Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973

Chen, Zhi-Teng, 2020, First discovery of Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973 in Sichuan Province of China and notes on its taxonomic status, with new illustrations for Rhopalopsole sinensis Yang & Yang, 1993 (Plecoptera: Leuctridae), Zootaxa 4929 (2), pp. 195-206 : 197-200

Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973

Figs. 3–9 .

Leuctra tergostyla Wu, 1973: 115 (original description of the male); Yang, Li & Zhu, 2015: 81 (repeat of the original description of the male); Yang & Li, 2018: 2 (species checklist).

Leuctra fusca tergostyla, Murányi & Hwang, 2017: 45 (as subspecies).

Material examined. China: Sichuan Province, Hongyuan County, Shuajingsi Town, Suomo River ( Fig. 3 ), 32°5’8’’N, 102°34’1’’E, 3382 m, 11:51 AM, October 4, 2019, 31 males, 35 females, leg. Zhi-Teng Chen ( ICJUST) ; Barkam City, Mozigou Bridge, 31°57’1’’N, 102°38’30’’E, 3226 m, 14:03 PM, October 4, 2019, 1 male, leg. Zhi- Teng Chen ( ICJUST)

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Distribution. Leuctra f. tergostyla is currently recorded from China (Qinghai Province, Sichuan Province, and from the vicinity of Beijing), the Korean Peninsula, and the Russian Far East ( Murányi & Hwang 2017). In China, this subspecies was originally collected in Huang County of Qinghai Province. Subsequently, Murányi & Hwang (2017) illustrated specimens collected from the vicinity of Beijing. My material of L. f. tergostyla is now reported for the first time from Sichuan Province, which is southeast of Qinghai Province and southwest of Beijing. The three Chinese locations are well within the wide geographic range of L. fusca in Palaearctic Region ( Fig. 1 ). Leuctra f. tergostyla is expected to also occur in the more northern provinces, including the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang Province.

Remarks. Adult morphology of L. f. tergostyla ( Figs. 4–9 ) is congruent with the original description of L. tergostyla proposed by Wu (1973) and is mostly consistent (female subgenital plate is longer, see fig. 1 in Boumans & Tierno de Figueroa 2016) with the description of L. f. fusca , supporting Murányi & Hwang (2017) conclusion that L. tergostyla is a geographic subspecies of L. fusca .

Among the widespread populations of L. fusca , morphological variations concerning tergal lobes and tergal sclerites in the males and subgenital plates in the females have been reported by Boumans & Tierno de Figueroa (2016), Murányi & Hwang (2017) and this study. From a genetic view, the DNA barcode markers COI and 28S have revealed large genetic variability in West Palaearctic populations of L. fusca , which suggests the molecular identification of L. fusca and its related species is less reliable ( Boumans & Tierno de Figueroa 2016). For the above reasons, Murányi & Hwang (2017) recognition of L. f. tergostyla as an East Palaearctic subspecies of L. fusca is supported by the examination of additional material in this study.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution of Leuctra fusca (Linnaeus, 1758). Locality in Qinghai Province is indicated by red spot, Sichuan Province by pink spot, Beijing by blue spot.

FIGURE 3. Habitat of Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973 near Suomo River, Shuajingsi Town, Hongyuan County, Sichuan Province, China. Photo by Dr. Hao Xu in October 2019.

FIGURE 4. Adult habitus of Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973. A. Male, dorsal view; B. Female, dorsal view.

FIGURE 5. Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973. A. Male head and pronotum, dorsal view; B. Male head and pronotum, ventral view; C. Male thorax, ventral view.

FIGURE 6. Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973. A–B. Male abdomen, dorsal view; C. Male terminalia, dorsal view.

FIGURE 7. Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973. A. Male abdomen, lateral view; B. Male terminalia, lateral view.

FIGURE 8. Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973. A. Male abdomen, ventral view; B. Curved male terminalia, lateral view.

FIGURE 9. Leuctra fusca tergostyla Wu, 1973. A. Female abdomen, dorsal view; B. Female terminalia, dorsal view; C. Female terminalia, ventral view.