Neofilchneria wanglanga Chen 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Chen, Zhi-Teng
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Plecoptera
Perlodidae
Neofilchneria
Neofilchneria wanglanga

description: Neofilchneria wanglanga Chen, sp. nov.
Figs. 2–8.
Adult habitus (Figs. 2, 3). Body generally dark brown. Head mostly covered by a brown stigma, posterolateral margins with two fringed pigmented sclerotized areas. Triocellate, but anterior ocellus largely reduced. Antenna brown and slender, subequal in length to the body. Maxillary palps slender, five-segmented with a short apical segment; labial palps shorter, three-segmented with a short apical segment. Submental gills long and upcurved. Pronotum rugose and generally dark brown except for the pale median band, subtrapezoidal with angled corners; anterior and posterior margins of pronotum expanded longitudinally. Meso- and metanota generally dark brown. Macropterous; wings pale brown, veins brown. Legs generally pale brown, apex of femur, base and apex of tibia, and tarsus dark brown; two tibial spurs present. Abdominal segments generally brown, terminal segments pale. Cercus slender, length near two-thirds of the body, generally pale but apical half of each segment brown.
Male (Figs. 2–6). Body length 16.0 mm; forewing length 14.0 mm, hindwings length 12.0 mm. In the forewing, the venation includes an irregular net near the apex; five crossveins present between C and Sc; RP with three apical branches; five crossveins present between M and CuA; five crossveins present between CuA and CuP; AA1 forked; AA2 with three branches. In the hind wing, the apical net more complex than in the forewing; RP with seven apical branches; anal area large, with 12 anal branches.
Abdominal tergum 9 with a depressed, membranous, pale median area. Sternum 9 unmodified. Tergum 10 divided into two finger-shaped hemiterga, generally pale but anterolaterally dark brown. The hemitergal lobes in dorsal view are elongated and directed anteromedially, reaching each other; in lateral view, the hemitergal lobes are raised. Anterior surface of the hemitergal lobes covered with stout spines. Median area of hemiterga concave and membranous with a deep median slit parallel to two dark sclerotized bands, the bands extended backwards until covered by the subtriangular sclerotized paraprocts; a V-shaped sclerite originating from the apex of the lever arm present above the bands; the slit extended back to base of epiproct. Epiproct elliptical in dorsal view, anterior margin notched; in lateral view, the epiproct is stalked, claw-shaped and pointed, margins fringed with short setae, posterior half depressed; a dark, long lever arm present inside the membranous pouch, apparently hinged, apically with a rounded membrane. Median area of sternum 10 pale brown, posteriorly extended into a truncate apex.
Aedeagus was not everted when the male was alive, after NaOH treatment of the terminalia of a preserved male, the aedeagus appears as a simple structure, membranous and oblong, without distinct sclerotized patterns of setae or spines.
Female (Fig. 7). Body length 18.0 mm, generally color pattern similar to male. Subgenital plate originating from posterior margin of sternum 8, covering two-thirds of sternum 9. The subgenital plate long, the parabolic apex with a deep V-shaped notch; the lateral lobes subtriangular and slightly hooked. Sternum 9 generally pale, laterally with two dark brown circular spots. Paraprocts subtriangular from ventral view, slightly upcurved.
Type material. Holotype: male, China: Sichuan Province, Mianyang City, Pingwu County, Wanglang National Nature Reserve, Muyangchang headquarters (Fig. 8), 2590 m, 32.96 N, 104.10 E, 20 June 2016 (ICJUST). Paratypes: one male and two females, same date and locality as holotype (ICJUST).
Etymology. The species is named after the type locality, Wanglang National Nature Reserve. Wanglang National Nature Reserve is located near Huanglong Valley and Jiuzhaigou Valley. The Reserve was established in 1965 to protect rare wildlife, especially the giant pandas and their habitat.
Remarks. The new species resembles the other two species, but can be distinguished by the elongated hemitergal lobes, the elliptical and apically notched epiproct, and by the hinged lever arm apically with a rounded membranous structure (see fig. 13 in Kimmins 1947 and fig. 23 in Zwick & Sivec 1980). When compared with N. uncata, the female of the new species exhibits a much longer subgenital plate which has a deep V-shaped notch rather than the broad shallow excision in N. uncata (see fig. 13E in Kimmins 1947).
To date, a diverse of stonefly assemblage has been found in Wanglang National Nature Reserve, including N. wanglanga (Perlodidae) described herein, Sweltsa hamula Chen & Du, 2017 (Chloroperlidae), Isocapnia anguis Chen & Du, 2017 (Capniidae), Cryptoperla dui Sivec, 2005 (Peltoperlidae), Soliperla wanglanga Huo & Du, 2017 (Peltoperlidae), and other unpublished species of Nemouridae, Leuctridae Chloroperlidae and Perlidae (Chen & Du 2017a, 2017 b, Huo & Du 2017, 2018). Tourism and its supporting infrastructure is a major industry of this area and it is encouraged that the streams of this preserve be monitored to protect water quality.
description: Published as part of Chen, Zhi-Teng, 2019, The discovery of a new species of Neofilchneria (Plecoptera: Perlodidae) from China and a review of the genus, pp. 562-570 in Zootaxa 4586 (3) on pages 564-568, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4586.3.11, http://zenodo.org/record/2647076