Amphinemura pentaspina Kong, Yang & Li 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kong, Xiangfei
name: Lin, Aili
name: Bozdoğan, Hakan
name: Yang, Ding
name: Li, Weihai
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Plecoptera
Nemouridae
Amphinemura
Amphinemura pentaspina

description: Amphinemura pentaspina Kong, Yang & Li, sp. nov.
(Figs. 1b, 3, 4d–4f)
Male habitus. Body color generally brownish (Fig. 1b). Head dark brown; antennae and palpi yellowish brown; compound eyes black; head slightly wider than pronotum; pronotum dark brown, corners obtuse and lateral margins bulging, with brown dotted and scattered larger rugosities. Legs yellow, tibia of hindlegs with dark distal band. Wing membranes brownish, veins brown. Abdominal segments including terminalia dark brown.
Male. Forewing length 5.9–6.0 mm, hind wing length 4.6–4.7 mm (n=2). Tergum 9 lightly sclerotized, with irregular rows of short spines and bristles at posterior margin (Fig. 4d). Slender vesicle of sternum 9 claviform, length barely 6.0X maximum width, slightly constricted medially (Figs. 3b, 4e). Hypoproct subquadrate at basal half, medial portion gradually tapering toward nipple-like tip (Figs. 3b, 4e). Tergum 10 sclerotized, a membranous concavity present below the epiproct, bearing many black spines along either side of the concavity (Figs. 3a, 4d). Cercus membranous, length approximately 2.0X width (Figs. 3a, 4d). Epiproct nearly rectangular (Figs. 3c, 4d), apex triangularly notched (Fig. 4d). Dorsal sclerite mostly membranous, lateral arms darkly sclerotized, basally band-like distinctly tapering medially, apical half stripe-like (Figs. 3c, 4d). Ventral sclerite distinctly sclerotized, wide at base, tapering toward apex, apical portion extended over dorsal sclerite forming a posteriorly directed tube (Figs. 3d, 4f), ventral ridge located at apex, arcuate with rows of tiny black spines (Fig. 4f). Paraproct inner lobe slightly sclerotized, nearly triangular, most hidden by hypoproct (Figs. 3e, 4e); median lobe slightly sclerotized, curved upward medially, with three ventrally directed spines apically (Figs. 3e, 4e); outer lobe shorter than median lobe, basal portion stripe-like and distinctly sclerotized, apical half membranous, curved upward entirely fused with median lobe, with two larger apical spines (Fig.3e).
Female and nymph. Unknown.
Type material. Holotype male (CAU): CHINA, Xizang Autonomous region, Motuo County, 885m, N 29.3288°, E95.3227°, 28-VII-2014, leg. Tingting Zhang. Paratype: 1 male (CAU), the same data as the holotype.
Etymology. The specific name refers to the number of spines of the paraproct.
Distribution. China (Xizang Autonomous Region).
Diagnosis. Amphinemura beibeng sp. nov. appears to be closely related to A. pentaspina sp. nov. after comparing members of the A. luteipes species group (Aubert 1967). Both species share similarities with regards to the epiproct apical tube and ventral ridge, paraproct characteristics, and pronotal color pattern.
Paraproct characteristics distinguishes the two species from each other. The apex of the outer paraproct lobe of A. beibeng sp. nov. terminates into an outcurved projection and forming prominent fork with the fingerlike apex of the median lobe (Figs. 2a, 4a) whereas for A. pentaspina sp. nov. the outer paraproct lobe is entirely fused with median lobe (Figs. 3e, 4e). The two new species also resemble two Himalayan species of the group, A. bomdilai Aubert, 1967 and A. paraluteipes, in having similarly curved ventral ridge of the epiproct, but they can be separated from them by details of paraproct as summarized in Table 2.
description: Published as part of Kong, Xiangfei, Lin, Aili, Bozdoğan, Hakan, Yang, Ding & Li, Weihai, 2025, Two new species of the Amphinemura luteipes species group (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) from Xizang, China, pp. 185-192 in Zootaxa 5566 (1) on pages 187-191, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5566.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/14613093