Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5782 No. 1: 23 Mar. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-03-23
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5782.1.11
Page range: 183-192
Abstract views: 12
PDF downloaded: 0

A new species of Caenis Stephens, 1835 (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from Madurai, India

PG& Research department of Zoology; The American College (affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University); Madurai-625002; India
PG& Research department of Zoology; The American College (affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University); Madurai-625002; India
PG& Research department of Zoology; The American College (affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University); Madurai-625002; India
Department of Zoology; Fatima College (affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University); Madurai-625018; India
PG& Research department of Zoology; The American College (affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University); Madurai-625002; India
Ephemeroptera Caenidae Caenis limai Oriental region Tamil Nadu taxonomy

Abstract

Caenis srinii sp. nov. is described from the Karuppayurani pond in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, South India based on larval, subimaginal, and imaginal stages. Diagnostic characters of the new species include distinctive male genitalia, larval setation patterns, and chorionic egg structures. The total number of Caenis species recorded from India is thus raised to fourteen. The most closely related species to C. srinii sp. nov. is Caenis limai Srinivasan, Sivaruban, Barathy & Isack, 2023, and C. ulmeriana Malzacher, 2015. Detailed comparisons with these two species and an updated key of the genus Caenis of south India are provided herein.

 

References

  1. Ali, S.R. (1967) The mayfly nymphs (Order: Ephemeroptera) of Rawalpindi district. Pakistan Journal of Science, 19, 73–86.
  2. Balasubramanian, C. & Muthukatturaja, M. (2021) Two additional new species of Clypeocaenis Soldán, 1978 (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from the Western Ghats of Peninsular India. Zootaxa, 4915 (3), 377–388. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4915.3.6
  3. Kimmins, D.E. (1947) New species of Indian Ephemeroptera. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 16 (7–8), 92–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.1947.tb00865.x
  4. Malzacher, P. (2015) Revision of the Oriental species of the genus Caenis Stephens (Insecta: Ephemeroptera: Caenidae). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A (Biologie), Neue Serie, 8, 27–47.
  5. Malzacher, P. (2022) Trait evolution of the male genitalia in the speciose genus Caenis, with emphasis on forcipes structure (Insecta: Ephemeroptera: Caenidae). Integrative Systematics: Stuttgart Contributions to Natural History, 5 (1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.18476/2022.253690
  6. Malzacher, P. & Sangpradub, N. (2021) New mayfly species of Caenis and Kalimaenis from Thailand and descriptions of two new genera of the subfamily Caeninae (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae). Integrative Systematics: Stuttgart Contributions to Natural History, 3 (1), 1–33. [2020] https://doi.org/10.18476/insy.v03.a1
  7. Muthukatturaja, M. & Balasubramanian, C. (2021) A new species of Caenis Stephens, 1835 (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from Tamil Nadu, Southern India. Zootaxa, 4980 (2), 366–372. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4980.2.7
  8. Muthukatturaja, M., Balasubramanian, C. & Murugan, A. (2020) Two new species of Clypeocaenis (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from Western Ghats, Southern India. Zootaxa, 4722 (4), 361–370. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4722.4.5
  9. Soldán, T. (1978) New genera and species of Caenidae (Ephemeroptera) from Iran, India and Australia. Acta Entomologica Bohemoslovaca, 75, 119–129.
  10. Staniczek, A.H., Malzacher, P., Bojková, J., Sroka, P., Soldán, T., Namin, J.I. & Godunko, R.J. (2020) Caenidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) of Iran, with new records and re-description of the nymph of Caenis kopetdagi Kluge, 1985. Aquatic Insects, 41 (2), 106–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650424.2020.1735449
  11. Stephens, J.F. (1835) Family III. - Ephemeridae, Leach. Illustrations of British Entomology, Mandibulata, 6, 54–70.
  12. Srinivasan, P., Sivaruban, T., Barathy, S., Malzacher, P. & Isack, R. (2021) A new charismatic Caenis Stephens, 1835 (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from Southern India. Zootaxa, 4926 (1), 105–116. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4926.1.7
  13. Srinivasan, P., Sivaruban, T., Barathy, S., Isack, R. & Jacobus, L.M. (2022) A new species of Clypeocaenis Soldán 1978 (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from Tamil Nadu, India. Zootaxa, 5091 (3), 467–476. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5091.3.6
  14. Srinivasan, P., Sivaruban, T., Barathy, S. & Isack, R. (2023a) Contribution to the knowledge of family Caenidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from Madurai District, Tamil Nadu. Zootaxa, 5258 (1), 39–75. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5258.1.2
  15. Srinivasan, P., Sivaruban, T., Barathy, S. & Isack, R. (2023b) A new species of Caenis Stephens, 1835 and description of male subimaginal characters of Caenis americani Srinivasan et al., 2021 (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from the Western Ghats, South India. Aquatic Insects, 44 (4), 235–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650424.2022.2162085
  16. Srinivasan, P., Sivaruban, T., Barathy, S. & Isack, R. (2024) New findings of the Caenis ulmeriana-group (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) in the Western Ghats, India, Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics, 10 (3), 443–451. https://doi.org/10.61186/jibs.10.3.443
  17. Traver, J.R. (1939) Himalayan mayflies (Ephemeroptera). Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 11, 4 (19), 32–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933908526972

How to Cite

Kiruthiga, M., Sivaruban, T., Jeyapriya, V., Barathy, S. & Isack, R. (2026) A new species of Caenis Stephens, 1835 (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from Madurai, India. Zootaxa, 5782 (1), 183–192. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5782.1.11