Composition and taxonomy of the baetidae family (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) for la Vieja river basin, Alto Cauca, Colombia

Abstract

Baetidae is one of the most abundant and diverse families in the insect order Ephemeroptera. Among the baetid species distributed in Colombia (38 species and 9 genera), five are known to occur in the basin of La Vieja river, Alto Cauca (Andesiops peruvianus, Camelobaetidius edmunsi, Mayobaetis ellenae, Nanomis gallera, and Prebaetodes sitesi). Here, we estimate the species richness of Baetidae in La Vieja river based on specimens deposited in local museums. We examined 7226 baetid nymphs from 23 species in 11 genera collected in the La Vieja river. We found Baetodes and Camelobaetidius to be the richest genera (10 and three species, respectively), with Baetodes awa and Camelobaetidius edmunsi being the most abundant species in the river (3 563 and 1282 individuals respectively). Here we present new registries for two genera (Cloeodes and Varipes) and eight species (Baetodes awa, Baetodes diasae, Baetodes pseudospinae, Camelobaetidius mathuriae, Camelobaetidius patricki, Nanomis rasmusseni, Prebaetodes meridinensis, and Zelusia principalis) in La Vieja river. Our richness estimates indicates that La Vieja river harbors around 61% of the baetid species described in Colombia (23 of the 38 species).