Revision of the Polycentropodidae of Australia (Insecta: Trichoptera). Part I. The genus Polyplectropus Ulmer, 1905

Two species of polycentropodid caddisfly are newly described in the genus Polyplectropus Ulmer, 1905, raising the number of species recorded from Australia to five. The new species, Polyplectropus anakope sp. nov. and P. lochensis sp. nov., are distinguished by features of the wings and male genitalia. Polyplectropus anakope sp. nov. is endemic to northeastern Queensland and P. lochensis sp. nov. is endemic to southern central Victoria, reinforcing the oddly disjunct distribution of the established species, two of which are endemic in the tropical region, and the other in southeastern Australia. Conflicts in the diagnoses of Polyplectropus and other polycentropodid genera are discussed, and understanding of the instability of wing venation is further reinforced by features of one of the new species. A key is provided for the identification of all five Australian Polyplectropus species.