Research Article |
Corresponding author: Bao-Zhen Hua ( huabzh@nwsuaf.edu.cn ) Academic editor: Ben Price
© 2018 Meng Wang, Bao-Zhen Hua.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Wang M, Hua B-Z (2018) A new species of Neopanorpa with an extremely long notal organ from Sichuan, China (Mecoptera, Panorpidae). ZooKeys 750: 131-140. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.750.23486
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Neopanorpa setigera sp. n. is described and illustrated from Sichuan, China. It is characterized by an extremely long notal process, a well-developed postnotal organ, and a pair of setiferous gonostyli. This is the second species of Neopanorpa van der Weele with an extremely long notal organ in Sichuan. A key to Sichuan species of Neopanorpa is provided.
Gonostylus, Insecta , mating behavior, postnotal organ
Panorpidae are the most speciose family of Mecoptera with approximately 420 species assigned in seven genera (
Panorpidae exhibit diversity in mating behavior and strategies. The males generally provide a prey or salivary secretions as nuptial gifts, or practice coercive mating to the female during copulation (
Neopanorpa van der Weele is the second largest genus of Panorpidae endemic to the Oriental Region. China owns the greatest species richness with 95 of the total 160 species to date (
Sichuan is located in the southwestern part of China, and is mostly covered by masses of high mountains. Its western part belongs to the Hengduan Mountains, one of the well-known biodiversity hotspots in the world (
Adult specimens were captured in the mountainous area of Sichuan province, China in July 2016 and preserved in 75% ethanol. The holotype and paratypes are deposited in the Entomological Museum, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China (
Males and females were dissected and photographs were taken with an advanced Stereo Microscope system Discovery V20 (Zeiss, Germany). Serial photographs were stacked with software Helicon Focus Pro 6.2.2 and further processed with Adobe Photoshop CS6. The measurements of wings were conducted with an electronic digital caliper.
Males of the following species are unknown: N. banksi Carpenter, N. latipennis Cheng, N. parva Carpenter, and N. varia Cheng.
1 | Notal organ extended beyond abdominal tergum VI | 2 |
– | Notal organ extended not beyond abdominal tergum IV | 3 |
2 | Body generally black | N. setigera sp. n. |
– | Body generally yellowish brown | N. choui Cheng |
3 | Wing markings with broad apical band and pterostigmal band | 4 |
– | Wing markings generally absent | 5 |
4 | Abdominal segment VII–IX (A7–A9) dark brown | N. heii Cheng |
– | A7–A9 yellowish brown | N. chelata Carpenter |
5 | Vein R2 trifurcated | 6 |
– | Vein R2 bifurcated | 7 |
6 | Thorax generally brown; notal organ extended nearly to posterior margin of abdominal tergum IV, ended with a pointed apex | N. validpennis Cheng |
– | Thorax with a brown median band; notal organ extended not beyond the middle of abdominal tergum IV, ended with a truncated apex | N. taoi Cheng |
7 | A7–A9 yellowish brown | N. claripennis Carpenter |
– | A7–A9 uniformly black | N. nigritis Carpenter |
Females of the following species are unknown: N. taoi Cheng and N. validpennis Cheng.
1 | Wings mostly unmarked | 2 |
– | Wings with distinct apical or pterostigmal band | 3 |
2 | Thorax with a brown median band; A7–A9 yellowish brown | N. claripennis Carpenter |
– | Thorax black; A7–A9 black | N. nigritis Carpenter |
3 | Thorax generally black or brown | 4 |
– | Thorax with a brown median band | 5 |
4 | Wing markings with pterostigmal band forked posteriorly | N. parva Carpenter |
– | Wing markings with pterostigmal band reduced to a stripe on pterostigma and three discrete spots lining diagonally | N. setigera sp. n. |
5 | Genital plate with axis not extended beyond main plate | 6 |
– | Genital plate with axis extended beyond main plate for a short length | 8 |
6 | Main plate of female genital plate protruded laterally on each side | 7 |
– | Main plate of female genital plate not protruded laterally on each side | N. heii Cheng |
7 | Genital plate with main plate bearing two processes basally | N. banksi Carpenter |
– | Genital plate with main plate bearing no process basally | N. varia Cheng |
8 | Posterior arms of female genital plate with V-shaped incisions apically | N. choui Cheng |
– | Posterior arms of female genital plate without V-shaped incision apically | 9 |
9 | Rostrum uniformly yellowish brown | N. chelata Carpenter |
– | Rostrum with a brown longitudinal stripe along clypeus | N. latipennis Cheng |
Holotype: CHINA: Sichuan: ♂, Shimian County (29°1.23'N, 102°23.65'E), 2000–2200 m, 02 July 2016, leg. Gui-Lin Hu and Wei Du, ME000285 (
The new species can be readily recognized from its congeners by the following characters: body mostly black; wings slightly tinged with brown, wing markings only with greatly reduced apical band and a stripe on the pterostigma; notal process greatly elongated and extended beyond the posterior margin of abdominal tergum VI; postnotal organ well-developed, represented as three hirsute protruded areas on abdominal terga IV–VI respectively; male gonostylus bearing a cluster of long setae on central portion ventrally; female genital plate with a pair of parallel posterior arms slightly longer than axis.
(Fig.
Head (Fig.
Thorax (Fig.
Wings (Fig.
Abdomen. Terga I–V black (Fig.
Male genitalia (Fig.
Neopanorpa setigera sp. n. A Male habitus, dorsal view B Female habitus, dorsal view C Head, frontal view D Thorax, dorsal view E Notal organ, dorsal view F Male abdomen, left lateral view G Male genital bulb, ventral view H Male genital bulb, dorsal view I Male 9th abdominal tergum and sternum, lateral view J Gonostylus, lateral view K Gonostylus, ventral view. Abbreviations: bl basal lobe bs basal stalk c clypeus ep epandrium epl epandrial lobe gc gonocoxite gs gonostylus hp hypovalve hpr hypandrial process ms mesoscutum mt metascutum np notal process ot ocellar triangle pn postnotal organ pr pronotum st setae v vertex. Scale bars: 5 mm (A, B); 0.5 mm (C–E, G–H); 0.2 mm (I–K); 1 mm (F).
Aedeagal complex (Fig.
(Fig.
Female genitalia. Subgenital plate (Fig.
Neopanorpa setigera sp. n. AAedeagal complex, ventral view BAedeagal complex, lateral view CAedeagal complex, dorsal view D Subgenital plate, ventral view E Genital plate, ventral view F Genital plate, lateral view. Abbreviations: ax axis bsp basal stalk of paramere db dorsal branch of paramere dpr dorsal process dv dorsal valve lp lateral process mp main plate pa posterior arm vb ventral branch of paramere vv ventral valve. Scale bars 0.2 mm (A–D); 0.1 mm (E, F).
China (Sichuan).
The specific epithet is derived from the Latin, setigera meaning setiferous, referring to the cluster of long dense setae on the male gonostyli.
N. setigera sp. n. resembles N. nigritis Carpenter, 1938 from Sichuan in black body and absence of wing markings. However, the extremely long notal organ of N. setigera sp. n. makes it easy to distinguish from N. nigritis. In addition, N. choui Cheng, 1949 in Sichuan has the similar lengthened notal organ. However, these two species differ greatly in body coloration. N. choui is yellowish brown, while N. setigera sp. n. is mostly black.
Adult specimens were captured on lower broad-leaved herbs or shaded vegetation under trees in lush evergreen forests. The environment is enclosed and moist.
Neopanorpa setigera sp. n. is similar to the Chinese species N. choui, N. longiprocessa, and N. moganshanensis Zhou & Wu by bearing an elongate notal organ extending beyond abdominal tergum VI. Compared with those species, the new species is unusual due to its greatly developed postnotal organ. The postnotal organ is barely raised, yet represented as a long stripe of hirsute area in N. choui, extending from the anterior margin to the posterior margin of abdominal tergum IV. Alternatively, the postnotal organs are both represented as a raised process with dense setae on abdominal tergum IV in N. moganshanensis and N. longiprocessa (
The developmental degree of notal organ is closely related with mating behavior and implies different mating strategies (
Another peculiar character of this new species is that it bears a cluster of black long setae on the central portion of male gonostylus ventrally. This feature is rarely found in Panorpidae. In N. brisi (Navás) and N. effusa (Navás), the male gonostylus only bears setae along the outer margin, but is glabrous on the ventral surface (
We are indebted to Gui-Lin Hu and Wei Du for collecting specimens. This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 31672341 and 31172125).