Flavoperla qinlinga Liu, Li & Li, 2021

Liu, Ruijun, Li, Wenliang, Li, Weihai & Shali, Yasen, 2021, Two new species of Flavoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from China, Zoological Systematics 46 (2), pp. 182-186 : 183-186

Flavoperla qinlinga Liu, Li & Li , sp. nov. ( Figs 3–4 )

Diagnosis. The new species is characteristic by: General colour pale, head without distinct markings; male terminalia with a bell-shaped hammer, a pair of hook-shaped paraprocts and the triangular epiproct with a small membranous triangular median area.

Description. Adult. Body length 13.0– 14.3 mm (n = 8), forewing length 11.5–12.5mm, hindwing length 10.1–11.0 mm. Body color pale. Head pale, occiput elongated, compound eyes black. Biocellate. Antennae pale. Pronotum brownish and rectangular with paler rugosities, corners obtuse ( Fig. 3A ). Wings transparent, veins brownish. Legs generally pale, femur paler. Cerci pale brown.

Tergum 10 with a pair of brown subtriangular spines on posterior margin, apex sharp and separated far from each other, about in position of paraprocts. Epiproct triangular and divided by small membranous triangular area ( Fig. 3B ). Paraprocts hook-shaped, curved forward, pointed ( Fig. 3B ). Hammer bell-shaped, sometimes tapering to a nipple-like brown pigmented apex as shown in Fig. 4D in ventral view; apex swollen and curved upward dorsally in lateral view ( Figs 3C–D , 4D–E ). Aedeagus generally membranous, sub-rectangular in ventral view, about 3X longer than wide, with a pair of basolateral lobes and meso-lateral processes, respectively. Caudally with a brown “bell-shaped” marking and a pair of “comb-shaped” marking ( Figs 4A–C ).

Female. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype ♂ ( HIST), China, Shaanxi Province, Qinling Mountains, Ningshan County, Huoditang of Pingheliang Forestry Station , light trap, 1500 m, 33°28'N, 108°29'E, 12 July 2012, Weihai Li . Paratypes. 6♂, same data as holotype ; 1♂ ( CAU), China, Sichuan Province, Liangshan Prefecture, Yanyuan City, Zhulin Village , sweep net, 1572 m, 107°77'41"N, 27°30'53"E, 27 August 2019, Longbing Wang .

Distribution. China (Shaanxi, Sichuan). The types in Qinling of Shaanxi Province were trapped near a wide stream. Elevation of habitats ranges from ca. 1500–1570 m.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the type locality, Qinling Moutains.

Remarks. The new species is similar to F. basomarginata Chen, 2019 from Sichuan, by having similar color pattern and hammer. But it can be easily separated from F. basomarginata by the aedeagus apically with a brown “bell-shaped” marking, a pair of “comb-shaped” marking and lacking ventral lobes while the latter has heart-shaped lobe in ventral view and a pair of lateral spines at apex.

Funding This study was supported by the Biodiversity Survey and Assessment Project of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China (2019HJ2096001006) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (31970402).

Acknowledgments We sincerely thank Ms. Raorao Mo (Guangxi University) for linguistic revision which improved the manuscript. We are also heartily grateful to D. Murányi and anonymous reviewers for constructive comments and linguistic assistance.

Figures

Figure 3. Flavoperla qinlinga Liu, Li & Li, sp. nov., paratype. A. Head and pronotum, dorsal view. B. Terminalia, dorsal view. C. Terminalia, ventral view. D. Terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: A =1.0mm; B=0.2 mm; C–D=0.5mm.

Figure 4. Flavoperla qinlinga Liu, Li & Li, sp. nov. A. Aedeagus, dorsal view. B. Aedeagus, ventral view. C. Aedeagus, caudal view. D. Hammer showing variation of its apex, ventral view. E. Hammer, lateral view.