Protohermes zhuae, Liu, Xingyue, Hayashi, Fumio & Yang, Ding, 2008

Liu, Xingyue, Hayashi, Fumio & Yang, Ding, 2008, The Protohermes guangxiensis species-group (Megaloptera: Corydalidae), with descriptions of four new species, Zootaxa 1851, pp. 29-42 : 39-42

Protohermes zhuae sp. nov.

( Figs. 5 , 30–36 )

Diagnosis. The head of this species is yellowish-brown and most often immaculate. Its has two pairs of prothoracic marks that are narrow and distinctly separated, the anterior pair curving laterally at a right angle. The male 10th tergite is rounded in caudal view, having a long, strongly incurved ventral process.

Male. Body length 31–34 mm (n=5); forewing length 45–47 mm, hindwing length 40–43 mm.

Head yellowish-brown, vertex mostly without black marks, but with a pair of tiny marks occasionally; postocular spine absent. Occiput with pair of black marks on lateral margins. Compound eyes brown; ocelli yellow, medially margined black. Antenna black with scape and pedicel yellowish-brown. Mouthparts yellowish-brown; mandibles with distal half black; distal three segments of maxillary and labial palpi blackishbrown.

Thorax yellowish-brown; pronotum with two pairs of narrow and widely separated black vittae near lateral margins, anterior pairs sometimes curved laterally; meso– and metanota laterally pale brown. Thorax with pilous yellow setae that are much longer on meso– and metathorax than on prothorax. Legs pale yellowishbrown with yellowish short dense setae; tibiae and tarsi mostly blackish-brown; tarsal claws reddish-brown. Wings pale greyish-brown with several yellowish marks. Forewing with numerous brownish stripes on costal cellules; proximally with one irregular mark, medially with four to seven suboval marks, two or three of which much larger, and with one round mark at distal 1/3. Hindwing slightly paler than forewing, immaculate on basal half, with one round mark at distal 1/3. Veins brown but slightly paler proximally. Rs 10 to 11– branched, last branch bifurcate or trifurcate; 7–10 crossveins between R1 and Rs; M1+2 5 to 8–branched, M3+4 2 to 4–branched; 1A 3–branched.

Abdomen brown. Ninth tergum ( Fig. 31 ) subtrapezoidal, with arcuately incised anterior and slightly produced posterior margins; internal inflection V–shaped; posterolateral portions strongly produced and slenderly clavate. Ninth sternum ( Fig. 32 ) short; posterior margin with a wide trapezoidal incision, forming two broad subtriangular posterior processes produced laterally. Ninth gonostylus ( Fig. 32 ) elongate unguiform with apex curved medially. Tenth tergite ( Fig. 31–32 ) subcylindrical, short, about 0.5 times as long as 9th tergum, with posterolateral corner produced, and with tip slightly incised; tip ( Fig. 33 ) in caudal view generally comma–like, dorsally broad and rounded, ventrally produced into a long digitiform process strongly curved medially and bearing short dense setae. Tenth sternum ( Fig. 34 ) arched; dorsomedial and ventromedial processes feebly developed; lateral lobe slender digitiform with tip curved ventromedially.

Female. Body length 45–48 mm (n=9); forewing length 51–55 mm, hindwing length 45–47 mm.

Eighth abdominal segment ( Figs. 35–36 ) laterally well sclerotized and distinctly inflated; 8th sternum well sclerotized, subtriangular in lateral view, in ventral view posterior margin strongly produced, slightly incised ventrally, forming a pair of small processes. Ninth abdominal segment with anterior margin of tergum laterally elevated. Ninth gonocoxite valvate and membranous, posterior portion subquadrate, ventrally slightly incised, with a small digitiform process at tip. Tenth tergite short with posterior margin incised, leaving one subtriangular dorsal and one semicircular ventral lobes.

Material examined. Holotype ɗ, CHINA: Zhejiang Province, Taishun County, Wuyanling, 27.5500°N, 119.7000°E, 2.VIII.2007, Yajun Zhu ( CAU). Paratypes: 2 ɗ, same data as holotype; 1 ɗ 3 Ψ, CHINA: Zhejiang Province, Taishun County, Wuyanling, 3.VIII.2007, Yajun Zhu ( CAU); 1 ɗ, CHINA: Zhejiang Province, Taishun County, Wuyanling, 28.VII.2005, Mengqing Wang ( CAU); 1 Ψ, CHINA: Zhejiang Province, Longquan County, Fengyangshan, 28.0667°N, 119.1333°E, 26.VII.2007, Yajun Zhu ( CAU); 1 Ψ, CHINA: Zhejiang Province, Longquan County, Fengyangshan, 1.VIII.2007, Yajun Zhu ( CAU); 2 Ψ, CHINA: Fujian Province, Wuyishan County, Xianfengling, 27.7109°N, 117.6525°E, 13.VIII.2004, Dakang Zhou ( CAU); 1 Ψ, CHINA: Fujian Province, Wuyishan County, Sangang, 27.7480°N, 117.6769°E, 900 m, 20.VIII.2006, Hui Dong ( CAU); 1 Ψ, CHINA: Fukien, Kuatun (Fujian Province, Wuyishan County, Guadun), 27.7362°N, 117.6364°E, 2300 m, 13.VII.1938, J. Klapperich ( ZFMK).

Distribution. China (Fujian Province, Zhejiang Province).

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to Ms. Yajun Zhu who collected the new species during a survey in Zhejiang, China.

Remarks. The new species appears to be closely related to P. guangxiensis in having the similar dark legs, but it can be easily separated from it by virtue of its nearly immaculate head, by its narrower and widely separated prothoracic marks, and by the male 10th tergite with the ventral process being strongly curved medially. In P. guangxiensis , the vertexal marks consist of three pairs, the prothoracic marks are broad and nearly fused at the middle, and the male 10th tergite possesses a slightly medially curved ventral process.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. Habitus images of the species of the P. guangxiensis group. 1. P. furcatus sp. nov. (holotype), male; 2. P. guangxiensis Yang & Yang (holotype), male; 3. P. impunctatus sp. nov. (holotype), male; 4. P. piaoacanus sp. nov. (holotype), male; 5. P. zhuae sp. nov. (holotype), male.

FIGURES 30 – 36. Protohermes zhuae sp. nov. 30. Male head and prothorax, dorsal view; 31. Male genitalia, dorsal view; 32. Male genitalia, ventral view; 33. Male 10 th tergite, caudal view; 34. Male 10 th sternum, ventral view; 35. Female genitalia, lateral view; 36. Female 8 th sternum, ventral view. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.