Molecular and morphological diversity of Baetis braaschi Zimmermann, 1980 (Ephemeroptera: Baetideae); with notes on species’ description

Although mayflies are the key elements to assess the health value of freshwaters, their biodiversity in the Middle East, in particular in Iran, is poorly studied. Baetis braaschi belongs to the subgenus Rhodobaetis Jacob, 2003, with a wide distribution in Europe and Western Asia. The taxonomy of B. braaschi has always been source of disagreement as many species have so far been described by researchers and were synonymized later. The species, Baetis braaschi, is investigated here, using molecular and morphological data using collected specimens from different area in Iran and compared with its conspecific from Eastern Europe. Although Iranian specimens showed 99% molecular similarity with their conspecifics in Eastern Europe, e.g., Ukraine and Georgia, the morphological results showed that Iranian specimens of Baetis braaschi has significant morphological differences with conspecific specimens from Eastern Europe. Patterns of head, femora and size of the first and second teeth of mandibles in B. braaschi are varied from Europe to Iran.