Peltoperlopsis sagittata, Cao & Mo & Li & Murányi, 2019

Cao, Jinjun, Mo, Raorao, Li, Weihai & Murányi, Dávid, 2019, An additional new species of Peltoperlopsis Illies, 1966 (Plecoptera: Peltoperlidae) from China, Zootaxa 4686 (3), pp. 429-434 : 429-433

Peltoperlopsis sagittata sp. n.

( Figs. 1–3 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:AD24FA68-053A-452D-97FF-593969BCA84E

Type material: Holotype male ( NMP), China: Yunnan, Gaoligong Mountains National Natural Reserve, near Kongshu Village , shallow pools with clay bottom and small stream, pasture close to a mountain river, 25°43.5’ N, 98°38.4’ E, 2035 m, 30.VI–1.VII.2016, leg. J. Hájek & J. Růžička.

Adult. General body color dark brown with brownish pattern in ventral view ( Figs. 1a, 1b ). Biocellate, distance between ocelli ca. 2X the diameter of one ocellus; ocelli with usual dark rings. Head with large fan-shaped dark brown patch medially and a small rhombic stigma on frons, with pale patches around and between ocelli in dorsal view, and pale areas around the dark brown patches extending to clypeus in frontal view ( Figs. 2 a–2b). Compound eyes black, fringe hair indistinct, antennae brown, mouthparts and palpi paler. Pronotum brown with distinct dark rugosities ( Figs. 1a , 2a ). Wing membrane brownish, veins dark brown; legs brownish to brown with joints darker. Abdominal segments mostly brown to dark brown.

Male. Forewing length 8.1 mm, hindwing length 7.1 mm. Sterna 1–8 with wide pale brown median markings, the width gradually decreasing. Sternum 9 with pale basal vesicle rounded and twice wider than long, two pale grooves extending from vesicle and terminating at posterolateral corners of the segment, between the grooves posterior margin parabolic ( Figs. 3 a–3b). Tergum 10 with U-shaped epiproct sclerite in pale medial and posterior portion ( Figs. 2 c–2d). Basal cercal segment ca. 1.5X then basal width, dorsal edges of basal segments indistinct, cercal spur absent ( Figs. 2 c–2e). Everted aedeagus symmetrical ( Figs. 3 c–3d): basally with small, rounded lobe at each lateral corner, the lobes covered with fine, short hairs; in dorsal aspect, a rounded patch of setae occurs on a rounded medial lobe; a pair of longitudinal stripe-like sclerites originate from lateral portion of ventrobasal edge and end on dorsoapical tip, well observed in both view by transparency, the sclerites are apically hooked like arrow-heads, in lateral view spine-shaped; two subtriangular patches of wrinkles occur on basal portion in ventral aspect, wrinkles also present on dorsoapical area.

Female and egg. unknown.

Larva. unknown.

Etymology. The specific name sagittata (from the Latin word sagitta, means arrow in English) refers to the arrow-headed sclerites of the aedeagus. Used as an adjective, gender feminine.

Remarks. The new species can be easily distinguished from the other two known Chinese congeners by the combination of having a U-shaped epiproct sclerite, a symmetrical aedeagus, spineless cerci, and wide but rounded ventral vesicle. Respectively, P. nigrifulva lacks a U-shaped epiproct sclerite on tergum 10 and ventral vesicle is much more elongated, whereas P. mengmanensis has an asymmetrical aedeagus and cercal segments 11–12 bear spines.

The male of P. sagittata seems to be more closely related to P. swanni Stark & Sivec, 2007 and P. malickyi Stark & Sivec, 1999 , both are known from northern Vietnam, in having similar male terminalia and outline of aedeagus but their details of aedeagal armatures are different. In P. swanni the dorsal surface bears large triangular medial patch of hair-like spines and long marginal row of long setae whereas similar hair-like spine patch occurs on basal portion in ventral aspect ( Stark & Sivec 2007: Fig. 70). In P. malickyi , the aedeagus is armed with scattered setae on most of the dorsal surface, apical and mediolateral surface of the ventral aspect, and armed with dorsolateral pair of narrow sclerites ( Stark & Sivec 1999; figs. 3–4). In addition, a dorsal patch of setae occurs on a rounded medial lobe of the aedeagus and a pair of medial longitudinal stripe-like sclerites are present in P. sagittata , whereas both are absent in P. swanni and P. malickyi .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Peltoperlopsis sagittata sp. n., holotype male. a. Habitus, dorsal view. b. Habitus, ventral view.

FIGURE 2. Peltoperlopsis sagittata sp. n., holotype male. a. Head and pronotum, dorsal view. b. Head, anterior view. c. Terminalia, dorsal view. d. Terminalia after KOH treatment, dorsal view. e. Right cercus, lateral view. f. Vesicle of sternum 9, ventral view.

FIGURE 3. Peltoperlopsis sagittata sp. n., holotype male. a. Terminalia, ventral view. b. Terminalia after KOH treatment but with uneverted aedeagus seen by transparency, ventral view. c. Aedeagus, dorsal view. d. Aedeagus, ventral view.