Biology:Austroperla
Austroperla cyrene, the black stonefly, is a species of austroperlid stonefly endemic to New Zealand. It is the single species in the genus Austroperla. The species is a 'shredder' that lives and feeds on decomposing wood and leaves in streams throughout New Zealand.[1][2] It is particularly common in forested streams but relatively rare or absent from deforested streams.[3][4]
A. cyrene nymphs and adults contain hydrogen cyanide[3] and as a result are toxic to predators.[5] To advertise their toxicity, A. cyrene adults have striking aposematic (warning) colouration, with bright yellow and white colour features against a black background.[6]
This distinctive warning coloration is mimicked by melanic specimens of the non-toxic stoneflies Zelandoperla fenestrata and Taraperla pseudocyrene.[1][5]
A fossilised specimen of Austroperla has been recorded from early Miocene sediments of Foulden Maar in Central Otago. A phylogenetic study of Southern Hemisphere stoneflies[7] similarly suggests an ancient history for this New Zealand lineage, with Austroperla estimated to have diverged from Australian and Chilean austroperlids around 37 million years ago.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 McLellan, Ian (1997). "Austroperla cyrene Newman (Plecoptera: Austroperlidae)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology 27 (2): 271–278. doi:10.1080/03014223.1997.9517538. Bibcode: 1997JRSNZ..27..271M.
- ↑ Anderson, NH (1982). "A survey of aquatic insects associated with wood debris in New Zealand streams". Mauri Ora 10: 21–33.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Thomson, Margaret (1934). "An account of the systematics, anatomy and bionomics of Austroperla cyrene Newman". University of Canterbury MSC Thesis..
- ↑ Harding, Jon; Winterbourn, Michael (1995). "Effects of contrasting land use on physico-chemical conditions and benthic assemblages of streams in a Canterbury (South Island, New Zealand) river system". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 29 (4): 479–492. doi:10.1080/00288330.1995.9516681. Bibcode: 1995NZJMF..29..479H.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Foster, Brodie; McCulloch, Graham; Foster, Yasmin; Kroos, Gracie; King, Tania; Waters, Jonathan (2023). "ebony underpins Batesian mimicry in melanic stoneflies". Molecular Ecology 32 (18): 4986–4998. doi:10.1111/mec.17085. PMID 37503654. Bibcode: 2023MolEc..32.4986F.
- ↑ Foster, Brodie; McCulloch, Graham; Waters, Jonathan (2021). "Evidence for aposematism in a southern hemisphere stonefly family (Plecoptera: Austroperlidae)". Austral Entomology 60 (2): 267–275. doi:10.1111/aen.12529.
- ↑ McCulloch, Graham; Wallis, Graham; Waters, Jonathan (2016). "A time-calibrated phylogeny of southern hemisphere stoneflies: Testing for Gondwanan origins". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 96: 150–160. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.028. PMID 26585029. Bibcode: 2016MolPE..96..150M.
Wikidata ☰ {{{from}}} entry
 |  |
