Protohermes piaoacanus, 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 : 36-39

Protohermes piaoacanus sp. nov.

( Figs. 4 , 25–29 )

Diagnosis. This species is characterized by a yellow head with four pairs of black marks (two large and two small), while the pronotum has two pairs of narrow vittae, the anterior pair being slightly longer than the posterior pair. The male 10th tergite in caudal view possesses a long and clavate ventral process.

Male. Body length 31 mm (n=1); forewing length 42 mm, hindwing length 39 mm.

Head yellowish-brown; vertex with four pairs of black marks on posterolateral margins, anterolateral mark suboval, posterolateral mark subtriangular, antero- and posteromedial marks rather small; postocular spine reduced. Occiput with pair of black marks on lateral margins. Compound eyes pale brown; ocelli yellow, medially margined black. Antenna blackish with scape and pedicel yellowish-brown. Mouthparts yellowish-brown; mandibles with distal half blackish-brown; maxillary and labial palpi with distal two segments pale brown.

Prothorax yellowish-brown; pronotum with two pairs of narrow black marks on lateral margins, anterior and posterior pairs widely separated. Thorax with pilous yellow setae that are much longer on meso– and metathorax than on prothorax. Legs yellow, with yellowish short dense setae; fore legs with tips of tibiae and entire tarsi blackish-brown; mid and hind legs with tips of 1st tarsomere and entire 2nd to 4th taromeres blackish-brown; tarsal claws reddish-brown. Wings slightly greyish, with several yellowish marks. Forewing with numerous brownish stripes on costal cellules; proximally with a subtriangular mark, medially with several irregular marks mainly along Cu1, and with a small round mark at distal 1/3. Hindwing almost hyaline on proximal half, with an indistinct round mark at distal 1/3. Veins yellowish-brown but much paler on yellowish marks and proximal half of hindwing. Rs 9 to 10–branched, last branch bifurcate; 9–12 crossveins between R1 and Rs; M1+2 5 to 6-branched, M3+4 2 to 3-branched; 1A 3-branched.

Abdomen brownish with venter pale yellow. Ninth tergum ( Fig. 26 ) subtrapezoidal, with arcuately incised anterior and slightly produced posterior margins; internal inflection V-shaped; posterolateral portions strongly produced and slenderly clavate. Ninth sternum ( Fig. 27 ) long; posterior margin with a deep subtrapezoidal incision, forming a pair of long subtriangular posterior processes slightly produced laterally. Ninth gonostylus ( Fig. 27 ) elongate unguiform with apex curved medially. Tenth tergite ( Fig. 26 ) subcylindrical, short, about 0.5 times as long as 9th tergum, with posterolateral corner not produced, and with tip slightly incised; tip ( Fig. 28 ) in caudal view broad with a long clavate ventral process straightly directed medially and bearing short dense setae. Tenth sternum ( Fig. 29 ) arched; dorsomedial process moderately developed, nearly semicircular; ventromedial process present; lateral lobe long, slender, with tip curved medially.

Female. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype ɗ, VIETNAM: Cao Bang Province, Mt. Pia Oac, 22.6166°N, 105.8667°E, 14.V.1998 ( CAU).

Distribution. Vietnam (Cao Bang Province).

Etymology. The specific epithet ‘ piaoacanus ’ refers to the type locality of the new species.

Remarks. The new species appears to be closely related to P. guangxiensis in having the similar vertexal and wing patterns, but can be easily separated from P. guangxiensis by the widely separated prothoracic marks, the long male 9th sternum, and the male 10th tergite with the straightly produced ventral lobe. In P. guangxiensis , the anterior and posterior pairs of the prothoracic marks are almost connected with each other at middle, the male 9th sternum is much shorter, and the ventral process of the male 10th tergite is slightly curved medially.

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 25 – 29. Protohermes piaoacanus sp. nov. 25. Male head and prothorax, dorsal view; 26. Male genitalia, dorsal view; 27. Male genitalia, ventral view; 28. Male 10 th tergite, caudal view; 29. Male 10 th sternum, ventral view. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.