Rhopalopsole bawanglinga Li, Li & Yang 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Li, Mengyu
name: Wang, Bingli
name: Yang, Ding
name: Muranyi, David
name: Li, Weihai
name: Wang, Hongliang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Plecoptera
Leuctridae
Rhopalopsole
Rhopalopsole bawanglinga

description: Rhopalopsole bawanglinga Li, Li & Yang sp. nov.  
Figs 1, 2  
Type material.  
 Holotype: male (CAU), China: Hainan Province, Changjiang County, Bawangling National Forest Park, Dong’er Station, 22.X.2007, 19°15'1.44"N, 109°2'2.4"E, 1000 m, leg. D. Yang. Paratypes: 1 female (CAU): same data as holotype; 2 females (HIST), China: Hainan Province, Ledong County, Jianfengling, Tianchi-Mingfenggu, 3.VIII.2016, 18°44'49.2"N, 108°50'57.12"E, 890 m, leg. Weihai Li, Rongfeng Wang.   
Diagnosis.  
Male adult of this species is characterized by the lateral projections of the tergum 10 being bifurcate with the upper spine longer than the lower one in lateral view. The cercus bears a stout dorsoapical spine, and the epiproct is subtrapezoid with deep, circularly incised anterior margin in dorsal view. Females are diagnosed by the posterior margin of sternum 7 forming a narrowly produced pregenital plate, posteromedial portion slightly bilobed.  
Description.  
  Adult habitus.  Forewing length is 6.8 mm in the male, 7.0-7.4 mm in the females. Head brown to dark brown, slightly wider than pronotum; compound eyes black; antennae and mouthparts brownish to brown. Pronotum brown with dark rugosities; wings subhyaline with darker veins; legs brown. Abdomen brown.   
 Male (Figs 1, 3). Tergum 9 (Figs 1A, 3A) weakly sclerotized except anterior margin and lateral portions, medial 1/3 with a large trapezoidal membranous area surrounded by lateral sclerotized portion and ornamented posteromedial margin which terminates in a thin, produced sclerite with tiny granules. Sternum 9 (Figs 1B, 3B) longer than wide, distal portion with distinct trapezoidal subgenital plate, the plate about as long as wide, with a subapical constriction; vesicle dark brown, ovum-shaped in ventral view, tongue-like in lateral view, covered with dense hairs. Tergum 10 (Figs 1A, C, 3A, C) with well sclerotized, bifurcate lateral projections, terminating in two acute, parallel-sided points in dorsal aspect, the upper spine is longer than lower spine in lateral view. Central plate (Figs 1A, D, 3A, D) sclerotized and trilobed, lateral lobes subtriangular, together with a circular anteromedial incision of the medial lobe resemble flying wings; medial lobe darkly pigmented, with a small knob-like projection. Transverse bars slightly elevated medially, triangular, posterior margin and inner portion sclerotized. Cercus barely 3 × longer than wide, curved dorsally, with a stout subapical spine. Epiproct (Figs 1A, E, 3A, E) strongly sclerotized and darkly sclerotized laterally, subtrapezoid with deep, circularly incised anterior margin in dorsal view, longer than wide. Subanal lobe (Figs 1B, 3B) distinctly sclerotized basally, lateral margins and apex membranous, ventral furrows vague.   
 Female (Fig. 2A, B). Posterior margin of sternum 7 forming a triangularly produced pregenital plate; plate with sclerotized bilobed distal tip. Sternum 8 membranous except a slender, transverse posterior strip.   
Etymology.  
The specific name refers to the Bawangling National Forest Park.  
Distribution.  
China (Hainan).  
Remarks.  
 The new species is a typical member of the R. vietnamica group, western assemblage sensu Sivec et al. (2008). The male of the new species seems closely related to R. hainana from Hainan and R. cestroidea Li & Yang, 2017 (in: Li et al. 2017) from Guangxi, as they share a similar wide epiproct. However, it can be differentiated from both by bifurcate lateral projections on tergum 10, with the upper spine being longer than the lower one in lateral view, and the presence of a concave anterior margin of the epiproct. In R. hainana and R. cestroidea, the terminal bifurcation of lateral projections on tergum 10 is of equal length in lateral view, and the epiproct has a truncate or convex anterior margin. Additionally, the cercus of R. cestroidea lacks a spine, and that of R. hainana has a sharp subapical spine, whereas the cercal spine in the new species is stout. The female is distinctive due to the bilobed distal tip of the pregenital plate.
description: Published as part of Li, Mengyu, Wang, Bingli, Yang, Ding, Muranyi, David, Li, Weihai & Wang, Hongliang, 2023, New and little-known stonefly species of the Rhopalopsole vietnamica ' western assemblage' group (Plecoptera, Leuctridae) from China, pp. 125-137 in ZooKeys 1183 on page 125, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1183.103288