Protohermes congruens, Liu & Hayashi & Yang, 2009

Liu, Xingyue, Hayashi, Fumio & Yang, Ding, 2009, Systematics of the Protohermes parcus species group (Megaloptera: Corydalidae), with notes on its phylogeny and biogeography, Journal of Natural History 43 (5 - 6), pp. 355-372 : 358-361

Protohermes congruens sp. nov.

( Figures 1 , 6–11 )

Etymology

The specific epithet ‘‘ congruens ’’ refers to the similar appearance among P. parcus , P. subparcus , and the new species.

Diagnosis

Head without any markings; pronotum with three pairs of slender vittae and a pair of small subtriangular markings; male ninth sternum subtrapezoidal, shallowly incised medially, with posterolateral corners acutely pointed; male tenth sternum with short and digitiform lateral lobes.

Type materials

Holotype: male, NEPAL, L.T., 30 May 1972 ( NSM) . Paratypes: NEPAL: 1 female, L.T., 1 June 1972 ( NSM) ; 1 male, 30 May 1972 ( NSM) ; 1 male, J.E., 1 June 1972 ( NSM) ; 1 male, J.E., 2 June 1972 ( NSM) .

Male

Body length 28–30 mm; forewing length 39–42 mm, hindwing length 35–37 mm. Head. Yellow without any markings; post-ocular spine short and blunt. Compound eyes grayish brown; ocelli pale yellow, medially margined black. Antennae blackish brown, with scape and pedicel yellow. Mouthparts yellow; mandibles with apices reddish brown.

Thorax. Yellow; pronotum with two pairs of narrow blackish vittae on lateral margins, anterior pair with apices curved laterally, posterior pair separated into two pairs of slender vittae and a pair of small subtriangular markings. Thoracic pilosity pale yellow, much longer on meso- and metathorax. Legs yellow with yellowish short dense setae; tarsal claws reddish brown. Wings hyaline, immaculate; veins yellow to yellowish brown, with crossveins much darker. Rs nine-branched, last branch bifurcate; 9–15 crossveins between R 1 and Rs; M 1+2 four-branched, M 3+4 twobranched; 1A three-branched.

Abdomen. Brown with venter yellow. Ninth tergum ( Figure 7 ) broad, nearly hexagonal, with an arcuate anterior incision. Ninth sternum ( Figure 8 ) broad, subtrapezoidal, medially with feebly developed longitudinal incision; posterior margin nearly truncate, posterolateral corner acutely pointed. Ninth gonostylus unguiform, much shorter than ninth tergum, slightly curved inward. Tenth tergum ( Figures 7–8 ) flattened, subquadrate, slightly shorter than ninth tergum, straightly directed posteriorly, with distal margin oblique and rounded. Tenth sternum ( Figure 9 ) extremely small; dorsomedial process moderately developed; posterior margin medially with a small incision; lateral lobes short digitiform with rounded tip.

Female

Body length 32 mm; forewing length 56 mm, hindwing length 50 mm.

Abdomen. Eighth sternum ( Figures 10–11 ) subtrapezoidal in lateral view; in ventral view anterior margin moderately incised, posterior margin truncate. Ninth gonocoxite broad, posterior portion subquadrate, ventrally slightly incised, with a small digitiform gonostylus at tip. Tenth tergum short, with posterior margin medially incised, leaving thick, digitiform dorsal, and semicircular ventral lobes.

Distribution

Nepal, without exact geographical data (longitude and latitude).

Remarks

The new species somewhat resembles P. parcus and P. subparcus in having the similar appearance, but it can be easily separated from the latter two species by the male ninth sternum with a shallow longitudinal incision and the male tenth sternum with the digitiform lateral lobes. In P. parcus and P. subparcus , the male ninth sternum possesses a deep longitudinal incision at middle and the lateral lobes of the male tenth sternum are subuliform.

Figures

Figures 1–5. Habitus photographs of the species in P. parcus group. (1) Protohermes congruens sp. nov., male holotype; (2) Protohermes flavinervus sp. nov., male holotype; (3) Protohermes parcus Yang and Yang, male holotype; (4) Protohermes pennyi sp. nov., male holotype; (5) Protohermes subparcus Liu and Yang, male holotype.

Figures 6–11. Protohermes congruens sp. nov. (6) Male head and prothorax, dorsal; (7) male genitalia, dorsal view; (8) male genitalia, ventral view; (9) male tenth sternum, ventral view; (10) female abdominal apex, lateral view; (11) female eighth sternum, ventral view. Notes: L, lateral lobe; Gs9, ninth gonostylus; Gx9, ninth gonocoxite; Pdm, dorsomedial process; S8, eighth sternum; S9, ninth sternum; T9, ninth tergum; T10, tenth tergum. Scale bars: 1 mm.