Nipponeurorthus damingshanicus, Liu, Xingyue, Aspöck, Horst & Aspöck, Ulrike, 2014

Liu, Xingyue, Aspöck, Horst & Aspöck, Ulrike, 2014, New species of the genus Nipponeurorthus Nakahara, 1958 (Neuroptera: Nevrorthidae) from China, Zootaxa 3838 (2), pp. 224-232 : 225-229

Nipponeurorthus damingshanicus sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 3–8 )

Description. Male. Body length 4.5 mm; forewing length 7.7 mm, hindwing length 7.1 mm.

Head pale yellow. Compound eyes blackish brown. Antennae pale yellow. Mouthparts yellow; mandibles with brownish tips.

Thorax yellow, with brownish setae. Legs yellow, with brownish setae; coxae, trochanter and femora slightly paler. Wings ( Fig. 1 ) elliptical, slightly yellowish brown, with pterostigmatic areas creamy yellow. Forewing with distal margin brown and with distinct brown markings on gradate crossveins as well as on 1r-rs; other less distinct brown markings present on distal branching points of most longitudinal veins. Veins yellowish brown except for those in dark markings brown. Hindwing much paler than forewing, with distal dark edging much shorter and paler than that on forewing. Veins pale yellow, with 1r-rs and 2r-rs brown.

Abdomen yellow, dorsally largely tinged with pale reddish brown. Tergite 9 and sternite 9 fused into a ring-like structure; tergite 9 ( Fig. 5 ) anteriorly truncate and posteriorly broadly concaved in dorsal view; sternite 9 ( Fig. 6 ) posteriorly protruding medially. Gonocoxite 9 ( Figs. 3–6 ) robust on proximal half and strongly incurved on distal half, with a small hairy tubercle on inner surface; gonostylus 9 ( Figs. 4–6 ) terminally flattened and bearing a spinous lobe. Ectoproct ( Figs. 3–5 ) broad, directed posteroventrad, and concaved medially on posterior margin, with median portion slightly domed dorsad in lateral view, and with posterolateral corner protruding into a digitiform process. Complex of gonocoxite+gonostylus+gonapophysis 10 ( Fig. 4 ) proximally broad, bearing a roundly tapered dorsal lobe and slender ventral lobe, distally with a long and blade-like projection; distal projections crossing each other at mid-length. Gonocoxite 11 invisible; gonostyli 11 ( Fig. 5 ) as posteriorly bifurcated sclerite. Hypandrium internum invisible.

Female. Body length 5.3–5.6 mm; forewing length 8.1–8.2 mm, hindwing length 7.1–7.3 mm.

Tergite 8 ( Fig. 7 ) short, elongated ventrad, in lateral view posteroventral corner rounded. Fused gonocoxites 8 ( Figs. 7–8 ) about twice as long as tergite 8, flatly and roundly plate-like, with posterior portion feebly sclerotized. Gonapophyses 8 ( Fig. 8 ) subtriangular, largely covered by gonocoxite 8, lateral margins distinctly sclerotized. Tergite 9 ( Fig. 7 ) rather narrow dorsad, but strongly widened ventrad, with a short spinous internal ridge. Gonocoxite 9 ( Fig. 7 ) narrowly foliate, almost vertically directed, with a reduced, flat and ovoid gonostylus bearing a tuft of hairs. Ectoproct short, subtrapezoidal in lateral view. Bursa copulatrix ( Figs. 7–8 ) comprising a large and arcuate sclerotized sclerite, which is nearly as long as gonocoxite 8.

Type materials. Holotype ♂, CHINA, Guangxi, Wuming, Mt. Damingshan [23°29′N, 108°26′E, 1257 m], 25.V.2011, Tingting Zhang ( CAU). Paratypes 2♀, same as holotype ( CAU).

Etymology. The specific epithet “ damingshanicus ” refers to the type locality, Mt. Damingshan, of the new species.

Distribution. China (Guangxi: Mt. Damingshan).

Remarks. This new species appears to be closely related to N. fasciatus and N. tianmushanus by having similar forewings with brown distal edging and similar male gonocoxite 9, but it can be separated from the latter two species by the male ectoproct, which has the posterolateral corners distinctly protruding into a pair of digitiform processes. In N. fasciatus and N. tianmushanus the male ectoproct is more or less concaved posteriorly but without strongly protruding posterolateral processes.

FIGURE 12. Distribution map of the species of Nipponeurorthus . ×: N. damingshanicus sp. nov.; ▲: N. fasciatus Nakahara ; ▼: N. flinti Aspöck & Aspöck ; Δ: N. furcatus sp. nov.; ○: N. fuscinervis (Nakahara) ; +: N. multilineatus Nakahara ; ●: N. pallidinervis Nakahara ; □: N. punctatus (Nakahara) ; #: N. qinicus Yang ; ★: N. tianmushanus Yang & Gao ; ■: N. tinctipennis Nakahara.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 2. Fore- and hindwings of Nipponeurorthus spp.: 1, Nipponeurorthus damingshanicus sp. nov., paratype female; 2, Nipponeurorthus furcatus sp. nov., paratype male. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 3 – 8. Nipponeurorthus damingshanicus sp. nov.: 3, male genital segments, lateral view; 4, male genital segments, caudal view; 5, male genital segments, dorsal view; 6, male genital segments, ventral view; 7, female genital segments, lateral view; 8, female genital segments, ventral view. Abbreviations. bc: bursa copulatrix; e: ectoproct; gp 8: gonapophysis 8; gst 9 & 11: gonostyli 9 & 11; gx 8 & 9: gonocoxite 8 & 9; gx + gst + gp 10: complex of gonocoxite + gonostylus + gonapophysis 10; S: sternite; T: tergite. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.