Rhopalopsole brevidigitata Qian & Du

Qian, Yu-Han & Du, Yu-Zhou, 2017, Two new species of Rhopalopsole (Plecoptera: Leuctridae) from China, Zootaxa 4273 (2), pp. 296-300 : 296-298

Rhopalopsole brevidigitata Qian & Du , sp. nov.

Figs. 1–3 & 4–8 .

Material examined. Holotype male, CHINA: Yunnan Province, Pinbian County, Mt. Dawei , 22°54’55.44”N, - 103°41’51.72”E, 1602m, 5 Sep 2016, Leg. Jia Lin & Yu-Han Qian (SFUIC). Paratypes: 2 males, the same data as holotype ( SFUIC) .

Adult habitus. Head brown, wider than pronotum; posterior ocelli closer to compound eyes, antennae and palpi light brown. Pronotum brown, quadrate, longer than wide, all angles rounded and with several black irregular stripes. Legs brown or light brown. Wings hyaline and veins yellowish brown.

Male. Terga with medial posterior margin curved outwards ( Fig. 1 ). Subgenital plate of sternum 9 wider than long and rounded apically, basally, tongue-like vesicle with dense hairs ( Fig. 2 ). Tergum 10 with mid- and posterior margins strongly sclerotized, ridged-like sclerotized areas medially on central sclerite ( Figs. 1, 3 ), pair of transverse sclerites triangular with hind margins strongly sclerotized ( Fig. 1 , 8 ). Sclerotized lateral processes of tergum 10 acutely bifurcate apically and upper branch darkly sclerotized than lower branch in lateral view ( Figs. 1, 3 , 4 ). Epiproct thin and flattened, hook-like, slightly narrower at base and expanded medially, tip rounded ( Figs. 1, 2 , 6, 7 ), medial margin of epiproct curved inwards in lateral view ( Figs. 3 , 6 ). Subanal lobes finger-like, flat and short, apex rounded in ventral view ( Figs. 2 , 5 ). Cerci bent upwards, terminating in a small spine ( Figs. 1, 3 ).

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. Latin “brevi” means short; Latin “digitata” means finger-shape. The name “ brevidigitata ” refers to the short finger-shaped subanal lobes.

Diagnosis. This new species is similar to other members of the R. vietnamica group as defined by Sivec et al. (2008). The male of R. brevidigitata appears to be most similar to the male of R. yunnana Sivec & Harper, 2008 known from Mt. Jizu also in Yunnan Province, but can be distinguished by the form of the central sclerite, the transverse sclerites, the lateral processes, and shape of the epiproct. In R. brevidigitata , the sclerotized area of the central sclerite has ridged-like adornment areas in lateral view, the hind margin of apex strongly sclerotized on the transverse sclerite ( Fig. 8 ), and the epiproct is medially curved inwards in lateral view ( Fig. 6 ). Rhopalopsole yunnana lacks these characters. In addition, the branch of lateral processes of R. yunnana have two short and rather blunt apices, subanal lobes longer than R. brevidigitata . In R. brevidigitata , the branch of the lateral processes is longer and acute, and the subanal lobes resemble a “short finger.” This new species is also similar to R. cestroidea Li, Murányi & Gamboa, 2017 known from Guangxi Province, Shiwandashan National Forest Park in southern China bordering Vietnam, but can be distinguished by the shape of epiproct.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. Rhopalopsole brevidigitata, sp. nov. 1. Terminal abdominal segments of male, dorsal view. 2. Terminal abdominal segments of male, ventral view; 3. Terminal abdominal segments of male, lateral view.

FIGURES 4 – 8. 4. Lateral processes of tergum 10, lateral view. 5. Subanal lobes, ventral view. 6. Epiproct, lateral view. 7. Epiproct, dorsal view. 8. transverse sclerite, dorsal view.