Neoperlops obscuripennis Banks, 1939

Mo, Raorao, Wang, Guoquan, Li, Weihai & Murányi, Dávid, 2020, Review of the Oriental genus Neoperlops Banks, 1939 (Plecoptera: Perlidae), Zootaxa 4763 (3), pp. 405-418 : 409

Neoperlops obscuripennis Banks, 1939

Neoperlops obscuripennis Banks, 1939 — Banks 1939: 445. (original description of the female from Guangdong); Illies 1966: 493. (species inquirenda, catalog); Zwick 1984: 174. (redescription of female based on types); Sivec et al. 1988: 40. (synopsis); Du et al. 1999: 61 (checklist); Stark & Sivec 2008: (description of putative male and larva from Vietnam (partim?)); Yang & Li 2018: 32. (catalog); DeWalt et al. 2020 (catalog).

Distribution. China, described from Guangdong Province, Yim Na San, based on four females ( Banks 1939). Stark & Sivec (2008) reported several specimens from Vietnam, including males, females and larvae (Lào Cai, Nghệ An and Vĭnh Phúc provinces).

Remarks. The female types of N. obscuripennis are distinctive by having elongated oval eggs, contrary to nearly globular eggs of the congeners ( Zwick 1984). The putative male and larva from Vietnam were associated with this species based on the female and eggs similar to the redescription of the types ( Stark & Sivec 2008). However, the illustrated Vietnamese eggs are nearly globular ( Stark & Sivec 2008, fig. 7), so conspecificity can be questioned. In addition, Stark & Sivec (2008) mention one male specimen that lacked spines on the apex of male hemiterga, a character that is characteristic for N. vietnamellus and the proposed new species. Molecular studies of topotypes are needed to clear identity of the species.