''Protohermes'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
dobsonflies
Dobsonflies are a subfamily of insects, Corydalinae, part of the Megalopteran family Corydalidae. The larvae (commonly called hellgrammites) are aquatic, living in streams, and the adults are often found along streams as well. The nine genera ...
in the family
Corydalidae
The family Corydalidae contains the megalopterous insects known as dobsonflies and fishflies. Making up about one dozen genera,See references in Haaramo (2008) they occur primarily throughout the Northern Hemisphere, both temperate and tropic ...
.
''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within
Megaloptera
Megaloptera is an order of insects. It contains the alderflies, dobsonflies and fishflies, and there are about 300 known species.
The order's name comes from Ancient Greek, from ''mega-'' (μέγα-) "large" + ''pteryx'' (πτέρυξ) "wing ...
, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
areas in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
.
This endemism may be a result of an association with high elevation and high slope streams in Northern Vietnam and China.
Description
Adult ''Protohermes'' generally have yellow coloration with white spots on the wings.
The male
genetalia
A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
region is diverse across the genus and can be useful for species-level identification, especially the shape and size of the tenth
tergum
A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'm ...
and the subgenital plate at the ninth
sternum
The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. ...
.
Nuptial gift
A nuptial gift is a nutritional gift given by one partner in some animals' sexual reproduction practices.
Formally, a nuptial gift is a material presentation to a recipient by a donor during or in relation to sexual intercourse that is not simp ...
s in ''Protohermes'' may as large as 20% of the total body mass of the male and can require up to 2 days to recover before
mating
In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite- sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. '' Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually rep ...
again.
The size and
phenology
Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation).
Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...
of larvae is closely tied to the availability of different sizes of prey.
Dwarfism
Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...
occurs in populations on islands and peninsulas as a result of fewer species of large prey, and
maturation
Maturation is the process of becoming mature; the emergence of individual and behavioral characteristics through growth processes over time.
Maturation may refer to:
Science
* Developmental psychology
* Foetal development
* Maturity (geology), ...
may be synchronous with prey in locations with
seasonal
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
variability. Larger larvae do not consume smaller prey, and they actively
select
Select or SELECT may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Select'' (album), an album by Kim Wilde
* ''Select'' (magazine), a British music magazine
* ''MTV Select'', a television program
* ''Select Live'', New Zealand's C4 music program ...
prey as an
ambush predator
Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey u ...
. Larvae are motionless 90% of the time during the day, but do change position on the stream bed
during the night.
Taxonomy
''Protohermes'' contains the following species:
* ''Protohermes costalis'' species-group
** ''
Protohermes acutatus
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism may b ...
''
** ''
Protohermes costalis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes basiflavus
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes disjunctus
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes lii
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes yunnanensis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes arunachalensis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes fujianensis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes hunanensis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes yangi
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes gutianensis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes orientalis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes similis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism may b ...
''
** ''
Protohermes triangulatus
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism may b ...
''
** ''
Protohermes sinensis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes basimaculatus
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism may b ...
''
** ''
Protohermes stigmosus
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism may b ...
''
** ''
Protohermes niger
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism may b ...
''
* ''Protohermes changninganus'' species-group
** ''
Protohermes subnubilus
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism may b ...
''
** ''
Protohermes decemmaculatus''
** ''
Protohermes changninganus
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism may b ...
''
** ''
Protohermes albipennis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism ...
''
** ''
Protohermes xingshanensis
''Protohermes'' is a genus of dobsonflies in the family Corydalidae. ''Protohermes'' is the most specious and widely distributed genus within Megaloptera, but up to 85% of species are restricted to small endemic areas in Asia. This endemism may b ...
''
** ''