Hemilepistus (H.) dushengi, Wang & Hong & Li, 2022

Wang, Jin, Hong, Xinkai & Li, Weichun, 2022, First record of the genus Hemilepistus (Isopoda: Agnaridae) from China, with description of two new species, Zootaxa 5188 (1), pp. 87-94 : 88-90

Hemilepistus (H.) dushengi sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/zoobank.org/ C073E25D-8EBD-472E-BE38-78164C259E96

Figs 1–2

Holotype. Male, CHINA: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Yining (43°54’N, 81°33’E), an uncultivated land near Road 704, 14.vii.2021, leg. Du Sheng, prep. slide nos. L21043–21044 . Paratypes. Four females, same collection data as holotype.

Diagnosis. Head with three large tubercles on dorsal median of frons ( Fig. 1B, C ). Pereonites 1 and 2 with row of bulbous tubercles near posterior margins, pereonite 3 with smooth posterior margin ( Fig. 1A ).

Description. Body length 19.0–21.0 mm. Colour grey, tubercles and epimera white, posterior margin of pereon and pleon slightly lighter. Pereonite 1 with twelve bulbous tubercles near posterior margin and five large tubercles at lateral part; pereonite 2 with ten bulbous tubercles along posterior margin and three rows of five large tubercles at lateral part; pereonite 3 with three slender lateral tubercles, posterior margin smooth; pereonites 4–7 smooth ( Fig. 1A ). Pleon short, smooth and narrower than pereon, epimera of pleonite 5 reaching basal two fifths part of basipodite ( Fig. 1D ). Telson triangular, approximate twice as wide as long, lateral margin slightly concave at distal one third, apex blunted; uropodal protopod with conspicuous incision on lateral margin, exopod short and conical ( Fig. 1D ).

Head with three large tubercles in middle of frons; eyes with 22–25 large ommatidia, ten tubercles of various sizes above eye ( Fig. 1B, C ). Antennule composed of three articles, distal article bearing two small aesthetascs ( Fig. 2A ). Antenna reaches posterior part of pereonite 2 when extended backwards, flagellum with segment 1 slightly longer than segment 2 ( Fig. 2B ).

Pereopods I and VII without sexual dimorphism. Pereopod I with strong four spines on distal tip of merus and carpus, pereopod VII with five and four spines on distal tip of merus and carpus respectively ( Fig. 2C, D ).

Pleopods, sexual differentiation. Pleopods I and II exopodites with sinuous outer margins, pleopodal lungs well-developed ( Fig. 2E, G ); pleopods III–V exopodites with small lungs ( Fig. 2H–J ). Male pleopod I endopodite with broad basal part, narrowed towards apical tip, apical tip finger-like, equipped with four small spines ( Fig. 2F ). Male pleopod II endopodite nearly as long as exopodite, with distal article long and narrowed apically ( Fig. 2G ). Pleopods III and IV exopodites distally round on inner margins ( Fig. 2H, I ), pleopod V exopodite distally angled on inner margin ( Fig. 2J ).

Distribution. China (Xinjiang).

Etymology. The species is named after Mr. Du Sheng, the collector of the type species; noun (name) in the genitive case.

Remarks. This new species is similar to Hemilepistus taftanicus Kashani, Sari & Hosseini Ostavani, 2010 by pereonites 1 and 2 equipped with a row of bulbous tubercles along posterior margins. But it can be distinguished from the latter by the head with three large tubercles, the pereonite 3 with a smooth posterior margin ( Fig. 1A, B ), and the male pleopod I endopodite equipped with four small spines at the apical tip ( Fig. 2F ). In H. taftanicus , the head with 20–26 large tubercles, the pereonite 3 with a similar arrangement of tubercles as pereonite 1 ( Kashani et al. 2010: fig. 8), and the male pleopod I endopodite equipped with 28 spines of various sizes ( Kashani et al. 2010: fig. 9F).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Hemilepistus (H.) dushengi sp. nov., holotype A, head and pereonites 1−3 in dorsal view; B, head in dorsal view; C, head in frontal view; D, pleon in dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

FIGURE 2. Hemilepistus (H.) dushengi sp. nov., holotypeA, antennula; B, antenna; C, pereopod I; D, pereopod VII; E, pleopod I exopodite; F, pleopod I endopodite and enlarged apex; G, pleopod II; H, pleopod III exopodite; I, pleopod IV exopodite; J, pleopod V exopodite. Scale bars: 0.5 mm except for figure A with 0.1 mm.