Indosialis indicus, Liu, Xingyue, Flint, Oliver S. & Yang, Ding, 2008

Liu, Xingyue, Flint, Oliver S. & Yang, Ding, 2008, Revision of the alderfly genus Indosialis Lestage (Megaloptera: Sialidae), Zootaxa 1677, pp. 47-56 : 51-52

Indosialis indicus sp. nov.

( Figs. 2 , 9–12 , 19 )

Diagnosis. This species is distinguished by having the distal half of the male ninth gonostylus being inflated, by the distal half of the male tenth tergum being narrowed into a digitiform process, and by the male tenth sternum possessing a pair of straight, posteriorly directed distal lobes.

Male. Wings heavily damaged, no measurements possible.

Head orange. Mouthparts yellow with maxillary palpi brown. Compound eyes blackish brown. Antennae dark brown except for scape and pedicel orange.

Prothorax orange, meso– and metathorax pale brown. Fore and middle legs orange, with tibiae and tarsi blackish brown; hind legs brown with tibiae and tarsi blackish brown. Wings grayish brown; veins dark brown. Costal area proximally with six to seven distinct crossveins on forewing, and proximally with two distinct crossveins on hindwing.

Abdomen reddish brown. Ninth tergum ( Fig. 9 ) with anterior margin shallowly trapezoidal. Ninth sternum ( Fig. 10 ) broad, with posterior margin arched and not produced medially. Ninth gonostylus ( Figs. 9–12 ) robust, distal half slightly inflated, with distal portion produced dorsad. Tenth tergum ( Figs. 9, 11–12 ) subtriangular, slightly shorter than ninth tergum, directed medially, with distal half narrowed into a digitiform process. Tenth sternum ( Figs. 9–10, 12 ) strongly sclerotized, obliquely directed dorsad, proximal portion expanded as a large flattened plate, distal half produced as a pair of long, straight, spinous lobes with tips curved ventrad.

Female. Unknown.

Type material. 1 ɗ, INDIA: Nedungadu, 9.IV [no year provided], P.S. Nathan ( NMNH). Etymology. The specific epithet ‘ indicus ’ refers to the Indian distribution of the new species. Distribution. India (Nedungadu).

Remarks. The new species appears to be closely related to I. bannaensis in having a similar robust male ninth gonostylus and tenth sternum with the distal lobes appressed to each other, but can be easily separated from I. bannaensis by the male ninth gonostylus with distal half inflated and the male tenth tergum with distal half narrowed into a digitiform process. In I. bannaensis , the male ninth gonostylus is narrowed and curved dorsad in the distal half, and the male tenth tergum is blunt at its tip.

Figures

FIGURES 19. The map showing the geographical distributions of the extant Indosialis species. I. bannaensis Liu, Yang & Hayashi (); I. indicus sp. nov. (); I. minora (Banks) ().

FIGURES 1 – 2. Habitus photos of the Indosialis species. 1. I. bannaensis Liu, Yang & Hayashi (Holotype), male; 2. I. indicus sp. nov. (Holotype), male.

FIGURES 9 – 12. Indosialis indicus sp. nov., male. 9. Genitalia, dorsal view; 10. Genitalia, ventral view; 11. Genitalia, lateral view; 12. Genitalia, caudal view. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.