and A. gasithi sp. nov. from Israel. Both species are confined to narrow distribution ranges, in line with most of their congeners from the region. The key nymphal traits are discussed and identified to distinguish species in the group. Keywords: COI, Israel, Italy, mayfly, microendemics, Sardinia, systematics, West Palaearctic
Heptageniidae is a species‐rich mayfly family (Ephemeroptera), whose taxonomy and phylogeny have been based almost exclusively on traditional morphological studies. Inconsistent use of diagnostic ...characters and the general lack of molecular studies have led to vague generic concepts, and the phylogenetic relationships among taxa in the family remain unclear. Afronurus Lestage is an Old World heptageniid genus of 66 species. The generic assignment of two species within this genus, A. kugleri Demoulin and A. zebratus (Hagen), has been the subject of much debate, because they share many apomorphic features that distinguish them from other congeners. We combined a thorough morphological study of all life stages of 28 representative heptageniid species with a molecular phylogenetic analysis of four mitochondrial and nuclear markers to resolve the generic position of A. kugleri and A. zebratus as well as the integrity of Afronurus and related genera. Our results confirm the monophyly of Afronurus and Electrogena and support the assignment of A. kugleri and A. zebratus to a newly described genus, Anapos Yanai & Sartori gen.n. We provide clear, diagnostic morphological characters for the genus and discuss the need for a thorough revision of generic concepts in the subfamily Ecdyonurinae.
This published work has been registered in ZooBank,
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:075E40C6-BAFE-4184-A2C2-E3BCFBC0BC15.
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