Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae of Gunnison County, ColoradoTraverella albertana(McDunnough 1931)Updated 20250505
TSN 101097 Good LinksOn this website:Key to Leptophlebiidae nymphs Key to Leptophlebiidae adults Other Websites: Photos, Map, Museum specimens, DNA - Barcodinglife.org ReferencesAllen, RK and Murvosh, CM 1987 Leptophlebiidae of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico (Insecta: Ephemeroptera). The Great Basin Naturalist 283-286.Quote from page 285: Traverella albertana (McDunnough) Thraulus albertana McDunnough 1931: 82. Traverella albertanus Edmunds 1948; 142. DISTRIBUTION: This species has the widest latitudinal distribution of any North American species with a range of more than 26°. Specimens have been collected from Saskatchewan, Canada (54° N lat.), to Chihuahua, Mexico (28° N lat.). Allen,RK 1973 Generic revisions of mayfly nymphs. 1. Traverella in North and Central America (Leptophlebiidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 66(6) 1287-1295. PDF Abstract: "The 14 described species of Traverella are discussed, and synonymies and other pertinent data are presented for all North and Central American species. The 7 species of Traverella nymphs are included in an illustrated key and distribution map, and accounts of each include complete synonymy, nymphal description and collection records. Nymphs designated as Traverella spp. A, B, C, are described, and the nymph of T. lewisi n. sp. is described and named." Edmunds,GF Jr. 1948 A new genus of mayflies from western North America (Leptophlebiinae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 61:141-148. Working from animals he collected in the Utah's Green River, Edmunds describes the genus Traverella in this paper and designates Traverella albertana as the type species. T. albertana was previously named Thraulus albertanus by McDunnough in 1931. Edmunds created the genus name Traverella to honor the mayfly researcher Jay R. Traver. 
Haden,GA; Blinn,DW; Shannon,JP and Wilson,JP 1999 Driftwood: an alternative habitat for macroinvertebrates in a large desert river. Hydrobiologia 397, 179-186. Abstract: "Driftwood was an important substratum for macroinvertebrates in the Colorado River, a desert river in southwestern U.S.A. with high suspended sediments and limited cobble substrata. Higher light availability and reduced abrasion on driftwood substrata resulted in a significantly higher ash-free dry mass (AFDM) of biofilm when compared to cobbles. Overall mean mass of biofilm on driftwood was 3.76 g m-2 AFDM (SE ±0.19) compared to 2.45 g m-2 AFDM (±0.15) on cobbles. Total macroinvertebrate AFDM was not significantly different between cobble and driftwood substrata. However, there were differences in the Ephemeroptera assemblage on the two substrata which were attributed to the type of food resources available in each habitat. Driftwood was dominated by the scraper/collector Heptagenia elegantula (Eaton), while the filterer/collector, Traverella albertana (McDunnough) dominated cobbles. Twenty taxa were found on driftwood substrata. This habitat expands the types of niches available to macroinvertebrates in lotic systems with high suspended sediments. We calculated that 4.4 m2 of driftwood substratum passed our sample station each minute during a 12-h sampling period on the rising limb of the hydrograph. River impoundments limit the supply and transport of driftwood, which may have negative implications on macroinvertebrate communities in desert rivers with high suspended sediment. Studies in turbid desert rivers that do not sample driftwood may underestimate both the total standing mass/energy of the system and taxon richness." Lugo-Ortiz,CR and McCafferty,WP 1995 Annotated inventory of the mayflies (Ephemeroptera) of Arizona. Entomological News 106 3, 131-140. McDunnough,J 1931 New species of North American Ephemeroptera. Canadian Entomologist 63, 82-93. The mayfly Traverella albertana was described by McDunnough in 1931 as Thraulus albertanus. 
Stanford,JA and Ward,JV 1985 The effects of regulation on the limnology of the Gunnison River: A North American case history. In: Regulated Rivers. Eds: Lillehammer,A; Saltveit,S Universitetsforlaget As., Oslo, Norway, 467-480. Ward,JV and Stanford,JA 1990 Ephemeroptera of the Gunnison River, Colorado, USA. In: Mayflies and Stoneflies. Ed: Campbell,IC Kluwer Academic Publishers, 215-220. PDF Abstract: "Samples were taken year-round at eleven sites (2900-1400m a.s.l.) along the Gunnison River, a 329 km long tributary of the Colorado River, to examine the longitudinal distribution of Ephemeroptera and to assess the response of the mayfly fauna to dams in the headwaters and middle reaches. Nymphal abundance increased from headwaters (791 organisms and 333mg dry weight m-2 at site 1) to lower reaches (2610 organisms and 873 mg at Site 11). Abundance was slightly elevated immediately below the headwater dam (Site 2) whereas damming the middle reaches greatly reduced mayfly density and biomass. Five families (Baetidae, Ephemerellidae, Heptageniidae, Leptophlebiidae, Tricorythidae) comprised from > 98% to 100% of the mayfly fauna at each site. Leptophlebiids and tricorythids were abundant only in the lower reaches. Mayfly species richness exhibited a unimodal pattern with the maximum at Site 4. Both headwater and middle reach dams greatly reduced species richness immediately downstream. Scrapers and collector-gatherers comprised the majority of the mayfly fauna at all sites. Filter-feeders were abundant only at Site 11 where Traverella albertana attained high densities." |