Perlodes microcephalus

Perlodes cf. microcephalus (Pictet, 1833) TAXO-2022. Morphological identification of individuals in the P. microcephalus group was also challenging in the Estaragne catchment. Indeed, due to some morphological variations observed in comparison to the larvae of topotypical alpine individuals described partly in the Arve River in Geneva (Pictet 1841), we preferred to name it P. cf. microcephalus pending future work on this group at national or even European scale. Note that our molecular data (PP 348535 to PP 348538) also show a distinct haplotype compared to the available and unpublished sequences of P. microcephalus from Europe. DIST. P. cf. microcephalus was collected at the downstream reaches of the Estaragne River and the tributary a 5 (adults and larvae), below 2000 m a. s. l. This species probably inhabits rhithral and mid-altitude streams, vicariant to topotypical P. microcephalus from the Alps (Graf et al. 2026).