THE WESTERN SPECIES OF GOMPHUS, INCLUDING A NEW SPE- CIES AND A NEW VARIETY

540 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM

12. THE WESTERN SPECIES OF GOMPHUS, INCLUDING A NEW SPE- CIES AND A NEW VARIETY

NO.2192.

DRAGONFLIES, CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA— KENNEDY. 549

exceptn'evadensis,which they resemble,but notdiffering enoughto

make

apositive specific character. Lateralhooks on segments ^7-!).

The

paired superior appendages four-fifths as long as the median appendage. (Seefigs.219,227-229, 241 and246.)

Length, 28

mm.

^; abdomen,18; hindfemur,₅;widthofabdomen,8.

Describedfromnumerous emerging

nymphs

andexuviaecollected on

Donner

Lake, July23, 1914.

OPHIOGOMPHUSMORRISONI NEVADENSISKennedy,nymph.

A

large fightcolored

nymph,

nakedexceptforafewshorthairson thetibiaeand aboutthehead; 26labial teeth.

Abdomen

withdorsal hookson segments2-9, longer,

slender,and

erectthanin otherspeciesexcept

mormom.

Lateralhookson segments7-9.

The

paired superior appendages four-fifths as long as the median appendage. (Seefigs.221,233-235,242and244.)

Length, 31

mm.;

abdomen, 20; hind femur, 5.5; width of abdomen, 8.5.

Described from a single male exuvia collected on

Winnemucca

Slough at

Pyramid

Lake, August, 1914.

The

only other

gomphine

fomid at this place,whichis a branch outlet oftheTruckee River, was Erpetogomphuscompositus. Thisisnot the

nymph

ofthat.*

OPHIOGOMPHUS,species.

In the Cornell collection are five dried

nymphs

from

"N.

Mex."

Theseareverycloseto severus,butdifferinhavingthedorsalspines noticeablyweaker,and only the spine on segment2 erect,those on segments 3-9pointingcaudad.

Severus is recorded

by

Selys^{^}from theMerinoValley (elevation, 9,600feet).

New

Mexico. Ihaveseenno specimensofimagoesfrom

New

Mexico. Selys records theMerino Valley as on theColorado.

Ifso, this

may

be the

nymph

of arizonicus.

12.

THE WESTERN

SPECIES

OF GOMPHUS, INCLUDING A NEW

SPE-

550 PROCEEDIXOS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.

vol.5i',

California. OlivaceusisrecordedfromtheSan Joaquin Rivereast to the

Humboldt

and

Owens

E-iversand northtothe BritishColumbia portion of the Columbia River. I have not examined the British Columbia specimens,but the

Humboldt

Riverformispaler in color than the

Owens

River and Central California form.

The

species thus breaksinto at leasttwovarieties.

The

situationwithconfrater- nusis even

comphcated. Ihave notseen the Californiaform called confraternus

by

Selys.

From my

study of Coast Oomplius I believe that sohrinus, donneri(see pp.562-570), and theform from Seattle,Washington,called confraternus

by

Osborn^{^} willbofound to intergrade withthis California confraternus of Selys,which hasnot yetbeenrediscovered.

The name

whichwillhaveto be usedfor this groupofvarieties willhavetobeconfraternusbecauseof priority.

In the following pages Ihave considered donneriand sohrinus as distinct species because I do not have material that absolutely connectsthem.

Olivaceus andintricatusare species of warm,

muddy

and sluggish rivers.

The

''confraternus group" have

diversified environ- ments. Sohrinusof thisgroupisfoundinthesmallsluggishstreams ofCentral Cahfornia. Donneriisfrom thecool clearmountainlake whose

name

itbears,while theform fromSeattle,Washington,called confraternus

by

Osborn(seep.565)wastakenon Lake Washington, alake of clearwaterthat neverfreezes.

The

forms of theconfraternus group do not fall into any of the subgenera estabhshed

by

Dr. J.G.

Needham

nymphal

characters.

See pages 570-571fordescriptions ofnymphs.

GOMPHUSINTRICATUSHagen.

IfirstfoundthissmallyellowGompJiusonthe

Humboldt

River at Golconda, Nevada, onAugust 7. Late inthe afternoonafter a

day

ofordinarycollectingaroundthehotspringsandthi'oughthewillow thickets of theriverbottoms,Icaughtamale andfourfemale

Gom-

phusonthe

bank

oftheriver. Seeing thattheywerestrangeto

me

butnot noticing

them

closely Itook

them

forasingle species. In the eveningI went

by

train to

Winnemucca

and thatnight,

when

papering

my

day'scatch, I decided that the male and two ofthe femaleswere onespecies,while the othertwofemaleswereofanother species,ofwhichIhad nomales.

The

following

day

^Icollectedalong

the

Humboldt

Winnemucca

and caughtagoodseriesofthelarger species ofw^hich Ihad amalefromGolconda, but didnotseea single specimenofthesmallerspecies ofwhichI

had

buttwofemales.

Not

knowing whereImightagain take the smallspecies,exceptat Golconda, I boarded the afternoon train and went back, spending thenext

day

collectingagainaroundGolconda. I

made

a painstak- ing search

among

the willows for

Gomphus

and tookseveralof the

1Ent.News,vol. 16, 1905, p. 189.

2192.

DRAOONFLIES, CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA— KENNEDY.

551 larger species, but until late in the afternoon

saw

onlytwo of the smallspecies and these females, bothofwhidh werewildand unap-

248

249

Figs.247-249.—Gomphusintricatus.

Figs. 250-251.—Gomphusolivaceus.

Figs. 252-253.—Gomphusolivaceus nevadensis.

proachable.

But

aboutfouro'clock inthe afternoonI flushedamale ofthe smallspeciesfrom aclumpofrosebushesand withthatsus- pense,which comes toacollectorperhaps onceaseasonasheseesa

552

PROCEEDINOS OF THE NATIONAL

MVtiEVM. vol. 5a.

prize of prizes flyingaway, waitedseveralvery longmoments,wliile he decidedwhetherto alightor toflyacrosstheriveroutof

my

reach.

Indifferent todanger,heHton

my

side oftheriverbutinthesafest place possible as he chose a barepatch ofground in the midstof a broad area ofsaltgrass.

As

saltgrass atits bestis onlysixinches hightherewas nocoverwhateverto aid in stalkinghim. Resorting to the onlytactics available I very slowly approached

him

my

handsandkneesand

was

greatlyrelieved

when

Igotcloseenoughto see that he, still unmindful of his danger, was busily engaged in scratchinghishead%vith his foot. Iwas

relieved

when

moment

laterIhadthe net over him,butthe suspensewasnotentirelyreheved until Ihad

him

ina cyanidebottleandthecorkin tight.

That ^night^I took thetrain

down

theriver to Lovelocks, thelast townbeforetheriverspreadoutintothe

Humboldt

Lakes. Herethe following day along the river two miles east oftown I fomid both species of GomjyJiusabmidantandtook aseriesofthe smallspecies as well as several ofitsexuviae.

As

with mostspecies of

Gomphus

this species spends

much

ofits time seatedon

some

bushor piece of driftwood,rarely alightingon theground. However,

when

itisonthewingit isveryenergetic,and the males flyrapidly backandforthin shortbeats, about 6 inches above the surface of the water.

The

females oviposit while flying inthe

same

quick,nervousmanner. After

many

attemptsIgave

up

tryingtocatch these over thewaterbecausetheyflew so close tothe surfaceit

was

difiicult to hit

them

without striking the water. In copulation themalepicksthe female

up

eitherfromover thewateror from

some

bush,andafteraveryshortnuptial fhghtsettlesforavery long period incopulation. While I didnot timeanyindividuals, I believesuchperiodslastedan houror more. Couples thusincopula- tionweresonumerous andsopreoccupied thatItook

incopula- tionthansingle.

This species

had

been taken before onlyon the Pecos River,^ in

New

Mexico.

The

onlydifferenceapparent between the

Humboldt

specimensandthe descriptionofintncatusis thatin intricatusfrom the Pecos, the vertexisyeUow,^ whileinaUthe

Humboldt

specimens, bothmale andfemale, the areaabouteachantennaisdark

brown and

darkband

connects thetlireeoceUi. Alsoinstructurethe

Humboldt

specimens are larger,being 50

mm.

inlengthasagainst45

mm.

for thePecosspecimens. Seefigures254-262forstructural details.

The

followingisthefivecolor ofthe

Humboldt

specimens

Male.

—

^Face^yellow,^eyes^palegray, vertexohveyellowwithdark

brown

about each antenna anda

brown

stripe connecting the three ocelli; occiputyellow. (Seefig. 247.)

1SincewritingthispaperIhavecollectedthis specieson theOwensRiver,inInyoCounty,Cali- fornia,and havefoimd asinglemaleinthe CornellcollectionfromCalexico, California, collectedbyDr.

Bradley,Aug.11, 1914. CalexicoisintheImperialValley.

»Selys,Mon. Gomph.,1858, p. 678.

NO. 2192.

DRAOONFLIE^. CALIFOB^^A A^W NEVADA—KENNEDY. 553

Prothorax ^yellowish ^olive with an

H-mark

above. Mesothorax and

me

tathorax greenish yellowwith brownish markingsas follows:

Antealarridges,middorsalstripe (theyellowcarina dividing^itthrough

Figs.254-262.—Gomphusinteicatus. 254.Male, segment2. 255-257.Male, segment10. 258.Seg- ments9-10OFfemale. 259.Female,occiput. 260-262.Male,left legs.

itscenter),oneither side anarrowincurvedantehumeralstripe,which touches the antealarstripe above,butinsevenofthe nine specimens thisfades out below. ^TTiis dark antehumeral^isseparated

by

ayel-

554 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.

vol.52.

lowstripe slightly

than its width from a very narrow paler humeral stripe.

A

narrow pale spot on thelower end of thefirst lateral suture. Second lateral suture entirely brown.

Wings

with costa yellow; ptcrostigma yelloAvish, edged with dark brown. Legs yellow, ashort antero-dorsalstripeonapicalend offemurextending usually less than half its length; tibiae black, yellow externally;

tarsidark.

Abdomen

with segments1-6 greenish yellowand 7-10deeper,pure yellow, markingsblack. Segment ¹with pale spot above on either side connected posteriorly with a pale stripe on segment 2, which stripeis darkerinits posterior half.

Apex

ofsegments 2-6 witha narrowblackring.

Each

of 3-6 with a small spot posteriorto the lateralcarinaandalarge spot,coveringtwo-fifthsof theside,onthe distalend of the segment. Segments 7-10 deepyellow, segment 7

marked

similarly to segment 6, but the spots reduced in area and paler. Segment8withbroaddorsal apicalpale

brown

area. Supe- rior appendages yellow with ventral apical face black. Inferior appendagesyellowwithtipsblack.

Female.

—

^Similar ^to ^the ^male ^but ^segments ^7-9 ^with ^distinct

apical spots. Fiveofthe nine femaleshave theantehumeralstripes reaching the mesostigmal lamina. In three the narrow humeral stripeissofaintas toappearwanting. Infourfemalessegment9is entirely yellow. (Seefigs. 248-249.)

The

following are themeasurementsofthe18

Humboldt

specimens:

Male, abdomen, 35-43

mm.;

hind wing, 27-29; female, abdomen, 37-38

mm.;

hind wing, 31-32.

had

theprivilege ofexaminingthe followingspecimensof

Gomphus

intricatus whichbelongto theUnited StatesNational

Museum:

Kio GrandeRiver, BrewsterCounty,Texas, Mitchelland

Cushman,

^col-

lectors, 1 male, 2 females; Albuquerque,

New

Mexico, Cockerell, 1

male; Chaves,

New

Mexico (P.P.Calvert), 1female.

Except that thecolorpattern^isslightlydarkerintheRio Grande specimens, approaching almost to black, I can see no difference betweentheRioGrande and

Nevada

series.

GOMPHUSOLIVACEUSSelys.

Thisisa large speciesfoundon

warm muddy

rivers, Ihave taken

itin two places.

On

July 15 and 16 I took about80males and 6 femalesontheAmerican Riverjustbelow theSouthernPacific Rail- road bridgesat Sacramento. September 2 I took a single female onthedikes ofthe

San

Joaquin RiveratStockton.*

1FerristookthisonBeanCreek nearModesto,California (see p. 630),whichisitspresentfarthestsouth recordintheSanJoaquin Valley. InAugust,1915, Ifoundthisdark form onOwensRiver,Inyo County,California. Kirby(CatalogueofOdonata,p. 65, 1890)recordsthisfrom Nebraska. Idonot knowillsauthority. Walker(41stKept.Ent.Soc.Ont.,1909,p. 120)recordsItfrom Peachland, British Columbia,whichisintheColumbiaRiver watershed. Theexuviae recordedbyNeedhamfromSeattle, Washtagton,as sobriniis (Proc.U.S.Nat. Mus.,vol. 28, p. 692) are of this species.

NO.2192. DRA00NFLIE8,

CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA— KENNEDY. 555 The

specimensItookin

Nevada

Iconsider adistinctvarietyand

willdiscuss

them

separately.'

At

Sacramento several miles of the American and Sacramento Riverswereexplored,butthisspecies

was

foundonlyontheAmerican River and

was

confined to that stretch just below the Southern Pacific bridge.

The

river at thispoint

was

about200feet widewithsandbottom and sand shores except along thenorth shore at the deepestpoint, whereitwas6 feet indepth andthe steeper

bank

showed

some

clay.

Later, inAugust, thewater hadfallen untilitwasonlyabout3 feet deep at this point.

The

shoreherewasborderedwithcottonwoods, whose darkgreen topsroseaboveaImeofpalerwillow bushes,which

hung

inthe

muddy

water,while the riverbottoms adjoiningwere an almost continuousthicket of

box

eldertrees,about30feethigh. In one or two places these

box

elder thickets thinned out and such gladeswere rankwithgrassand clumpsof willows.

The

malesofolivaceuswereabundantover the yellowriver, where theyflew leisurely inabroadly zigzag courseata distanceofnotmore than 10 inches aboveitssurface.

At

intervals theyrested, usually inahangingposition,onthewillows.

The

femaleswerenot

much

in evidence.

Two

wereobserved over thewaterand were swifter and

direct in their flight than the males. Several females were taken in the open willow glades back from the river. Here they restedonthe bushesandweeds,sunning themselves. Here an occa- sionalmalewandered aboutapparently seeking a mate.

When

found the pairwouldfly

away

ina short nuptialflight,sooncomingto rest onbusheswheretheyremainedincopulationindefinitely. Individ- ualsweredifficulttocatchintheseglades,becauseonbeing disturbed theywouldfly

up

outofreach.

The

large serieswastaken

by

wading breastdeepintheriver'sedge andscooping

them

offofthewillows.

Much

time

was

spent searchingforexuviae, butnone werefound.

The

illustrations(figs.263-271)

show

thestructuralpecuHaritiesof thisspecies.

The

foUowingisadescriptionofthelivecolors:

Male.

— ^Labrum

^pale ^grayish with greenish

brown

tmts. Frons slightly browner than labrum, but paler except for a black

band

across its posterior edge. Vertex black except posterior to the ocelli, which with the occiput is pale grayish brown. Eyes blue, paler below. Postocular area pale brownish gray, shading

mto

a bluishgrayabove. (Seefig.250.)

Prothorax dark

brown

except the anteriorlobe which isyellow.

Mesothorax with a blackmiddorsalstripe twiceaswidebelowas at theantealarsinus. Antealar sinusbrown,connecting themiddorsal stripewiththeverywidehumeralsuture. Usually includedin this stripeis agrayhairlinelyingposterior to the sutureand aslightly

1Seep. 557 of thispaper.

556 PROCEEDINQS OF THE XATWNaL

MU,<!ETJM. _{VOL. 52,} wider,

irregiilar and usually discontinuous gray line lying slightly inadvance of the suture.

The

palo areas of tlie thorax are pale gray with a slight greenish tint except the infraepisterna,

5-271.-GOMPHUS OLIVACEUS. 263.MALE, SEGMENT 2. 264-266.MALE, SEGMENT 10. 2(;7

Vulva. 268.Female,occiput. 269-271.Male,left legs.

which are yellow. Legswith coxaand trochanter gray, femurgray witha ])road dorsalblackstripe,tibia andtarsusblack.^

Wings

witii the costaedgedwithyellow,pterostigmabrown.

NO. 2192.

DRAG0NFLTE8, CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA— KENNEDY. 557 Abdomen

with segments 1-6 gray, and segments 7-10 creamy- yellow,

marked

as follows: Segment ¹ ^with, ^a narrow black stripe aboveoneither sidewhichconnectswithasimilar stripeon segment

2,on thelattersegmentthe stripewideningcaudad. Segments2-7 eachwitha lateral stripe as insegment2,andin thelowerposterior angleoftheside a spot, on segments6 and 7 this spot usually connected with the stripe above. Intersegmental

membranes

of seg- ments7-10yellow. Segment7with thelateralstripesmeetingalong the dorsal carina for the posterior two-thirds of its length. Seg- ments8and9with thelateralstripes broadly unitedacrossthe pos- teriorendofeachsegment, leavingon segment8 aroundantero-dorsal spot one-half the segment's length in diameterand on segment9 a

rectangular antero-dorsal pale spot one-third the lengthof the segment. Segments8 and 9 edged below with black. Segment 10 black above, yellow on the sides. Appendages

brown

with black tips. This species ischaracterized

by

the continuouslateral stripes on theabdomen, thelateral spots on segments 3-7 and the general grayishcolor ofthe body.

The

colorationofthe female(fig.251)issimilar tothatofthe male.

The

following arethemeasurementsof 8 males and the6females of olivaceus taken atSacramento:

Male,abdomen, 37-40

mm.;

hind wing, 31-33; female,abdomen, 38-43

mm.;

hind wing, 32-35.

GOMPHUSOLIVACEUSSelys, var.NEVADENSISKennedy.

This variety

was

first taken

by

Henshaw, whose specimens are probablyin the

Museum

ofComparativeZoology.

Hagen

^*liststhese specimensas olivaceus.

Ifoundthisvarietyonlyⁱⁿthe

Humboldt

River,whereItookitat Golconda, Nevada, August 7 and 9; Winnemucca, August 8; and Lovelocks, August 10. I didnotfind it in theswifterpartsof the upperreachesoftheriver atCarlm.

From

Golcondato

Humboldt

Sink,the

Humboldt

Riverisa

muddy

alkali stream, which meanders with

many

involved loops through this treeless valley. Itsbanks and bedare of alkalisiltanditisbor- dered at every turn

by

densethickets ofgraywillow,whichare called pinwillows

by

the cowpunchers,because theyseldomgetlargerthan aninchindiameter.

At

this sizetheydie and remainerect

among

theyoungersprouts,

making

athicket scarcely penetrableexcept

by

animaltrails.

The

smTounding momitains are

brown

andbareand

treeless,noteven cottonwoods growingalong this strange stream.

Both

malesandfemaleswere foundmost

commonly

inthese

wiUow

thickets.

They

sunnedthemselveshere,butevery

now

andthenone

1Rept. Surv.Terr. Colo., 1873, p. 397, 1874.

Dalam dokumen Proceedings of the United States National Museum (Halaman 67-76)