Rhopalopsole dicondylica Yang & Du, 2021

Yang, Yu-Ben & Du, Yu-Zhou, 2021, A new synonym with a new species of Rhopalopsole (Plecoptera: Leuctridae) from China, Zootaxa 5072 (5), pp. 485-492 : 488-490

Rhopalopsole dicondylica Yang & Du , sp. nov.

Figs. 5–7 .

Male. Body length 4.5–5.5 mm. Forewing length 7.0– 7.3 mm, hindwing length 5.8–6.2 mm (n=6). Head pale brown, wider than pronotum ( Fig. 5 ); ocelli white; antennae and palpi light brown. Pronotum light brown, quadrate, longer than wide, all angles rounded and with several black irregular stripes ( Fig. 5 ). Legs light brown. Wings hyaline and veins light brown.

Tergum 9 mostly sclerotized, lesser so medially with an upraised sclerotized process on hind margin ( Figs. 6A–6B , 7A–7B ). Sternum 9 basally with flabelliform vesicle bearing dense hairs, apically with a triangular subgenital plate ( Figs. 6C , 7C ). Tergum 10 bearing a large central plate covered laterally with macrotrichia and there is a mammillary process on both sides, the middle poorly sclerotized part in the central plate is triangular and rounded apically ( Figs. 6A–6B , 7A–7B ). Transverse plates roughly triangular with apically strongly sclerotized. Lateral projections of tergum 10 thin, extending backwards with a long narrow and sinuous process ( Figs. 6A–6B , 7A–7B ). The process meeting the corresponding process from the other side. Epiproct thick at base, hook-like, not tapering appreciably along its course, ending in a point. Subanal lobes of large size, narrow at base expanding distally, then narrowing to the end. Cercus hairy and upcurved, no spine ( Figs. 6A , 7A ).

Female. Unknown.

Type materials. Holotype: ♂, China: Guizhou Province, Tongren, Fanjing Moutain , 880m, 29°48′18″N, 106°23′26″E, 2017-IV-8, leg. Chen Zhi-Ten. Paratypes: 5 ♂♂, same data as holotype .

Etymology. The species name refers to the two mammillary processes in the central plate of tergum 10.

Diagnosis and remarks. Rhopalopsole dicondylica sp. nov. is a member of the R. dentata group as proposed by Sivec et al. (2008), with an upraised sclerified process of tergum 9, and lateral projections on tergum 10 are long and sinuous. Males of the new species are unique by the tergum 10 bearing a large central plate covered laterally with macrotrichia and there is a mammillary process on both sides, the middle poorly sclerotized part in the central plate is triangular and rounded apically ( Figs. 6A–6B , 7A–7B ). Tergum 10 of R. tianmuana has a poorly sclerotized part of the central plate, however, the thin epiproct distinguish the male of R. dicondylica , and cerci of R. tianmuana have a small spine ( Figs. 8A–8B ). Tergum 10 of R. hamata with a weakly sclerotized, sub-trapezoidal central plate, but it can be distinguished from R. didyma by the thin epiproct and there is no upraised sclerotized process of tergum 9 (fig. 2 in Chen 2019). R. curvispina and R. zhejiangensis can also be distinguished from R. dicondylica by the small spine of the cerci (figs. 1–3 in Qian & Du 2013, figs. 98 in Yang et al. 2015). The tergum 10 of other species in this group with a central plate covered with a field of scales and/or knobs ( Sivec et al. 2008, Li & Yang 2011, Yang et al. 2015).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Rhopalopsole dicondylica, sp. nov. Male head and pronotum, dorsal view.

FIGURE 6. Rhopalopsole dicondylica, sp. nov. A. Male terminalia, dorsal view; B. Male terminalia, lateral view; C. Male terminalia, ventral view.

FIGURE 7. Rhopalopsole dicondylica, sp. nov. A. Male terminalia, dorsal view; B. Male terminalia, lateral view; C. Male terminalia, ventral view.

FIGURE 8. Rhopalopsole tianmuana Sivec & Harper, 2008. A. Male terminalia, dorsal view; B. Male terminalia, lateral view; C. Male terminalia, ventral view. (Holotype).