Tipula (Vestiplex) xinduqiaoensis, Starkevich & Men & Saldaitis, 2019

Starkevich, Pavel, Men, Qiu-Lei & Saldaitis, Aidas, 2019, Four new crane fly species of subgenus Tipula (Vestiplex) (Diptera, Tipulidae) from China, Zootaxa 4679 (1), pp. 69-86 : 78-81

Tipula (Vestiplex) xinduqiaoensis sp. nov.

( Figs 18–27 )

Holotype: Male, China, W. Sichuan, near Xinduqiao , elev. 3611 m, N30°04.256’, E101°25.156’, 14.vi.2015, A. Floriani & A. Saldaitis leg., genitalia slide No. PS 0415m ( NRC).

Paratypes: 8 males topotypic, genitalia slide No. PS 0416m, wing slide No. PS 0417m ( NRC) .

Diagnosis. A medium-sized crane fly with brownish-gray thorax, abdomen basally yellow and apically brown, wing yellowish-brown. Antenna reaching before root of the wing if bent backward. Gonocoxite simple, unarmed. Tergite 9 with ventral blackened plates absent, only with pair of membranous lobes on ventral side. Outer gonostylus nearly parallel sided, with margin oblique. Inner gonostylus rounded, terminated in short black upper beak and lower beak surrounded by a roundly swollen area. Sternite 9 ventrally with small median tubercle; ventral lobe of A9S roughly rounded sclerite; dorsal lobe of A9S very small, reduced sclerite.

Description. Adult ( Fig. 18 ), male (N=9). General body coloration yellowish-brown. Body length 11.3–12.9 mm, wing length 15.0– 17.7 mm.

Head. Yellowish-brown, vertex yellow, occiput yellowish-brown, gradually narrowed to vertex, forming median line. Rostrum yellowish-brown, nasus relatively elongate, brown dusted with gray. Antenna 12–segmented, reaching before root of the wing if bent backward. Scape brown, more than three times as long as pedicel, expanded apically. Pedicel yellow, very short. Flagellum brownish-black, flagellar segments with basal enlargement. Verticils subequal to length of corresponding flagellomeres. Palpus black.

Thorax. Brownish-gray. Pronotum entirely brownish-gray. Mesonotal prescutum gray pruinose with four distinct longitudinal stripes bordered by dark brown. Median pair narrowly divided by broad brown line. Thoracic dorsum nearly bare, with very scarce short and light setae only between median and lateral gray stripes. Scutum dark brown, thinly gray pruinose with two darkened spots. Scutellum and mediotergite brown, gray pruinose, former with black line medially. Pleuron dark brown, thinly dusted with gray. Leg slender, coxa brown, thinly dusted with gray, trochanter yellowish-brown, femur yellowish-brown at basal half and gradually darkened to apex, tibia brown with dark brown tip, tarsal segments dark brown. Tarsal claw simple, without tooth. Wing ( Fig. 19 ) yellowishbrown, translucent, pterostigma slightly darker than ground color. Discal cell narrow, elongate, more than twice as long as petiole of cell m 1, cell m 1 more than three times as long as petiole. Halter with stem yellowish, knob slightly darker than stem.

Abdomen. Basal four segments yellow, gradually suffused with brown apically, with narrow lateral stripe reaching tergite 8, tergite 1 with broad median stripe.

Hypopygium. Brown. Dorsal portion of tergite 9 with deep V-shaped emargination, without pale median membrane, densely covered with many long setae on lateral corners ( Fig. 21 ). Ventral portion with pair of membranous lobes ( Fig. 22 ). Gonocoxite simple, unarmed ( Figs 20, 21, 25 ). Outer gonostylus nearly parallel sided, with margin oblique ( Fig. 23 ). Inner gonostylus in the shape of rounded sclerite, terminated into short black upper beak, lower beak surrounded by roundly swollen area ( Fig. 24 ). Dorsal surface with many sharp spines arranged on back margin and scattered in median area; swollen area basally. Adminiculum triangular in dorsal view, apex narrowed, median sclerite inconspicuous ( Figs 26, 27 ). Sternite 9 ventrally with small median tubercle ( Fig. 20 ). Ventral lobe of A9S in the shape of a roughly rounded sclerite provided with setae ( Figs 25–27 ). Dorsal lobe of A9S very small, reduced ( Figs 26, 27 ), usually covered by surrounding barely visible sclerites.

Comparative material examined: T. (V.) adungensis : Holotype, male, N. E. Burma [ Myanmar], Adung Valley , altitude 12000 feet, 10.VI.1931 (Capt. F. Kingdon Ward and Lord Cranbrook), BMNH (E)#246039 and paratype, female BMNH (E)#246040 pinned together; paratype, female, Adung Valley, altitude 9000 feet, 6.VI.1931 (Capt. F. Kingdon Ward and Lord Cranbrook), BMNH (E)#246041; paratype, female, Adung Valley, altitude 12000 feet, 26.VI.1931 (Capt. F. Kingdon Ward and Lord Cranbrook), BMNH (E)#246042 ( BMNH); T. (V.) divisotergata : Holotype, male, China, Sichuan, Mount Omei , altitude 4500 feet, 17.VII.1929 (Franck); paratype, male, 23.VII.1929, topotypic ( USNM); T. (V.) zayulensis : Holotype, male, China, S. E. Tibet, Ata Kang, altitude 8000 feet, 29.V.1933 (F. Kingdon Ward and R.J.H. Kaulback), BMNH (E)#246045; paratype, female, S. E. Tibet, Zayul, altitude 8000 feet, 6.VI.1933 (F. Kingdon Ward and R.J.H. Kaulback), BMNH (E)#246046; paratype, male, SE Tibet, Zayul, altitude 8000 feet, 3.VI.1933 (F. Kingdon Ward and R.J.H. Kaulback), BMNH (E)#246047; paratype, female, S. E. Tibet, Lepa Chu Valley , altitude 12000 feet, 6.VII.1935 (R.J.H. Kaulback), BMNH (E)#246048 ( BMNH); T. (V.) verecunda : Holotype, male, Russia, Sakhalin, Toyohara [= Yuzno-Sakhalinsk], 16.VII.1922 (T. Esaki) ( USNM); 3 males, Sakhalin, Kuznecevo, 19.VII.1953 ( Violovich ) ( ZIN); 1 male, 1 female, Kunashir island , 22.VII.1988 (E. Budrys) det. S. Podenas, ( MZVU); 1 male, China, Shaanxi, Qinling Mts. , Hauzherza vill., elev. 1600 m, N33º52.423’, E107º48.779’, 2–3.VI.2009, Saldaitis & Floriani ( NRC); T. (V.) nokonis : Holotype, male, Taiwan, Noko , altitude 9800 feet, 27.VI.1927 (S. Isiki) ( USNM); T. (V.) subapterogyne : Holotype, male, Taiwan, Noko , 11.V.1919 (T. Shiraki); paratypes, 1 male, 1 female, topotypic ( USNM) .

Biology and distribution. A total of 9 males were collected during a single cold night on 14 June, 2015 in a remote part of west China, Sichuan Province near the Xinduqiao. The new species was collected at an altitude of 3600 m in shrubby transition, dominated by willows and birches, between the mountain coniferous forest and the alpine grassland zones ( Fig. 38 ).

Discussion. T. (V.) xinduqiaoensis sp. nov. is assigned to the divisotergata group based on the unarmed gonocoxite and shape of inner gonostylus. From all other species of divisotergata species group it differs by an absence of ventral sclerotised plates in tergite 9 and an unusually small reduced A9S dorsal lobe. It is mostly similar to T. (V.) rongtoensis whose tergite 9 ventrally has only a pale rod ( Alexander 1963).

Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun ‘ xinduqiao ’ with Latin suffix ‘ ensis ’, referring to the type locality of the new species.

Figures

FIGURE 38. Type locality of Tipula (Vestiplex) xinduqiaoensis sp. nov. China, W. Sichuan, near Xinduqiao, N30°04.256’, E101°25.156’, altitude 3611 m.

FIGURES 18–19. Tipula (Vestiplex) xinduqiaoensis sp. nov. 18: adult male, general view of paratype; 19: wing, paratype.

FIGURES 20–27. Hypopygium of male Tipula (Vestiplex) xinduqiaoensis sp. nov. 20: hypopygium, lateral view; 21: hypopygium, dorsal view; 22: tergite 9, ventral view; 23: left outer gonostylus; 24: left inner gonostylus, lateral view; 25: hypopygium, ventral view; 26: sternite 9, ventral view, (tergite 9, outer and inner gonostylus removed); 27: sternite 9, ventral view. Abbreviations: adm, adminiculum; vl, ventral lobe of appendage of sternite 9; dl, dorsal lobe of appendage of sternite 9; dp, dorsal portion of tergite 9; gcx, gonocoxite; ig, inner gonostylus; og, outer gonostylus; st9, sternite 9; t9, tergite 9; vlt, ventral lobe of tergite 9.