Agaphylax, a new limnephilid genus (Trichoptera) from the Balkan: Lineage ranking by adaptive paramere

Abstract

A new genus, Agaphylax gen. nov. is erected for a new species, Agaphylax balcanicus collected in the Balkan Peninsula (Macedonia). The new genus is established primarily on the uniquely organised paramere with character combi-nations of the cerci and paraproct complex. This unique taxon confirms recent findings in Dicosmoecinae and Drusinae subfamilies and Hesperophylacini tribe suggesting that parameres may have high ranking value and real capacity to detect ancestral and contemporary lineage divergences in the Limnephilinae subfamily. Theoretical aspects of taxonomical ranking are discussed briefly in order to understand the biological ranking value of the paramere traits: semiotic/semiolo-gic/semantic/hermeneutic epistemology; specific/generic, ancestral/derived, complex/simple, adaptive/neutral characters; speciation super traits/limits of single traits; unweighted/weighted characters. Ancestral paramere structures, the basic ples-iomorphic paramere patterns are presented along transformation series of simplification in the five tribes of Limnephilinae subfamily, as a working hypothesis for a future comprehensive paramere revision.

Keywords

• New limnephilid genus
• taxonomic ranking
• speciation
• super trait
• paramere organisation