Sphaeronemoura fanjingshana Zhu & Du 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zhu, Ya-Fei
name: Du, Yu-Zhou
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Plecoptera
Nemouridae
Sphaeronemoura
Sphaeronemoura fanjingshana

description: Sphaeronemoura fanjingshana Zhu & Du, sp. nov.
(Figs. 2–8)
Type material: Holotype:male, China: Guizhou Province, Jiangkou County, Fanjing Mountain, 450 m, 27.829818N, 108.752701E, 2024-II-2, leg. Zeng Liang-Liang (ICYZU); Paratypes: 3 males, 2 females, the same data as holotype (ICYZU).
Distribution: Guizhou Province, China (Fig. 1)
Adult habitus: Head dark brown, antennae brown; head slightly wider than pronotum (Fig. 3A). Pronotum subquadrate, surface rough with distinct rugosities, the anterior corners truncated; cervical gills are paired, simple, tubular, and tapering apically, one simple gill located on either side of each cervical sclerite (Fig. 3B). Wings subhyaline, infuscate, veins dark brown; legs brown (Fig. 2).
Male: Body length 8.6–9.0 mm, Forewing length 10.1–10.5 mm, hindwing length 8.8–9.4 mm (n=3). Tergum 8 heavily sclerotized, featuring a sinuous posterior margin with acute posterolateral processes and a broad posteromedial process, forming a recurved bow-shape process (Figs. 4A, 5A–B), extending to the anterior edge of tergum 9, the latter which is largely sclerotized with a circular membranous area centrally (Figs. 4A, 5A–B). Sternum 9 with vesicle, claviform, slightly constricted basally, mostly membranous; base of hypoproct subpentagonal, apical projection slightly upcurved, tapering a blunt apex (Figs. 4B–C). Tergum 10 membranous medially and sclerotized laterally; both sides posterior to medial membranous area with a large blunt sclerotized projection (Figs. 6B–C). Paraprocts strongly sclerotized, divided into 3 lobes (Figs. 7A–B); inner lobe small, apex pointed, almost adhering to the median lobe; median lobe apex pointed, shorter than inner lobe; outer lobe generally triangular with blunt angles, larger than median and inner lobes. Epiproct curled upward, apex indented medially; flagellum lash-like and extending to tergum 9 in dorsal view, apex pointed (Figs. 4A, 6C–D); dorsal sclerite heavily sclerotized, approximately rectangular (Fig. 6A); ventral sclerite heavily sclerotized, without spines (Fig. 6B). Cerci (Figs. 4A, 5C–D), heavily sclerotized, bilobed, generally tetrahedral in shape, swollen like a crab claw, with a blunt tip at the end, and a large, thick finger-like protrusion near the median.
Female: Body length 9.1–9.5 mm; forewing length 12.4–12.9 mm; hindwing length 11.6–12.0 mm (n=2). Pregenital plate nearly semicircular, lung-shaped, and dark brown, covering most of sternum 7 (Fig. 8A); posterior edge of pregenital plate with a semicircular indentation and two posteriorly directed protrusions that extend to the anterior margin of sternum 8. Subgenital plate pale, with medial and lateral semicircular spots; vaginal lobes under semicircular spot have bilobed sclerites. Tergum 9 and sternum 9 dark brown (Fig. 8B), with a narrow trapezoid membranous indentation on the middle of the anterior margin.
Etymology: The new species is named after the type locality of Mt. Fanjing (= Fanjingshan).
Diagnosis: For males, Sphaeronemoura fanjingshana sp. nov. is distinguished by tergum 8 featuring a recurve bow-shaped process posteriorly and a swollen bilobed cercus that resembles crab claws. The female is distinguished by the posterior edge of the lung-shaped pregenital plate, which has a semicircular indentation and two posteriorly directed protrusions that extend to the anterior margin of sternum 8.
Remarks: Sphaeronemoura plutonis (Banks, 1937), S. songshana Li & Yang, 2009, S. separata Li, Murányi & Yang, 2014, S. asymmetria Li, Yang & Yang, 2016, S. kunmingensis Qian & Du, 2019, S. campylura Qian & Du, 2019, S. multicurvata Li, Li & Yang, 2020 and S. acutispina Mo, Wang, Yang & Li, 2020 all possess a distinctive process on the posterior edge of tergum 8 (Banks 1937, Li & Yang 2009, Li et al. 2014, Li et al. 2016, Qian et al. 2019, Li et al. 2020, Mo et al. 2020). Overall, S. fanjingshana sp. nov., is most similar to S. campylura from Yunnan Province, with both species possessing a large process on the posterior edge of tergum 8 and a paraproct structure that connects the inner lobe and median lobes.
On S. fanjingshana sp. nov., tergum 8 has a recurved bow-shape process and markedly swollen cerci that resemble crab claws with an inner lobe that is longer than median lobe. These traits clearly distinguish this species from S. campylura. The female of the new species also closely resembles S. campylura. The pregenital plate of S. fanjingshana is lung shaped, however, that is distinct from the U-shaped pregenital plate of S. campylura.
description: Published as part of Zhu, Ya-Fei & Du, Yu-Zhou, 2024, A new species of Sphaeronemoura (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) from Guizhou, China with a revised key to males of this genus, pp. 373-380 in Zootaxa 5529 (2) on pages 374-378, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5529.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/14022545