Neoperla moae Zeng, Huo & Du, 2024

Zeng, Liang-Liang, Huo, Qing-Bo & Du, Yu-Zhou, 2024, Revision of Neoperla minor Chu with a new synonym and a new species of Neoperla Needham (Plecoptera: Perlidae), Zootaxa 5493 (1), pp. 79-90 : 83-85

Neoperla moae Zeng, Huo & Du , sp. nov. (DZaedzm¨)

Neoperla minor, Mo et al., 2020b: 372 (misidentification).

Adult habitus. The description is modified from Mo et al. (2020b). General body color brown ( Fig. 5A ). Head pale brown, with a small oval dark brown marking covering ocelli and a yellow triangular stigma in front of obscure M-line; head slightly wider than pronotum. Pronotum pale brown except darker lateral margins and medial portion, rectangular, with obscure brown rugosities; anterior corners angular, posterior corners obtuse. Wing membrane brownish, veins brown; legs brown except basal femora paler. Abdominal segments and cerci pale brown.

Male. Forewing length 10.9 mm; hindwing 9.3 mm. (n = 1) The posterior margin of tergum 7 with a raised process densely covered with sensilla basiconica ( Fig. 5B–C ). Tergum 8 bears a recurved tongue-like process with small spines at the distal margin. Tergum 9 simple without sensilla patch. Hemitergal processes of tergum 10 sclerotized, short, slightly up-curved medially.

Aedeagal tube long, slender, well sclerotized but lesser ventrally, ventroapically with a slender subapically bifurcate Y-lobe which arms with tiny spines at apex and about half as long as stalk of Y-lobe ( Fig. 6A–C ). Endophallus shorter than tube, and strongly curved ventrad forming an open loop; tiny spinules occur almost on the entire surfaces except basal portion and outer surface of apical half bald, while apical spinules stronger, and a patch of long spines located in outer margin of median half ( Fig. 6B ).

Female, egg, and nymph. Unknown.

Diagnosis. Aedeagal tube long, slender, well sclerotized but less sclerotized ventrally, ventroapically with a slender subapically bifurcate Y-lobe which arms with tiny spines at apex and about half as long as stalk of Y-lobe. tiny spinules occur almost on the entire surfaces except basal portion and outer surface of apical half bald, while apical spinules stronger, and a patch of long spines located in outer margin of median half (Mo et al., 2020).

Etymology. The species is named after Dr. Rao-Rao Mo, our colleague who first published the description and figures of this species.

Type materials. Monotype male ( ICYZU), China: Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou City, Mt. West Tianmushan , 8–10.VII.2023, leg. Li Peng.

Distribution. China (Zhejiang).

Remarks. The aedeagus of N. moae sp. nov. is most similar to N. minor and N. muranyii Yang, Zhang & Li, 2017 . The shape of the 7 th tergal process of the new species is transverse rectangular, but the process of N. minor is broadly round ( Fig. 7 ). In addition, the aedeagal Y-shaped lobes of N. moae sp. nov. have more spiny apices; the endophallus is mostly covered with tiny spinules except basal half and a patch of long spines on outer surface of median half without hook-like apex. However, in N. minor , arms of Y-lobe longer than the stalk. Endophallus is shorter than the tube and covered with spines. In N. muranyii , arms of Y-lobe are apically naked; endophallus naked on its basal 2⁄3 and lacking a cluster of long spines located in outer margin of median half with a hook-like apex.

This new species has incomplete sclerotization of the slender aedeagal tube in ventral aspect; the endophallus is ventrally curved in an open loop and an elongate Y-lobe on the tube bifurcated subapically ( Mo et al., 2020b). We herein assign N. moae sp. nov. to the Neoperla (Formosita) anjiensis –group ( Zwick, 2023).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Neoperla moae sp. nov., male. A: head and pronotum; B–C: terminalia, dorsal and lateral.

FIGURE 6. Neoperla moae sp. nov., aedeagus. A: tube with the endophallus not everted, ventral; B: everted endophallus, lateral; C: Y-lobes, lateral (HDR photo).

FIGURE 7. Male terga 7–10 Neoperla minor (left) and Neoperla moae sp. nov. (right).