Zhengica cornuta, sp. nov.

(Figs. 1–21)

Type material. Holotype: ♂, CHINA: Shanxi, Xi’an, Huxian, Huashuping [approximately 33.68ºN 107.65ºE], 2400 m, 18.vi.2020, local collector; deposited in the National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, Taiwan.

Diagnosis. Being the single known member of Zhengica gen. nov., this species can be recognized based on the characters given for the genus.

Description. Macropterous male. Colour, integument and vestiture. Ground colour stramineous but body appearing brownish due to dense and coarse black punctation, punctures confluent in various parts of body and form extensive dark areas intermixed with impunctate lighter parts, resulting in a complex, irregular, asymmetrical, mottled pattern (Figs. 1–3); head pale ferruginous, densely and relatively uniformly punctured dorsally, with a pair of oval impunctate areas at mesal margins of eyes (Fig. 4); antennae stramineous, scape, basi- and distipedicellite with dense black punctation, basi- and distiflagellum impunctate, distal half of distipedicellite, distal two-thirds of basi- and distiflagellum each black; labium with scattered punctures on labiomeres I–III, labiomere IV greatly black except base; pronotum (Figs. 4–6) with ferruginous suffusion on and around calli, with a conspicuous, dropshaped impunctate area between calli, more densely punctured anteriad of calli sublaterally, posteriad of calli submedially, and on humeral lobes laterally, punctures on posterior part of posterior lobe of pronotum more sparsely distributed, frequently arranged in short lines, integument somewhat rugo-punctate; basal tumescence of scutellum ferruginous, with a pair of rounded, impunctate, callose patches basolaterally (not including impressed basal angle) neighboured medially by dark areas formed by densely packed punctures (Fig. 4), dense punctation also on posterior part of frenal area and on tip of scutellum; clavus and corium with irregularly and asymmetrically distributed black punctures intermixed with impuctate pale areas, with a relatively large impunctate patch on endocorium marginally immediately distad of distal end of medial furrow, distally neighboured by a larger patch formed by greatly confluent black punctures; membrane smoky brown, veins contrastingly dark brown (Fig. 10); thoracic pleura stramineous, episterna and epimera with reddish suffusion, with coarse, black punctation, particularly dense on proepimeroid and on pleura laterally (below pleural sutures); meso- and metasterna dark brown, median carina of mesosternum stramineous (Fig. 9); coxae and trochanters stramineous, femora and tibiae ferruginous with dense, partly confluent black punctation, tarsomeres I pale stramineous, their distal portions and tarsomeres II–III dark brown; anterior and posterior thirds of dorsal laterotergites III–VII black, middle thirds yellowish with black punctures; abdominal venter broadly suffused with red on ventrites III–VI submedially (probably corresponding with red testes inside of abdomen), sparsely punctate, more densely packed punctures forming a pair of broad, irregular longitudinal bands mesad of spiracles and another pair of narrow and very indistinct bands submedially, lateral margins narrowly black in anterior and posterior thirds of each segments corresponding with black areas of dorsal laterotergites, spiracles III–VII surrounded by a larger black patch, two trichobothria on ventrites III–VII each by a smaller black patch (Figs. 3, 6, 13); anterior (concealed) parts of genital capsule brown, exposed portions stramineous with reddish suffusion, lateral processes brown, submedian processes densely punctured with black, continued in a pair of oblique streaks formed by densely packed punctures converging to midline (Fig. 11). Vestiture as described for the genus.

Body relatively elongate oval, about 1.9 times as long as greatest width (Figs. 1–3). Head (Figs. 4–6) about as long as greatest width across eyes, about 1.55 times as wide as interocular distance. Antenna: basipedicellite about 1.15 times longer than distipedicellite. Labium reaching to base of abdominal ventrite VII, labiomere I approaching base of head, labiomere III longest, about 1.1 times as long as labiomere II and 1.6 times as long as labiomere IV. Pronotum about 2.3 times as broad as its median length, processes of anterior angles subtriangular, reaching to about anterior marging of eye, flattened, strongly curved upwards, dorsal face concave; humeri produced into a pair of short and broad processes with anterior margin rounded, humeral angle obtuse, enclosing approximately 120º, distance between humeral angles slightly shorter than (about 0.95 times as long as) greatest width of body (= greatest width between costal margins of fore wings in rest); dorsal surface of pronotum uneven, compressed anteriad of calli and at inner portions of humeral projections posteriad of calli. Scutellum about 1.25 times as long as basal width, with an obtuse, flat, but fairly distinct median carina posteriad of basal tumescence, approximately as broad as one third of width of postfrenal portion. Thoracic pleuron: evaporatorium occupying mesepimeron, mesepimeroid and metapleuron except lateral parts and supracoxal lobes on both segments; peritreme forming a short auricle, scent gland ostiole narrowed laterally and continued as a furrow along posterior margin of peritreme, extending almost to its tip.

External male genitalia (Figs. 10–21). Genital capsule (Figs. 10–16) conspicuously large, its width about 45% of greatest width of abdomen (cf. Fig. 3); posterior margin with two (a lateral and a sublateral) pairs of globose, densely setose projections, counterparts of lateral pair (Fig. 14: lap) each produced into a ventromesally directed process tapering towards its tip (Fig. 16), those of sublateral pair (Figs. 14, 15: slp) connected by a transversely laminate protrusion of ventral rim (Fig. 14: vr) far surpassing level of tips of sublateral projections posteriorly, emarginated at meson, provided with a dorsally directed, apically slightly excised median denticle (Figs. 14, 15: dvr) subapically; infolding of dorsal rim (Fig. 14: dif) forming a broad, ridge-like arch (Figs. 14, 15: adif) [= superior ridge sensu Baker (1931a, b); interpreted as a potential homologue of tergite IX by Tsai et al. (2011)] surrounding proctiger (Figs. 14, 15: prc) from above; superior processes (see Discussion) absent. Paramere (Figs. 17–18; Figs. 14–15: lp) simple, curved, crown laminate, apical portion with several minute scale-like processes. Phallus (Figs. 19–21): articulatory apparatus as in Fig. 19; phallotheca rather heavily sclerotized, constricted near apex, forming a distinct phallothecal shield (Fig. 19: phsh) distally; conjunctiva thick and short, forming a single dorsal process (Figs. 19, 20: cp-I) that is tongue-shaped and strongly sclerotized ventrally, a pair of enlarged, elongated ventral processes (Figs. 19–21: cp-II) with flattened, corrugate dorsal surface, together forming a broad bifurcate plate encompassing aedeagus (s. str.) at its base, provided with a pair of short, finger-like, posteromesally directed branches (Figs. 19, 20: cp-IIb) proximodorsally approximately laterad of aedeagus (s. str.); aedeagus (s. str.) (Fig. 22: aed) very short, secondary gonopore opens in ventral direction.

Measurements of the holotype (in mm). Body length 14.9; length of head 2.95, greatest width across eyes 2.93, interocular distance 1.89; length of scape: basipedicellite: distipedicellite: basiflagellum: distiflagellum as 0.97: 1.74: 1.50: 1.98: 2.25; length of pronotum 3.20, greatest width 7.41; length of scutellum 5.40, width at base 4.30; greatest width of abdomen 7.65.

Bionomics. Unknown.

Distribution. Only known from the type locality in Shanxi, central China, characterized by humid continental climate and temperate deciduous montane forest vegetation.

Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin adjective cornutus, - a, - um, meaning “provided with horns”, in allusion to the produced anterolateral angles of the pronotum.