Austroperla
| Austroperla | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Plecoptera |
| Family: | Austroperlidae |
| Genus: | Austroperla Needham, 1905 |
| Species: | A. cyrene
|
| Binomial name | |
| Austroperla cyrene (Newman, 1845)
| |
Austroperla cyrene, the black stonefly, is a species of austroperlid stonefly endemic to New Zealand. It is the single species in the genus Austroperla. The species is a 'shredder' that lives and feeds on decomposing wood and leaves in streams throughout New Zealand.[1][2] It is particularly common in forested streams but relatively rare or absent from deforested streams.[3][4]
A. cyrene nymphs and adults contain hydrogen cyanide[3] and as a result are toxic to predators.[5] To advertise their toxicity, A. cyrene adults have striking aposematic (warning) colouration, with bright yellow and white colour features against a black background.[6]
This distinctive warning coloration is mimicked by melanic specimens of the non-toxic stoneflies Zelandoperla fenestrata and Taraperla pseudocyrene.[1][5]
A fossilised specimen of Austroperla has been recorded from early Miocene sediments of Foulden Maar in Central Otago. A phylogenetic study of Southern Hemisphere stoneflies[7] similarly suggests an ancient history for this New Zealand lineage, with Austroperla estimated to have diverged from Australian and Chilean austroperlids around 37 million years ago.
References[edit]
- ^ a b McLellan, Ian (1997). "Austroperla cyrene Newman (Plecoptera: Austroperlidae)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 27 (2): 271–278. Bibcode:1997JRSNZ..27..271M. doi:10.1080/03014223.1997.9517538.
- ^ Anderson, NH (1982). "A survey of aquatic insects associated with wood debris in New Zealand streams". Mauri Ora. 10: 21–33.
- ^ a b Thomson, Margaret (1934). "An account of the systematics, anatomy and bionomics of Austroperla cyrene Newman". University of Canterbury MSC Thesis.
- ^ Harding, Jon; Winterbourn, Michael (1995). "Effects of contrasting land use on physico-chemical conditions and benthic assemblages of streams in a Canterbury (South Island, New Zealand) river system". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 29 (4): 479–492. Bibcode:1995NZJMF..29..479H. doi:10.1080/00288330.1995.9516681.
- ^ a b Foster, Brodie; McCulloch, Graham; Foster, Yasmin; Kroos, Gracie; King, Tania; Waters, Jonathan (2023). "ebony underpins Batesian mimicry in melanic stoneflies". Molecular Ecology. 32 (18): 4986–4998. Bibcode:2023MolEc..32.4986F. doi:10.1111/mec.17085. PMID 37503654.
- ^ Foster, Brodie; McCulloch, Graham; Waters, Jonathan (2021). "Evidence for aposematism in a southern hemisphere stonefly family (Plecoptera: Austroperlidae)". Austral Entomology. 60 (2): 267–275. doi:10.1111/aen.12529.
- ^ McCulloch, Graham; Wallis, Graham; Waters, Jonathan (2016). "A time-calibrated phylogeny of southern hemisphere stoneflies: Testing for Gondwanan origins". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 96: 150–160. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.028.