Rhagonycha weixiensis Y. Yang, Liu & X. Yang 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Xiao, Yun-Feng
name: Liu, Hao-Yu
name: Yang, Xing-Ke
name: Yang, Yu-Xia
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cantharidae
Rhagonycha
Rhagonycha weixiensis

description: Rhagonycha (s.str.) weixiensis Y. Yang, Liu & X. Yang, sp. nov.
(Figs 29C, 30C, 31A‒B, 32A‒C, 39)
Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂ (MHBU), CHINA, Yunnan: Diqing, Weixi, Badi, Liduluo, 27.91758° N, 99.003584° E, 2570 m, 30.VI.2020, leg. W.D. Huang. PARATYPES: CHINA, Yunnan: 3♂♂, 3♀♀ (MHBU), same data as the holotype; 2♂♂, 3♀♀ (MHBU), Diqing, Weixi, Badi, 27.894383° N, 98.929086° E, 2139 m, 27.VI.2020, leg. Y.Q. Liu; 1♂ (MHBU), Diqing, Weixi, Badi, Nanjiluo, 27.926377° N, 98.899067° E, 2476 m, 28.VI.2020, leg. Z. Chen; 1♂ (IZAS), Weixi, Pantiange, 2500 m, 24.VII.1981, leg. S.B. Liao.
Differential diagnosis. It looks similar to Rh. tibetana in both appearance and general shape of aedeagus, but can be easily distinguished from the latter by the detailed characters of aedeagus: conjoint dorsal plate of parameres with lateral margins diverging apically, latero-apical angles rounded at apices in dorsal view, while lateral margins converging, latero-apical angles truncate in Rh. tibetana (Fig. 5H); ventral process of each paramere fluent dorsally in lateral view, while convex at apex in Rh. tibetana (Fig. 5I).
Description. Body length: 6.7‒7.0 mm (6.9 mm in holotype); width: 1.8‒2.0 mm (1.8 mm in holotype).
Male (Fig. 31A). Coloration. Body black except for head and pronotum yellowish orange. Surface sparsely and finely yellow pubescent, anterior margin of clypeus fringed with pale bristles.
Head rounded, surface densely and finely punctate; eyes moderately protruding, head width across eyes about 1.1 times wider than anterior margin of pronotum; terminal maxillary palpomeres subtriangular, widest at apical third; antennae extending to basal 3/4 length of elytra when reclined, antennomeres II shortest, about twice as long as wide at apices, III about 2.1 times longer than II, VI longest, XI feebly longer than X and pointed at apices.
Pronotum transverse, about 1.1 times as long as wide, anterior margin rounded, anterior angles subrounded, lateral margins feebly diverging posteriorly, posterior margin nearly straight, posterior angles sub-rectangular, disc strongly convex on posterolateral parts, surface finely and sparsely punctate.
Elytra nearly parallel-sided, about 3.2 times as long as humeral width, 5.3 times longer than pronotum, surface finely rugulose-lacunose, almost lustrous at basal parts.
Aedeagus strongly swollen laterally in middle (Fig. 32A, B); ventral processes of parameres abruptly narrowed apically near bases, widened and rounded at apices (Fig. 32C), directing to each other in ventral view (Fig. 32A), wide and almost straight in lateral view (Fig. 32C), with apices transverse-triangular; conjoint dorsal plate of parameres nearly as long as ventral processes (Fig. 32C), with apical margin roundly and moderately deeply emarginate in middle, lateral margins feebly diverging apically from middle in dorsal view (Fig. 32B), latero-apical angles acute, feebly bent ventrally in lateral view (Fig. 32C); emargination between ventral process and conjoint dorsal plate about 1/3 length of aedeagus (Fig. 32C).
Female (Fig. 31B). Similar to male, but with larger and stouter body, eyes less protruding, antennae thinner and shorter, extending to apical third length of elytra when reclined, pronotum with anterior margin less arcuate, disc feebly convex on posterolateral parts, elytra yellowish brown at humeri and progressively darkened apically.
Internal organ of reproductive system (Fig. 29C): vagina stout and abruptly thinned at ventroapical portion into a long and feebly stout tube, where diverticulum and spermathecal duct arising separately; diverticulum moderately long and spiral, evenly thin along the whole length; spermathecal duct short and about 1/8 length of apical tube of vagina; spermatheca provided with a spiral tube, progressively thinned apically and longer than diverticulum; accessory gland extremely long, about three times as long as spermatheca.
Abdominal sternite VIII (Fig. 30C) strongly narrowed posteriorly, widely triangular at latero-apical angles, triangularly bilobed in middle of posterior margin.
Etymology. The specific name is derived from the name of the type locality, Weixi, Yunnan, China.
Distribution (Fig. 39). China (Yunnan).
description: Published as part of Xiao, Yun-Feng, Liu, Hao-Yu, Yang, Xing-Ke & Yang, Yu-Xia, 2024, Taxonomic review of the Rhagonycha flava species group (Coleoptera, Cantharidae), with descriptions of fourteen new species from China, pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 5534 (1) on pages 50-51, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5534.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14023514