Mayfly Species Plauditus cingulatus

Head: Pale with pair of faint paramedial brown lines; antennae short reaching back little beyond bases of wing pads and somewhat darkened apically.

Thorax: Brown marks on pale background; pronotum with two submedial brown areas near anterior border and a brown area in each antero-lateral and posterolateral angle; mesonotum with pair of brownish submedian triangular areas in anterior part, these triangles seated on anterior border with acute apex posterior; more extensive brown areas laterally; wing pads pale; legs pale with prominent brown band on coxa and a longitudinal brown stroke in basal half of femur; tarsal claws pectinate.

Abdomen: Rather obscurely marked dorsum somewhat darker on segments 5-7; a submedian row of dark dots forming a double line along the dorsum and the pigmentation less dense immediately around the dark spots; pale areas antero-laterally in the segments and frequently a much more extensive pale lateral area in segment 4; segments 8-10 largely pale; venter with faint ganglionic dots and dashes in double row; lateral caudal filaments pale with indistinct dark band about halfway out; the medially directed setae in this vicinity on the filament are black and give the appearance of an obscure dark band, much less conspicuous however than the dark band in other species, e.g. P. dubium; the gills are present on segments 1-7 and have prominent tracheae.

Abdominal tergites 2-6 of male imago pale hyaline, the dorsal portions of posterior margins narrowly orange-brown.

Turbinate eyes circular, deep red-brown, somewhat larger than in P. dubium (now a synonym of Plauditus dubius). Thorax wholly deep blackish brown; membranous portions of pleura slightly tinged with ruddy. Fore femora deep smoky; tibiae and tarsi pale, slightly smoky. Middle and hind femora pale amber with a smoky tinge; tibiae and tarsi whitish. Wings hyaline, venation pale. Abdominal tergites 2-6 pale hyaline, the first two tergites faintly tinged with smoky; the dorsal portion of the posterior margins, especially of tergites 2 and 3, is finely orange-brown. Abdominal tergites 7-10 deep sepia-brown. Sternites 2-6 pale hyaline; 7-9 opaque, whitish tinged with sepia. Tails and forceps pale. Tracheae marked with black, forming a double black line along the spiracular area. Genitalia much as in P. dubium.

The orange-brown abdominal banding and the duller sepia brown of abdominal tergites 7-10 distinguish this species from P. dubium; it lacks the red submedian dots of P. virile (now a synonym of Plauditus virilis), and the femora are not banded; the lack of a mid-ventral row of spots separates it from P. punctiventris) now a synonym of Plauditus punctiventris).