identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
6F437EBFA2E85400BC029B5734F6A9BE.text	6F437EBFA2E85400BC029B5734F6A9BE.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Vermitigris tsangyanggyatso Shan & Wang 2026	<div><p>Vermitigris tsangyanggyatso Shan &amp; Wang sp. nov.</p><p>Figs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7</p><p>Chinese vernacular name.</p><p>仓央嘉措印穴虻.</p><p>Differential diagnosis.</p><p>In the larvae of this species, the marginal spines in the proleg are approximately as long as or only slightly shorter than the middle ones (Fig. 6 B – D). However, in V. fairchildi, whose adults are unknown, the marginal spines are approximately half as long as the middle ones (Wheeler 1930: fig. 25 j).</p><p>From V. infasciatus it can be differentiated by: (1) large body size with wing length exceeding 14 mm (vs 9 mm); (2) antennae mostly yellowish brown (vs dark); (3) abdomen lacks distinct stripes (vs with light longitudinal stripes extending from T 2 to T 5); (4) hind femur mostly reddish brown, hind tibia mostly dark brown and reddish brown in basal 1 / 10 and yellowish brown in distal 3 / 10 (vs femur uniformly dark brown, tibia yellowish brown in basal half and black in distal half). From V. orientalis it can be differentiated by: (1) meso- and metapleura black (vs mesopleura black but metapleura yellow); (2) abdomen uniformly yellowish brown (vs with light and dark rings); (3) R 2 + 3 slightly curved (vs considerably curved); and in larvae, (4) proleg bears 5–7 spines (vs 3). From V. sinensis it can be differentiated by the absence of light and dark rings in the abdomen (vs presence), and R 4 meets R 5 at a subacute angle (vs almost right angle).</p><p>Type material.</p><p>Holotype. • ♂ (CNVer 25 TYG 001), China, Xizang Tibetan Autonomous Region, Yadong County, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=89.01664&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=27.231941" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 89.01664/lat 27.231941)">western bank of Yadong (Chumbi) River</a>, 27°13'54.99"N, 89°0'59.90"E, 1650 m elev., 23–31. VII. 2025, leg. Chun-Mei Liao &amp; Ji-Shen Wang.</p><p>Paratypes. • 3 ♂ 4 ♀ (CNVer 25 TYG 002 –008), same data; • 2 ♀ (CNVer 25 TYG 009, 010), same location except 22–24. VIII. 2025, leg. Si-Gui Fu; • 1 ♂ (CNVer 25 TYG 011), China, Xizang Tibetan Autonomous Region, Dinggyê County, Zhêntang Town, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=87.41565&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=27.866873" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 87.41565/lat 27.866873)">northern bank of Ganma Tsangpo</a>, 27°52'0.74"N, 87°24'56.33"E, 2500 m elev., 02. VIII. 2025, leg. Chun-Mei Liao &amp; Ji-Shen Wang.</p><p>Additional material.</p><p>28 larvae and three pupae, same data as the holotype. One pupa emerged as a male paratype (CNVer 25 TYG 002).</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The species is dedicated to Tsangyang Gyatso (1683–1706), the 6 th Dalai Lama, a Tibetan poet-monk from Xizang, renowned for his romantic verse and unconventional life. Noun in apposition.</p><p>Measurements (mm).</p><p>Adults: male body length 18.0–19.0, wing length 14.5–15.3, width 4.0–4.2 (n = 5); female body length 18.2–19.5, wing length 15.0–15.8, width 4.1–4.5 (n = 6). Larvae: final instar larvae body length 20–28 (n = 28). Pupae: body length 15–16 (excluding larval exuviae, n = 3).</p><p>Description.</p><p>Male. Head (Figs 1 E, 1 F, 2 A, 2 B, 2 F, 3 A). Antennae with scape and pedicel yellowish brown; flagellum darkened in terminal flagellomeres (arista). Scape long and cylindrical, approximately three times as long as pedicel and bearing three stout setae near apex dorsally; pedicel suboval; flagellum faintly four-segmented, with basal flagellomere nearly cylindrical; second and third flagellomere greatly narrowed and fourth slender, approximately as long as scape and pedicel combined. Vertex black with numerous setae. Frons dark brown with silver pollinosity. Proboscis short and fleshy.</p><p>Thorax (Figs 1 E, 1 F, 2 A – C, 2 F). Meso- and metanotum mostly shining black, greatly humped. Mesonotum with two yellowish-brown stripes ending before scutellum, and large yellowish-brown spot near wing base. Pleura entirely black. Fore- and midlegs almost yellow except black coxae; hindlegs with coxa black, trochanter and femur reddish brown, tibia mostly dark brown and reddish brown in basal 1 / 10 and yellowish brown in distal 3 / 10, tarsi yellowish brown. Acropod with a pair of black claws and distinct empodium and pulvilli.</p><p>Wings (Figs 1 E, 1 F, 2 A, 2 B, 2 E, 2 F, 3 B). Wing membrane subhyaline and tinged with yellow, veins yellowish brown. R 4 meets R 5 at a subacute angle, R 5 approximately 4 / 7 as long as R 4. Cell m 3 variable: open in holotype and one paratype, and closed in three other paratypes. Anal lobe narrow. Halters strongly clubbed.</p><p>Abdomen (Figs 1 E, 1 F, 2 A, 2 B, 2 E, 2 F, 3 C – E, 4 A, 4 B, 4 D, 4 E). T 1 short, dark brown. T 2 – T 8 yellowish brown to reddish brown, without longitudinal stripes or pale rings. Epandrium (T 9) subtrapezoidal with V-shaped terminal emargination, with lateral margins greatly curled ventrad. Cerci short and broad.</p><p>Genitalia (Figs 3 C – E, 4). Gonocoxites divided by deep ventral aperture and connected by narrow dorsal bridge. Dorsomedial projection of gonocoxites rounded, bearing finger-like, setose process at base, directed caudad. Gonostyli short and blunt apically. Aedeagus tongue-shaped and curled ventrad at apex. Apodemes of aedeagus and gonocoxites indistinct.</p><p>Female. Habitus (Fig. 2 D) similar to males but with much wider abdomen. Cerci two-segmented, with basal segment slightly wider than T 10 in lateral view; distal segment much smaller. S 10 nearly diamond-shaped.</p><p>Genitalia (Fig. 5). Hypogynial valve approximately 3 / 4 as wide as S 8 and bearing long setae in distal half. Genital fork greatly sclerotised.</p><p>Immature stages.</p><p>No eggs obtained.</p><p>Final instar larvae (Fig. 6 A – F, H – J). Abdomen eight-segmented, with A 7 widest. A 1 with single semicircular proleg (pseudopod) bearing a longitudinal row of 5–7 spines (5, n = 8; 6, n = 13; 7, n = 7). Posterior border of T 7 with two dorsal, comb-like rows of spines: posterior row with 14–18 strong spines, anterior row with 30–40 much weaker spines, only 1 / 5–1 / 3 length of strong ones. Four flat, broadly finger-shaped lobes on A 8 posteriorly.</p><p>Larval head skeleton (Fig. 6 A, H – J) greatly sclerotised, mostly retracted within first thoracic segment, approximately 2.5 times as long as wide. Cranium broad, widest at basal 1 / 3. Genae less sclerotised, exhibiting light colouration. Antennae (or remnants) extremely short. Labrum narrow. Mandibles subtriangular. Maxillae short, with two-segmented palps. Gula slender, approximately 1 / 3 length of cranium. Tentorium slender, at least twice as long as gula.</p><p>Pupae (Fig. 6 G). Covered with fine grains of sand. Larval exuviae including head skeleton attached posteriorly.</p><p>Distribution.</p><p>(Fig. 7) China: southern Xizang (Dinggyê and Yadong counties). Because the collection sites are only a few kilometres from the national border, this species may also occur in nearby Bhutan, Nepal, and northern India.</p><p>Biological notes.</p><p>The larvae were collected from three different types of rain-protected microhabitats: (1) fine-grained soil under giant rocks (Fig. 1 B); (2) a mix of soil and dense accumulation of wood debris produced by wood-boring insects beneath a pavilion (Fig. 1 A, C); (3) fine-grained river sands accumulated under giant rocks next to the river (Fig. 1 D). Field observations suggest that these wormlions mostly prefer the third type, as the first two usually harbor fewer individuals. When disturbed, the larvae exhibit a typical Ω-shaped defensive posture, as in other wormlions.</p><p>Adults were found resting on leaf surfaces around larval colonies on sunny days in Yadong (Fig. 1 A, B). One male paratype from Dinggyê County, however, was collected around agricultural fields, with no larval colonies found nearby. This may suggest that this species has strong flight and dispersal abilities.</p><p>With a significantly shortened rostrum, V. tsangyanggyatso sp. nov. is similar to members of Vermileo and Vermiophis, which have no records of flower-visiting behaviour and are believed not to feed during the adult stage (Wheeler 1930; Nagatomi et al. 1999; Li et al. 2024).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6F437EBFA2E85400BC029B5734F6A9BE	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Shan, Li-Xia;Wang, Ji-Shen	Shan, Li-Xia, Wang, Ji-Shen (2026): After forty-eight years: An enigmatic new wormlion fly from Xizang, China (Diptera, Vermileonidae). ZooKeys 1276: 249-262, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1276.184675
