Athripsodes saral sp. n., a new Leptoceridae (Trichoptera) from the Kurdistan Province, Iran

In this paper, we describe Athripsodes saral sp. n., a new species from the Kurdistan Province, Iran, which belongs to the A. sewangensis Species Group. The new species is morphologically most similar to Athripsodes caglari Sipahiler, 2008 from Turkey and Athripsodes sewangensis Martynov, 1925 from Armenia. However, it can be distinguished from all known species of this group by notable morphological characteristics of the male and female genitalia. In males, the dorsal projection of the coxopodite is slightly longer or equal in size to the harpago, while in females, the dorsolateral lobes of segment IX exhibit a distinct triangular shape, visible in both ventral and dorsal views. Furthermore, the new species displays distinct characteristics from its closest congeners in the shape of segment IX, prolongations of segment X, and the structure of the aedeagus in males. Athripsodes saral sp. n. is the third known species of the genus Athripsodes Billberg, 1820 known from Iran.