Rhyacophila wichardi Kiss, 2014, new species
Creators: name: Kiss, Ottó
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Trichoptera
Rhyacophilidae
Rhyacophila
Rhyacophila wichardi

description: Rhyacophila wichardi, new species
Figs 4–6
Male. Body length of single known specimen 8.4 mm, length of each forewing 9.0 mm, width of each forewing 4.3 mm, length of each antenna 7.9 mm. Body, antennae, palpi, wings abdomen and legs dark brown.
Male genitalia (Figs 4–6). Segment IX (IX., Figs 4, 5) subrectangular in lateral view, roof-like in dorsal view; apicodorsal lobe of segment IX short and tapered to blunt apex in lateral and dorsal views. Upper part of segment X (X., Figs 4, 5) with slender proximal stem and slight indentation on ventrocaudal edge in lateral view, V-shaped with two short spines on each apex in dorsal view; lower part of segment X (Fig. 4) broad lobe with undulating ventral margin in lateral view. Anal sclerites not evident. First segment of each inferior appendage (f.s., Fig. 4) broad and shorter than segment X and phallic apparatus in lateral view; second joint of each inferior appendage (s.j., Fig. 4) with rounded dorsal apex, straight and oblique posterior edge, and moderately long ventral part directed caudodorsad, and terminating in blunt apex, distal margin densely covered with tiny spines in lateral view. Phallotheca (phal., Figs 4, 6) long, tubular; dorsal appendage absent; endotheca (end., Figs 4, 6) short membranous tube in lateral and ventral views; phallicata (ph., Figs 4, 6) slender tube in lateral and ventral views, its ventral lobe (v.l., Figs 4, 6) very slender and longer than phallicata with inward curved posterior end in lateral and ventral views; parameres (par., Figs 4, 6) shorter than phallicata, each with stout proximal part bearing 7 very long apical spines, outermost spine longer than phallicata in lateral and ventral views.
Female. Unknown.
Holotype: ♂, NEPAL, EAST-Nepal, [Taplejung District] Milke Dada, Gupha Pass, 27o33’N, 87o30’E, 3000 m elevation, by light trapping, 23 August 2000, leg. Tibor Csővári and Márton Hreblay (gen. prep. No.120, Ottó Kiss, coll. Mátra Museum).
Differential diagnosis. This species belongs to the Rhyacophila curvata Group of the R. divaricata Branch (Schmid 1970). The male genitalia of this species are similar to those of Rhyacophila lepoh Huisman & Armitage 2011 from Sabah, Malaysia, and R. shakangpa, Schmid 1970 (plate XXXVII, figs 9–10) from Garhwal, India, as well as R. dikkaravasini Schmid 1970 (plate XXXVII, figs 7–8) from Kerala, India, but differs from them in that:
1. The apicodorsal lobe of segment IX is short and tapered to a blunt apex (not long and slender as in R. lepoh or R. shakangpa or R. dikkaravasini).
2. The lower part of segment X is a broad lobe separated from the upper part of segment X (not mostly fused with the upper part as in R. lepoh or R. shakangpa or R. dikkaravasini).
3. The phallicata is a slender tube, shorter than the second joint of each inferior appendage (not longer than the second joint of each inferior appendage as in R. lepoh or R. shakangpa or R. dikkaravasini).
4. The dorsal lobe of the phallicata is very fine and curved beyond an exposed ejaculatory duct and the ventral lobe is divided into a pair of apically notched projections (the phallicata is a simple tube in R. lepoh, R. shakangpa, and R. dikkaravasini).
5. The parameres are short, stout, curved upward, and each with seven long spines (not crescent-shaped, curved downward, and with tiny teeth on the apical surface as in R. shakangpa or not with two spines as in R. dikkaravasini).
6. The phallotheca is a simple narrow tube (without prominent, T-shaped phallic tenons, unlike the tenons in R. lepoh or R. shakangpa or R. dikkaravasini).
Etymology. Dedicated to Professor Wilfried Wichard.
description: Published as part of Kiss, Ottó, 2014, New species and subspecies of Rhyacophila (Trichoptera: Rhyacophilidae) from Asia, pp. 416-424 in Zootaxa 3873 (4) on page 420, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3873.4.4, http://zenodo.org/record/231392