Baetidae (Baetidae, Ephemeroptera) in the Maghreb: state of the art, key, and perspectives

Abstract

Among mayflies, Baetidae are often considered as easy to recognise at the family level, but difficult to identify at lower level. In several faunistic or ecological studies, the identification remains at the family level; Baetidae are generally considered as widespread and ubiquitous, therefore as poorly informative for ecological studies or bioassessments. Here, a straightforward identification key is offered to larvae of the ten genera of Baetidae reported from Maghreb based on easily observable and understandable characters. The diversity, ecology, and distribution of each taxonomic unit (genera or subgenera) are discussed and the main difficulties for deeper identification are pointed out. Future challenges and remaining taxonomic riddles for Maghrebian Baetidae are detailed.

Another new species of the genus Habrophlebia Eaton, 1881 (Ephemeroptera, Leptophlebiidae) from the Maghreb

“… concinnum ]. Since then, a large number of surveys have been carried out to augment this initial list with an additional 35 species, resulting in a total species richness of 37 taxa, which constitutes more than 68% of Morocco’s Ephemeroptera ( Dakki and El Agbani 1983 ; Giudicelli and Dakki 1984 ; El Alami and Dakki 1998 ; El Alami et al 2000 , 2022a ; Kaltenbach et al 2022 ; Gattolliat et al 2023 ; El Alami et al 2023 ; El Yaagoubi et al 2023 ). These investigations have collected no less than three new species from the Rif, including Habrophlebia dakkii sp.…”

A new species of the genus Alainites Waltz & McCafferty, 1994 (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae) from the north of Morocco

“…The number of gills is a useful character to separate the different species of Alainites . This new species is assigned to Alainites because it has all the synapomorphic characters of the genus: a laterally compressed thorax, paraproct with postero-internal extension and the prostheca of the right mandible bifid ( Waltz et al 1994 ; Gattolliat et al 2023 ). Within Alainites , the larva of the new species is the second western Palearctic species with seven pairs of gills.…”

“…nov. has increased the biodiversity of Morocco with a new endemic species of mayfly, highlighting the remarkable biodiversity and species richness of Ephemeroptera in the region. The recent identification of two new species, Prosopistoma maroccanum ( El Alami et al, 2022a ) and Centroptilum alamiae ( Gattolliat et al, 2023 ), has significantly increased the proportion of Ephemeroptera endemism in Morocco to more than 33% ( El Alami et al 2022b ). With the potential for further increases in the future, it is crucial to prioritize conservation and protection measures, particularly in sites hosting high species richness and endemic species.…”

A new species of the Baetis fuscatus group (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae) from Morocco

“… Baetidae is the most species-rich family of mayflies, with approximately 1,100 species in 114 genera ( Sartori and Brittain 2015 ; Jacobus et al 2019 ; Kaltenbach et al 2021 ), representing roughly one-third of all mayfly species globally. The family is cosmopolitan, except for New Zealand ( Gattolliat and Nieto 2009 ; Gattolliat et al 2023 ). Taxonomic and hydrobiological studies are constantly adding to the list of baetid species, but knowledge remains incomplete.…”

“…The mayfly fauna in Morocco comprises 54 species, with half of them belonging to Baetidae . A comprehensive checklist of these species has been recently published; however, some species are still awaiting description ( El Alami et al 2022a ; Kaltenbach et al 2022 ; Gattolliat et al 2023 ).…”