New Species and Old Semaphoronts: Updating Taxonomic Knowledge of Kempnyia Klapálek, 1914 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) with an Integrative Approach

Abstract

Kempnyia Klapálek, 1914 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) is the only genus within its family endemic to Brazil, being present in the Atlantic Forest and sections of the Cerrado. Taxonomic knowledge of the genus is incomplete, especially for nymphs. An integrative approach to the description of species and semaphoronts is essential for further studies. We describe a new species of Kempnyia based on morphological and molecular data, associate and describe the nymphs of both the new species and Kempnyia umbrina Froehlich, 1988, as well as expand its distribution and correct past mistakes in identification of K. umbrina. Specimens were identified morphologically and sequenced for the barcode region of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) mitochondrial gene, resulting in eight new sequences for three species of the genus. Both morphological and molecular analyses revealed a new species, Kempnyia krenaki sp. nov. Its nymph and that of K. umbrina are also described. With our additions, the number of known Kempnyia species rises to 41, of which 26 have COI sequences available in GenBank. Although only 11 nymphs have been associated and described for the genus so far, as the Kempnyia sequence database continues to grow, studies associating and describing nymphs will become more common, gradually reducing the Haeckelian deficit.