Neoleptophlebia uncinata Wang & Yang & Zhou 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Wang, Kai-Chen
name: Yang, Qing-Yi
name: Zhou, Chang-Fa
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Ephemeroptera
Leptophlebiidae
Neoleptophlebia
Neoleptophlebia uncinata

description: Neoleptophlebia uncinata Zhou, sp. nov.
(Figs 1–7)
Material examined. H olotype: Male imago (reared from nymph), South Gate, creek nearby Parking Lot, Baohua Mountain, Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, China, 8-15.III.2023, colls. Dewen Gong, Xuhongyi Zheng, Xinhe Qiang, Qingyi Yang. Paratypes: 7 male and 8 female imagoes (reared from nymphs), 10 nymphs, same place and data as holotype, colls. Dewen Gong, Xuhongyi Zheng, Xinhe Qiang, Qingyi Yang; 1 male imago, Yingtuo Village, Zijin Mountain, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China, 3.IV.2006, colls. Dong Liu, Xin Liu, Xin Wang.
Description. Mature nymph (in alcohol): body length 6.0–8.0 mm, antennae 1.9–2.5 mm, cerci 4.7–5.3 mm, terminal filament 4.6–5.2 mm. Body color amber to dark brown, with some pale dots and stripes on different parts dorsally (Figs 1A–C).
Head generally brown, area between ocelli darker than others; areas between lateral ocelli and compound eyes slightly paler, area between clypeus and median ocellus with an oval pale portion or large dot (Figs 1A, F). Antennae with brown scape and pedicel, but flagella pale (Fig. 1F). Compound eyes dark; basal ocelli dark too and apices of them pale. Vertex smooth, posterior margin of head convex (Figs 1A, F).
Mouthparts: width of labium ca. 0.4x head; width: length 0.5:1.0; dorsal surface and free margins with dense hair-like setae; ventral surface with two sub-median hair-like setal tufts; front margin generally convex but with a shallow median notch (Fig. 2A). Mandibles with smoothly convex outer margins, basal half dorsal surface coarse, with relatively sparse and long hair-like setae (Figs 2D, F); both mandibles with a row of hair-like setae at median line of ventral surface respectively (Fig. 2H); a row hair-like setae on mesal margin of right mandible (Fig. 2F); outer incisor of left mandible divided into four apical denticles, inner one with three; prostheca composed with a distinct spine and a tuft of tine spine (Fig. 2E). Outer incisor of right mandible divided into three apices, inner one with two; prostheca divided into lots of tine spine (Fig. 2G). Almost whole crown of maxillae with dense hair-like setae, a row of 5–6 comb-like setae near inner corner of galea-lacinia; crown wider than base of galea-lacinia; the latter with two rows of feather-like setae on mesal margin; outer margins of stipes and cardo with very sparse and tiny hair-like setae (Figs 2I, J); length ratio of three segments of maxillary palpi from base to apex 1.37: 1.14: 1.00. Free margins of basal segment convex, outer one with a row of spine-like setae, inner margin with a row of hair-like setae (Fig. 2I); apex of segment II wider than base, apical half inner margin with hair-like setae; segment III near triangular in shape, whole surface with relatively long and dense hair-like setae, especially outer margin (Fig. 2I). Glossae and paraglossae of labium with dense hair-like setae on both surface; width of paraglossae ca. 2.0x glossae; length ratio of segments of labial palpi from base to apex 1.68: 1.00: 1.16; segment I much stronger than others, its inner margin expanded greatly; outer margin with spine-like setae, inner margin with hair-like setae; segment II with relatively long hair-like setae on outer margin only, base of it much narrower than apex; segment III nearly triangular, with spine-like setae on whole surface (Fig. 2C). Superlinguae of hypopharynx with dense hair-like setae on surface but without on slightly concave outer margins; lingua with tiny hair-like setae only (Fig. 2B).
Pronotum amber to brown, its width slightly wider than head, with pale lateral margins, midline pale too, median area slightly darker than lateral areas; mesonotum slightly darker than pronotum, with two dark and two pale indistinct dots at wingpad base respectively; scutella of mesothorax and metathorax pale (Fig. 1A). Legs deep yellow to amber, joints darker than other parts, width of coxae ca. 3.0x trochanter (Figs 3A–C). Trochanter and femora of foreleg with spatulate-like setae on surface (Fig. 3D), tibiae and tarsus with spine-like setae on inner margins only, length ratio three segments of forelegs 1.75: 1.37: 1.00 (Figs 3A, E). Setal pattern of midlegs similar to forelegs except it with an additional transverse spine-like setae on tibiae apex; length ratio of three segments 2.00: 1.46: 1.00 (Figs 3B, G). Hindlegs similar to midlegs but its femora with sparser setae but tibiae with additional spine-like setae on outer margin; length ratio of three segments 2.01: 1.70: 1.00 (Fig. 3C). Midlegs and hindlegs with patellar-tibial fusion sutures (Figs 3B, C, F). Claws of all legs similar, with a row of denticles (16–23) from base to near apex (Fig. 3H).
Abdomen: terga amber to dark brown, usually with a pale midline and a pair of submedian pale dots respectively; lateral portions near margins pale (Fig. 1A). Posterolateral angles of terga VIII–IX extended into sharp projections (Fig. 1E); posterior margins of each tergum with a row of transverse denticles (Fig. 1E). Sterna uniformly amber to brown (Fig. 1B). Gills I–VII similar, margins with tiny hair-like setae (Fig. 1I). Gills I smaller than others, common base ca. 0.4x gill length; with dark trachea but without distinct tracheal branch (Fig. 1G). Gills II and VII slightly smaller than gills III–VI, all of them with main trachea and tracheal branches (Figs 1H–J). Common base of them ca.0.4x gill length (Fig. 1H). Cerci and terminal filament amber to brown, with rows of hair-like setae and tiny triangular denticles between articulations (Figs 1A,D).
Male imago (in alcohol): body length 9.0– 9.5 mm, caudal filaments 7.5–8.0 mm, forewings 8.6–9.0 mm, hindwings 2.3–2.5 mm. Generally body chocolate to dark brown (Figs 4A, 6A–C).
Head chocolate but with pale anterior margin; ocelli with dark base and pale apex; compound eyes clearly divided into dark basal half and reddish brown upper half, the latter semispherical; distance between two eyes less than median ocellus (Fig. 5F).
Thorax chocolate to dark brown; wings transparent except very base with stains (Figs 4A, 6A–C). Veins of forewings amber, crossveins of posterior half more indistinct than other half; bullae of Sc, Rs distinct; MP forked slightly more basally than Rs, MA forked near middle point; all of them forked near symmetrically; 4– 5 intercalaries between CuA and CuP; outer margin sclerotized (Fig. 6A). Hindwings near oval in shape, maximum length: width 2.0: 1.0; a slightly concave recession at the middle of anterior margin; MA single, MP forked at basal 1/3 symmetrically. Outer margin sclerotized too (Figs 6B, C). Legs brown to dark brown, joints darker than others; length ratio of femora: tibiae: tarsi of forelegs 1.00: 1.20: 1.55, length ratio of five segments of foretarsi 1.00: 12.67: 11.62: 9.11: 3.40. Ratio of midlegs 1.00: 1.07: 0.45, segment IV of midtarsi slightly longer than segment I-III; Ratio of hindlegs 1.00: 1.07: 0.40; tarsal segments similar to midlegs (Figs 5G–I). Claws of all legs similar, with two claws respectively, one blunt, one acute (Fig. 5J).
Abdomen generally dark brown to dark, area between tergites pale; pale midline very narrow, companied by a pair of oblique pale short stripes on each tergites (Fig. 4E). Sternites reddish brown (Fig. 4F). Genitalia: subgenital plate deeply forked into two triangular lobes, surface with tiny hair-like setae (Fig. 5D); basal half of segment I of forceps wider than apical half, its length ca. 2.3x combined length of segments II–III; segments II slightly longer and wider than segments III, each length of them ca. 2.0x width (Figs 5A, C). All segments with numbers of tiny projections on inner margins and very tiny hair-like setae on outer margins (Fig. 5C). Gonopores on lateral penes, each with a spear or hook-like projection oriented downward laterally (Figs 5A, E); basal half of penes about 2.0x apical half in width (Fig. 5E). Three caudal filaments brown, subequal in length (Fig. 4A).
Male subimago (alive): body darker than male, near dark brown (Fig. 4B). Tibiae covered with tiny cilia or microtrichia while free segments of tarsi covered with triangular scales or pointed microlepides.
Female imago (in alcohol): body length 9.0– 9.2 mm, forewings 8.3–8.5 mm, hindwings 2.1–2.3 mm; color pattern similar to male (Figs 4C, 6D–F). Color pattern similar to males, compound eyes semi-spherical, grey to dark, at posterolateral corners of head; posterior margins of head slightly concave (Fig. 5L). Length ratio of femora: tibiae: tarsi of forelegs 1.57: 1.82: 1.00, ratio of midlegs 2.24: 2.48: 1.00, ratio of hindlegs 2.24: 2.63: 1.00. Length ratio of four segments of foretarsi 1.33: 1.19: 1.00: 1.27, ratio of four segments of midtarsi = 1.33: 1.25: 1.00: 2.23, ratio of four segments of hindtarsi 1.32: 1.14: 1.00: 2.39. Abdomen chocolate to dark, subanal plate forked deeply. Subgenital plate tongue-like, semi-circular; subanal plate narrowed progressively, with deep fork (Figs 4G, H, 5K).
Female subimago (in alcohol): body length 8.5–8.8 mm, forewings 8.0– 8.2 mm, hindwings 2.1–2.3 mm. Darker than female (Fig. 4D). Length ratio of femora: tibiae: tarsi of forelegs 1.44: 1.79: 1.00, ratio of midlegs 2.07: 2.31: 1.00, ratio of hindlegs 2.38: 2.63: 1.00. Length ratio of four segments of foretarsi 1.38: 1.21: 1.00: 1.24, ratio of four segments of midtarsi 1.22: 1.03: 1.00: 1.91, ratio of four segments of hindtarsi 1.24: 1.10: 1.00: 2.30. Abdomen chocolate to dark, subanal plate forked.
Egg: length 150–170 µm, width 70–90 µm, elongated oval; covered with dense small projections (Figs 7A, B).
Etymology: specific name “ uncinate ” comes from the Latin word “ uncinatus ”, meaning “hook” or “hook shape”, indicating the distinct projections of its penes.
description: Published as part of Wang, Kai-Chen, Yang, Qing-Yi & Zhou, Chang-Fa, 2023, A new Neoleptophlebia Kluge, 1997 species from eastern China (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae), pp. 375-385 in Zootaxa 5343 (4) on pages 376-381, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5343.4.5, http://zenodo.org/record/8334460