Dicerapanorpa tenuis Hu, Wang & Hua, 2019

Wang, Ji-Shen, 2022, New and little-known species of the genus Dicerapanorpa from northwestern Yunnan, China (Mecoptera: Panorpidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 62 (1), pp. 1-13 : 6-7

Dicerapanorpa tenuis Hu, Wang & Hua, 2019 ( Figs 19–26 , 49)

Material examined. CHINA: Yඎඇඇൺඇ: 3 ♁♁ 4 ♀♀ ( DALU: CN 21Di00009– CN 21Di00013), Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Heqing County, southeastern slope of Ma’er (Horse Ear) Mountain, 26°11′51.44″N, 100°8′42.95″E, 2550 m, 5.vi.2021, leg. Hai-Tian Song, Zhi-Hao Qi and Ji-Shen Wang; 1 ♀ ( DALU: CN 21Di00014), Lijiang City,Yulong County,Yuhu Village, irrigation canal with dense herbaceous ground cover in cultivated land, 27°0′46.46″N, 100°12′53.02″E, 2700 m, 5.vi.2021, leg. Ji-Shen Wang; 1 ♀ ( DALU: CN 21Di00015), Lijiang City, southern slope of Yulong (Jade Dragon) Snow Mountain, Forest near Fuguo Buddhist Temple, 26°57′22.87″N, 100°11′51.74″E, 2690 m, 6.vi.2021, leg. Zhi-Hao Qi.

Emended diagnosis. This species can be readily recognized by the combination of the following characters: 1) head yellow without black spots on vertex ( Figs 19, 20 ); 2) wings with speckled apical band ( Figs 19, 20 ); in males, 3) paramere with ventral and dorsal branches short and straight, and median branch long and curved inward ( Figs 22, 23 ); and in females, 4) medigynium with slender posterior arms nearly as long as main plate ( Figs 25, 26 ).

Redescription. Measurements (mm). Male: AtL 12.8–13.3, AbL 14.0–15.0, BL 19.0–22.0, FL 15.0–16.2, FW 3.6–4.0, HL 13.0–15.0, HW 3.4–3.8. Female: AtL 12.5–14.0, AbL 13.0–15.5, BL 18.5–22.3, FL 15.5–17.8, FW 3.7–4.4, HL 13.5–16.5, HW 3.6–4.3.

Female. Habitus ( Fig. 20 ) similar to males ( Fig. 19 ). Subgenital plate ( Fig. 24 ) oval with basal half nearly rectangular and distal half subtriangular, and bearing long setae marginally. Medigynium ( Fig. 25 ) with main plate subtriangular in basal half and rectangular in distal half; rounded basal plate enclosing basal half of main plate; posterior arms slender, nearly as long as main plate, and curved convergently in distal half.

Distribution. China: Yunnan (Lijiang and Heqing) ( Fig. 54 ).

Remarks. The original description, saying “medigynium with main plate slender and elliptical; posterior arms long and divergent, with apex curved inward”, was based on a single female paratype (Hඎ et al. 2019c: fig. 4F). In this study, two topotypical females and four females from the Ma’er Mountain conform to the paratype in morphology except for their medigynia, which are all broad with inwardly curved posterior arms. In fact, the female medigynium in Panorpidae can often be deformed due to dehydration. Specifically, the lateral margin of the main plate can be twisted, and the convergent or parallel posterior arms can be diverged (see Hඎ & Hඎൺ 2020: figs 2F vs. 3C, and figs 4J vs. 5C). It is highly possible that the medigynium Hඎ et al. (2019c) described was from a teneral female, and deformed due to dehydration. Therefore, the medigynial morphology of D. tenuis is redescribed here.

Figures

Figs 19–26. Dicerapanorpa tenuis Hu, Wang & Hua, 2019. 19, 21–23 – male. 20, 24–26 – female. 19–22, 24, 25 – specimens from Mt. Ma’er. 23, 26 – specimens from Lijiang (topotypical). 19, 20 – habitus, dorsal view. 21 – genital bulb, ventral view. 22, 23 – right paramere, ventral view. 24 – subgenital plate, ventral view. 25, 26 – medigynium, ventral view.

Fig. 54. Distribution of Dicerapanorpa spp. in Yunnan, China.