Order EPHEMEROPTERA

Ephemeroptera

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Order EPHEMEROPTERA

Mayflies

Compiler and date details

December 2007 - P.J. Suter, Department of Environmental Management and Ecology, La Trobe University, Albury-Wodonga Campus

1 October 1999 - Ian Campbell, Chisolm Institute of Technology, Caufield East, Victoria, Australia

Introduction

Ephemeroptera, or mayflies, are a relatively small order of insects with aquatic nymphs and terrestrial adults. The order comprises more than 3000 described species in 42 families and more than 400 genera (2008). They are usually considered to be amongst the most primitive insects (e.g. Hennig 1981) and are unique in that both the subimaginal and imaginal life stages are winged. The nymphs are often extremely abundant in streams, where they play a critical ecological role (Merritt & Cummins 1978). They are often used as valuable ecological indicators, both for fisheries potential and as water quality indicators (Hubbard & Peters 1978). The adult stages have a short life span, usually between one and three days, and do not feed.

The familial classification adpoted here is that first proposed by Landa (1973). It differs from those of most other authors by placement of the genera Tasmanophlebia, Mirawara, Coloburiscoides, Ameletoides and Austremerella in the families Oniscigastridae, Ameletopsidae Coloburiscidae, Nesameletidae and Vietnamellidae respectively. Baetidae are recognised as a family, following the practice of most other authors (e.g. Edmunds et al. 1976; McCafferty & Edmunds 1979; Peters & Campbell 1991).

The present catalogue recognises nine families, 37 genera and 113 species of Australian Ephemeroptera. Mayflies, however, still are poorly studied in Australia and this number of genera and species will increase particularly with further study using the combination of molecular and morphological techniques. There are also numerous new genera yet to be described (Dean 1999b; Suter 1997; Suter 1999a). The taxonomy of the largest family, the Leptophlebiidae is still poorly known. Campbell & Suter (1988) instituted numerous taxonomic changes in the Leptophlebiidae particularly in the genera Deleatidium Eaton, Atalophlebioides Phillips, and Nousia Navàs but this resulted in several species being assigned incertae sedis. It is not possible to list here synonyms in the incertae sedis category and it should be noted that Euphyurus bicornis Ulmer is a junior synonym of Leptophlebia strigata Eaton (see Harker 1954: 265), taxa previously assigned to Deleatidium. Recently, Leptophlebiidae have received considerable attention with descriptions of numerous new genera and species (Bae & Finlay 2003; Christidis & Dean 2005; Dean 1987; Dean 1988; Dean 1997; Dean et al. 1999; Dean & Suter 2004; Finlay 2000).

Harker (1950, 1954) published the first checklists of Australia Ephemeroptera and, although these contained some inaccuracies which were corrected where possible by (Campbell 1988), more recent changes are included here. No keys to the adults have been produced since Harker's work, but more recent keys to nymphs at the generic level have been published by numerous authors (Dean 1999a; Dean & Suter 1996; Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty 1998; Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty 1999; Lugo-Ortiz et al. 1999; Suter 1979; Suter 1984; Suter 1993; Suter 1997; Suter 1999a; Suter 1999b; Suter & Pearson 2001).

The poor state of the taxonomy of Australian ephemeropteran nymphs in particular, means that ecological studies rarely indentify mayflies beyond genus. As a result, numerous biological surveys have listed mayfly nymphs amoungst the more abundant organisms encounted (e.g. Malipatil & Blyth 1982) and several studies on aquatic insects or solely on mayflies (e.g. Bailey 1981; Marchant et al. 1984; Chessman 1986), could not be included in the biological references in this database. A series of publications through the CRC for Freshwater Ecology provided keys to mayfly nymphs and identified many that were undescribed and identified only in a single life stage (Dean 1999a; Dean 1999b; Dean & Suter 1996; Suter 1997; Suter 1999a). Australian mayflies, however, do live in a wide range of habitats and fill a variety of ecological roles (Suter et al. 2006). While most species feed on the epilithos — the community of micro-organisms on the surface of stones — or on coarse or fine particulate organic debris which collects on the bed of lakes or streams, members of the genus Mirawara (Ameletopsidae) are carnivorous (chiefly on other mayflies), whilst species of Coloburiscoides (Coloburiscidae) are filter feeders (Campbell 1985).