Xenos yangi Dong, Liu & Li, 2022

Dong, Zhiwei, Liu, Xingyue, Mao, Chuyang, He, Jinwu & Li, Xueyan, 2022, Xenos yangi sp. nov.: A new twisted-wing parasite species (Strepsiptera, Xenidae) from Gaoligong Mountains, Southwest China, ZooKeys 1085, pp. 11-27 : 11

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1085.76484
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F8153EFB-1CAD-457F-89B2-4D1804CE9A29
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/41C69672-2AD0-4E04-8C8B-F1F2352813A9
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:41C69672-2AD0-4E04-8C8B-F1F2352813A9
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Xenos yangi Dong, Liu & Li
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Xenos yangi Dong, Liu & Li sp. nov.

Chinese name 杨氏胡蜂玥 Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 , 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5

Type locality.

China, Yunnan, Longling County, Xiangda Township.

Type materials.

Holotype: male (KIZ0130767), "Gaoligong Mountains, Xiangda Township, Longling County, Yunnan Province, 24.4441083 N, 98.7239194 E, 1666 m, 20.XII.2019, local villagers leg.", kept in 75% ethanol, [red label]. (KIZ). Paratypes: four males (KIZ0130768-KIZ0130771), three neotenic females (KIZ0130772-KIZ0130774), same data as holotype (KIZ), kept in 75% ethanol, [yellow label].

Other material examined.

One neotenic female, "Gaoligong Mountains, Xiangda Township, Longling County, Yunnan Province, 20. XII. 2019, local villagers leg.", partially used for extracting genomic DNA (accession number MW222190 View Materials ; Zhang et al. 2021). One neotenic female and one male, "Gaoligong Mountains, Xiangda Township, Longling County, Yunnan Province, 20. XII. 2019, local villagers leg.", both partially used for extracting genomic DNA in this study .

Diagnosis.

Male. Head transverse. Antenna (Fig. 2B View Figure 2 ) four-segmented, 1st with distal lateral extension and wider than 2nd, 3rd and 4th flabellate with subequal length. Palpus twice as long as maxilla (Fig. 2C View Figure 2 ). Mandible (Fig. 2D View Figure 2 ) slender, widened at base, tapering at tip. Prescutum pentagonal. Scutellum longitudinally elongated, triangular. Proventrite posteromedially with a small U-shaped notch, forming a pair of small lobes (Fig. 2H View Figure 2 ). Mesoventrite posteromedially bifurcated into a pair of long digitiform projections (Fig. 2I View Figure 2 ). Tarsus four-segmented, without claws (Fig. 2E-G View Figure 2 ). Penis colter-shaped (Fig. 2J View Figure 2 ). Cephalotheca of male puparium (Fig. 4A View Figure 4 ). Maxillae almost oval, bigger than mandible. Clypeus furrowed and close to mandible. Antenna half size of eye. Neotenic female (Fig. 4B-D View Figure 4 ). Cephalothorax almost rectangular, 3/4 strongly contracted; birth opening, protuberance (Fig. 4C View Figure 4 ); apex of mandibles straight (Fig. 4D View Figure 4 ).

Description.

Male (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ). Length 5.6 mm (holotype), 5.5-8.1 mm (paratypes) (combined length of head, pronotum and abdomen). Coloration (Fig. 1A, B View Figure 1 ): head, antenna, maxillary Xenos palpus , coxa, and abdomen black; femur, tibia and tarsus brown; hind wing semi-transparent. Head transverse, 1.44 mm in width. Compound eye raspberries-like, each composed of about 84 ommatidia, ommatidiaprominent and separated by chitinous bridges covered with micortrichia (Fig. 3A View Figure 3 ). Antenna four-segmented (Fig. 2B View Figure 2 ), scapus wider than pedicellus, scapus with distal lateral extension, pedicellus half as long as scapus, 3rd and 4th flabellate with subequal length, hirsute (Fig. 3B View Figure 3 ). Mandible (Fig. 2J View Figure 2 ) smooth, sword-like, gradually thicker from middle until 3/4, and then sharply tapering at tip. Maxillae and palpus (Figs 2C View Figure 2 , 3B View Figure 3 ) covered with short hairs, Xenos palpus twice half as long as maxillae, Xenos palpus narrower. Pronotum (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ) quadrangular with a protuberant apex. Acrotergit (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ) with two ends turned up, central depression. Mesonotum (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ) saddle-shaped, central M-shaped depression, pseudo-haltere on both sides. Prescutum (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ) pentagonal with round tops. Scutellum (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ) acutely triangular. Postlumbium (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ) broad, generally rounded, but emarginate anteriorly. Postnotum (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ) triangular.

Hind wing sector with nine veins (Fig. 2A View Figure 2 ). C and Sc fused, half length of costal margin. R1 and R2 veins almost glued together, R2 vein extending from middle to wing apex; R3 vein from middle to outer margin of wing; R4 vein terminated at distal 1/4 of the wing and approximating R5 vein. MA, CuA1, CuA2 and CuP veins present and uninterrupted.

Proventrite laterally with anepisternum angulately curved at middle, and posteromedially with a small U-shaped notch, forming a pair of short lobes (Fig. 2H View Figure 2 ); Mesoventrite with basisternum transversely rectangular, anterolaterally roundly prominent, posterolaterally hook-like, sternellum broadly rhombic, posteriorly bifurcated into a pair of long digitiform projections (Fig. 2I View Figure 2 ). Foreleg (Fig. 2E View Figure 2 ) coxa expands, trochanterofemur with a protuberance near coxa, tibia longer than femur, widened near tarsus, tarsus four-segmented, 1st tarsomere with oval pit outside, 4th tarsomer without claws. Midleg (Fig. 2F View Figure 2 ) coxa as long as trochanterofemur, other parts similar to those of foreleg. Hind leg (Fig. 2G View Figure 2 ) trochanter half length of femur, femur strong. Abdomen 10-segmented as long as thorax, black; segment I tergites and sternites shrink; segment II-VIII sternites distinctly broader than tergites, segment IX narrower than segment VIII, with caudally elongated subgenital plate; segment X tube-like, curved. Anus flat. Penis colter-shaped (Fig. 2J View Figure 2 ).

Cephalotheca of male puparium (Fig. 4A View Figure 4 ). Cephalotheca elliptical. Maxilla almost oval, bigger than mandible. Clypeus furrowed and close to mandible. Antenna half size of eye.

Neotenic female (Fig. 4B-D View Figure 4 ). Length 11.0-16.0 mm, maximum breadth of abdomen about 4.5-5.0 mm (Fig. 4B View Figure 4 ); cephalothorax 2.2 mm in length and 1.76 mm in width (Fig. 4C, D View Figure 4 ). Coloration: cephalothorax brownish yellow, abdomen yellow. Cephalothorax almost rectangular, 3/4 strongly contracted; birth opening, protuberance (Fig. 4C View Figure 4 ); apex of mandible straight (Fig. 4D View Figure 4 ); abdomen slender, four birth organs.

Comparative notes.

Considering the geographic distance and host association of those species of Africa and Americas, we mainly compared the male adult, the cephalotheca of the male papurium, and the neotenic female of this new species with ten described known species distributed in Asia (nine species) and Europe (one species) (Table 1 View Table 1 ). These species were originally described based on the male adult, the cephalotheca of the male papurium, and/or the neotenic female (Table 1 View Table 1 ). The new species can be distinguished from X. moutoni (China: Yunnan, Anhui, Taiwan), X. dianshuiwengi (China: Fujian), X. formosanus (China: Taiwan), X. provesparum (Indonesia) and X. oxyodontes (Japan) based on the external characters of male adult. The male adult of X. moutoni maxilla as long as Xenos palpus and the postlumbium is straight anteriorly and posteriorly ( Kifune and Maeta 1985). The male adult of X. oxyodontes (Japan) has the postlumbium rounded anteriorly and posteriorly ( Nakase and Kato 2013). The proventrite is not concaved in X. dianshuiwengi (China: Fujian), X. formosanus (China: Taiwan) and X. provesparum (Indonesia) ( Kifune and Maeta 1985; Kifune 1986; Yang 1999).

The new species can be distinguished from X. circularis (China: Taiwan), X. yamaneorum (China: Taiwan), X. vespularum (Japan), X. hebraei (India) and X. vesparum (Europe; Northern Africa) by the female cephalothorax. It is almost circular or ovoid in X. yamaneorum , X. circularis , X. vespularum and X. vesparum ( Kifune and Maeta 1975; Kifune and Maeta 1985). The female cephalothorax is slightly wider than long in X. hebraei . Besides that, this new species can be also separated from X. yamaneorum and X. vespularum by the oval maxillae of the male cephalotheca (the two compared species lack the oval maxillae of the male cephalotheca).

Distribution.

China (Yunnan).

Biology.

The hosts of this new species are Vespa velutina (Fig. 5A View Figure 5 ) and Vespa bicolor (Fig. 5B View Figure 5 ). It parasitizes in the host abdomen. Its body partly protrudes from the portion between the two abdominal segments of the hosts. One wasp can usually carry 1-4 parasite individuals (Fig. 5C View Figure 5 ). After emergence, male adults fly away from their hosts (Fig. 5D View Figure 5 ). Neotenic females remain in the host’s abdomen with their anterior cephalothorax protruding. When neotenic females are removed from their host abdomen, they can be seen to be covered with larval exuviae.

Etymology.

The specific epithet is dedicated to the late famous Chinese entomologist Chi-Kun Yang, who made significant contributions to the studies on Strepsiptera in China.