Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Takobia Novikova & Kluge, 1987 (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae) in Central Asia

Based on the original type material, the nymphal stage of the mayfly Takobiamaxillare is redescribed; in parallel, a lectotype is designated. Takobiamaxillare is the type species of the genus Takobia, and an accurate and complete knowledge of its morphology is crucial to the delimitation of this problematic genus and clarification of its phylogenetic affinities. Ambiguous characters, previously reported for this species in the literature are clarified. Furthermore, two new species in the same genus are described, namely Takobiasinusopalpatasp. nov. and Takobiashughnonicasp. nov. based on the morphology of nymphs from Central Asia, supplemented with COI sequences. Implications for the systematics of Takobia and related taxa are discussed and the need for an extensive phylogenetic study of this group is stressed.