Rhopalopsole sinensis Yang & Yang, 1993

Figs. 10–15.

Rhopalopsole sinensis Yang & Yang, 1993: 236 (original description of the male); Harrison & Stark, 2008: 77 (line drawings of Vietnamese male specimens of presumed R. sinensis); Sivec et al., 2008: 52 (assignment to the western assemblage of the vietnamica group); Qian & Du, 2014: 607 (examination of specimens from Hubei Province); Yang, Li & Zhu, 2015: 135 (repeat of the original description of the male); Yang & Li, 2018: 6 (species checklist).

Material examined. China: Fujian Province, Quanzhou City, Gongya Mountain (Fig.10), 24°55’44’’N, 117°24’20’’E, 1009 m, August 21–23, 2019, 4 males, 1 female, leg. Hai-Tian Song (ICJUST); Fuzhou City, Shou Mountain (Fig. 11), 26°14’36’N, 119°14’24’’E, 680 m, April 8, 2019,); 1 male, 2 females, leg. Hai-Tian Song (ICJUST)

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Distribution. In China, this species is widespread in southern provinces (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Zhejiang), forming a C-shaped distributional pattern (Fig. 2) (Yang & Li 2018, DeWalt et al. 2019). More provincial records of R. sinensis are expected to occur in provinces surrounding the known distribution, such as Hunan, Jiangxi, and Anhui.

Remarks. Currently there are no color images available of the adult male of R. sinensis and the adult female has remained undescribed of this widespread and apparently common species of southern China. The male terminalia of specimens recently collected from Fujian Province of southeastern China correspond with the original description and drawings by Yang & Yang (1993) and are identical with identified specimens of R. sinensis deposited in the Henan Institute of Science and Technology (HIST), Xinxiang, Henan Province, China (Rao-Rao Mo, personal communication). New images of both sexes of R. sinensis are presented in Figs. 12–15. The male of R. sinensis is characterized by the three-lobed central plate on tergum 10, the forked lateral projection of tergum 10, and the slender epiproct (Figs. 12A, 12B, 13, 14, 15A). The female of R. sinensis has a broad and rounded subgenital plate on sternum 7, and two medially fused, bullet-shaped sclerites on sternum 8; the two sclerites on sternum 8 are sometimes shorter in some specimens (Figs. 12C, 15B). Nymph and egg of R. sinensis are still unknown. Among individuals of R. sinensis, slight morphological variations are found concerning the shape of the central plate on tergum 10 of the male, the subgenital plate (sometimes notched posteromedially) and the shape of the two sclerites on sternum 8 (sometimes shorter) of the female. A molecular genetic study is expected to clarify the population genetics and morphological variations of this widespread species.