Homidia qianensis sp. nov.

Figs 31-32, 33-39, 40-43, 44, 45, 46, 47-53

Type material.

Holotype. ♀ on slide, China, Guizhou Province, Liupanshui City, Pan County, Laochang Town, Shangkanzhe Village, 25°39'34″N, 104°48'28″E, 1677 m asl, sample number 1176, collected by H-D Tan, 6-II-2017, from bamboo litter, deposited in NTU. Paratype. ♀ on slide, same data as holotype.

Description.

Size. Body length up to 2.38 mm.

Coloration. Ground colour pale white or yellow. Ant. I pale yellow and Ant. II-IV blue. Eye patches dark blue and a transverse blue stripe between eye patches. Blue pigment present on dorsal head and Th. II-III laterally, legs, ventral tube and Abd. V. Abd. II-III with an irregular transverse blue stripe, respectively. Abd. IV with an irregular transverse blue stripe medially and a narrow blue stripe posteriorly (Figs 31, 32).

Head. Antenna 0.64-0. 69 times body length; antennal segment ratio I: II: III: IV = 1: 1.20-1.27: 1.05-1.09: 1.92-2.27. Apical bulb of Ant. IV bilobed (Fig. 33). Ant. III organ with two distal rod-like chaetae ventrally (Fig. 34). Ant. II with four distal rod-like chaetae ventrally (Fig. 35). Eyes 8 + 8, G and H smaller than others; interocular chaetae with p, r, and t mes. Dorsal cephalic chaetotaxy with four antennal (An1, An2, An3a1, An3), five median (M1, M2, M3i, M3, M4) and nine sutural (S0, S1, S2, S3, S3p, S4, S4i, S5i, S5) mac (Fig. 36). Labral chaetae as 4/5, 5, 4, all smooth; labral papillae not seen (Fig. 37). Lateral process (l.p.) of labial papilla E differentiated, as thick as normal chaeta, with tip almost reaching apex of papilla E (Fig. 38). Chaetal formula of labial base as MReL1L2, chaeta e smooth, others ciliate, R/M as 0.50-0.58 (Fig. 39). Basal chaeta of maxillary outer lobe thin, subequal to apical one; sublobal plate with three smooth chaeta-like processes (Fig. 40).

Thorax. Th. II with four medio-medial (m1, m2, m2i, m2i2), three medio-sublateral (m4, m4i, m4p), 36-38 posterior mac, one ms and two sens (ms antero-internal to sens). Th. III with 47 mac and two sens (Fig. 41). Trochanteral organ with 53 smooth spiny chaetae (Fig. 42). Tenent hair capitate and almost subequal to inner edge of unguis in length. Unguis with four inner teeth and distal one very faint, basal pair located at 0.43-0.49 distance from base of inner edge of unguis, distal unpaired teeth at 0.65-0.70 and 0.87 distance from base, respectively; unguiculus lanceolate, outer edge slightly serrate (Fig. 43).

Abdomen. Range of Abd. IV length as 6.43-7.50 times as dorsal axial length of Abd. III. Abd. I with 11 (a1a, a1-3, a5, m2-4, m2i, m4i, m4p), ms antero-external to sens. Abd. II with six (a2, a3, m3, m3e, m3ea, m3ep) central, one (m5) lateral mac and two sens. Abd. III with two (a2, m3) central and four (am6, pm6, m7a, p6) lateral mac, one ms and two sens (Fig. 44). Abd. IV with two normal sens and about half length of elongate sens; anteriorly with 12-13 mac arranged in irregular transverse row, posteriorly with nine central mac (A4-6, B4-6, Ae5-7), laterally with 21-23 mac (Fig. 45). Abd. V with three sens, middle one posterior to m3 (Fig. 46). Anterior face of ventral tube with 30 ciliate chaetae, 3+3 of them as mac, line connecting proximal (Pr) and external-distal (Ed) mac oblique to median furrow (Fig. 47); posterior face with numerous ciliate chaetae and six smooth chaetae apically (Fig. 48); lateral flap not seen entirely (Fig. 49). Manubrial plate dorsally with 13-14 ciliate chaetae and three pseudopores (Fig. 50); ventrally with 36-37 ciliate chaetae on each side (Fig. 51). Dens with 54-57 smooth inner spines (Fig. 52). Mucro bidentate with subapical tooth larger than apical one; tip of basal spine reaching apex of subapical tooth; distal smooth section of dens almost equal to mucro in length (Fig. 53).

Etymology.

Named after its locality: Guizhou Province, which is abbreviated as Qian.

Ecology.

In the leaf litter of bamboo.

Remarks.

The new species is characterised by its colour pattern on the antennae and nine sutural mac on the head. Among 77 known species of the genus, 51 species have eight sutural mac and only nine species have nine sutural mac. There are some significant differences among them, such as colour pattern on the antennae and thorax, mac on Abd. III-IV and other characters, which are listed in Table 2.