Four new crane fly species of the subgenus Vestiplex (Diptera: Tipulidae: Tipula) from Tibet and Yunnan, China Author Men, Qiulei 1751E6CF-F0D6-461E-B5DB-C25E7D9845E1 School of Life Sciences, Provincial Key Laboratory of the Biodiversity Study and Ecology Conservation in Southwest Anhui Province, Anqing Normal University, Anqing, Anhui 246011, P. R. China. Author Sun, Zhongqiu 8FDCF739-8F24-4914-B677-1D57545B3C7F School of Life Sciences, Provincial Key Laboratory of the Biodiversity Study and Ecology Conservation in Southwest Anhui Province, Anqing Normal University, Anqing, Anhui 246011, P. R. China. 1339847094@qq.com Author Starkevich, Pavel 47C691AB-859B-4BC3-A185-9B5658F2FB3C Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, LT- 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania. pavel.starkevic@gmail.com text European Journal of Taxonomy 2023 2023-02-06 856 170 192 http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2023.856.2037 journal article 54338 10.5852/ejt.2023.856.2037 f5a4c2bd-d244-4ccc-8c9c-f928f4d591f4 2118-9773 7616228 50E202D5-BB02-469B-B946-27736CA86162 Tipula ( Vestiplex ) medialobata sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 769474A5-416C-4C8A-931C-002CB756090D Figs 16–27 Diagnosis Tipula ( V. ) medialobata sp. nov. can be recognized by the tergite nine having posterolateral corners ear-like and black narrow, serrated rods; gonocoxite having two small points on apex and a black long spine on mesoventral portion; clasper of gonostylus with medial surface raised into blackened, nearly rectangular lobe and long, blade-shaped dorsal lobe of A9S apically blackened and sharp; antenna reaching base of wing if bent backwards, flagellum brown; wing light brown with dark brown stigma. Etymology The specific epithet is derived from the Latin ‘ lobata ’ with prefix ‘ media ’, referring to the lobe in the middle area of the clasper of the gonostylus. Material examined Holotype CHINA • ♂ ; Yunnan , Gongshan County ; Bingzhongluo , Zhanatong ; 11 Jul. 2019 ; Q. Men and Lin Lv leg.; AQNU . Paratypes CHINA • 3 ♂♂ ; Yunnan , Gongshan County ; Bingzhongluo , Gongdangshenshan Mountain ; 12 Jul. 2019 ; Q. Men and Lin Lv leg.; AQNU . Comparative material examined INDIA • 3 ♂♂ ; holotype of Tipula ( Vestiplex ) tillyardana Alexander, 1970 ; Assam [ Arunachal Pradesh ]; Shergaon , Kameng ; North East Frontier Agency ; alt. 6100 feet ; 5 May 1961 ; F. Schmid leg.; antenna, leg, wing and genitalia on slide mounted; USNM . Description Male ( Figs 16–27 ) MEASUREMENTS. Body length 12.5–12.7 mm (excluding antenna, n = 4), wing length 18.1–18.3 mm (n = 4), length of antenna 3.6–3.7 mm (n = 4). General body coloration yellowish-brown. HEAD ( Fig. 16 ). Rostrum with nasus yellowish, densely covered with brown setae. Eye black. Occiput and vertex yellowish, medially with dark-brown stripe broadened medially and narrowed at each end ( Fig. 16 ). Antenna 13-segmented, if bent backward reaching base of wing. Scape yellow, cylindrical, slightly expanded at apex. Pedicel yellow, oval. First flagellomere yellowish-brown, rest flagellomeres brown, basal four flagellomeres almost same length to each other, remaining segments progressively shortened and thinned, last flagellomere oval. Each flagellomere except first one enlarged at base, with five longest yellow verticils. Verticils slightly longer than corresponding flagellomeres, surface of each flagellomere densely covered with short brown setae. Palpus yellow. Figs 16–20. Tipula ( Vestiplex ) medialobata sp. nov. , ♂ , holotype (coll. Inse-YN0501). 16 . Head, dorsal view. 17 . Thorax, dorsal view. 18 . Thorax, lateral view. 19 . Wing. 20 . Abdomen, lateral view. Scale bars = 1.0 mm. THORAX ( Figs 17–18 ). Pronotum yellow with lateral regions darker in coloration, medially with dark spot. Prescutum and presutural scutum yellowish-brown, with four brown longitudinal stripes, narrowly bordered by darker brown ( Fig. 17 ). Intermediate pair separated. Interspaces thinly dusted with gray, densely covered with short yellow setae ( Fig. 17 ). Postsutural scutum brown, scutal lobes each with two darker brown separated triangular spots. Scutellum brownish with dark brown median vitta, densely covered with yellow setae ( Fig. 17 ). Mediotergite dark brown with broad black median line ( Fig. 17 ). Pleura brownish-yellow, thinly dusted with grey ( Fig. 18 ). Leg with coxa and trochanter yellow, femur yellow with darkened tip, tibia and tarsal segments dark brown. Wing light brown, cell c more yellowish than ground color, stigma dark brown, variegated by light areas including apical area of cell c, and basal half of 1 st cell of cell r 1 , light band across apical area of cell r 1 , base of cells r 3 , r 4 and r 5 , and medial area of discal cell; rest light area including basal and apical areas of basal radial cell, distal and basal areas of bm, and apical area of posterior cubital cell ( Fig. 19 ). WING VENATION. R 1 complete, R 3 1.2 × as long as R 2+3+4 , R 4 1.1 × as long as Rs, R 5 curved at apical half, base of R 5 distinctly longer than r-m, discal cell narrow, at least 2.3 × as long as petiole of cell m 1, M 1 almost 4.4 × as long as its petiole ( Fig. 19 ). Halter pale yellow, knob basally black, densely covered with black setae, apically pale yellow. ABDOMEN ( Fig. 20 ). Basal four tergites yellow with brown lateral and intermittent median stripes, tergites 5–8 brown with yellow lateral regions, basal five sternites entirely yellow, sternites six to eight gradually heavier to dark brown, hypopygium dark brown ( Fig. 20 ). HYPOPYGIUM ( Figs 21–27 ). Hypopygium with tergite nine and sternite nine separated except base ( Figs 21–22 ). Tergite nine completely divided at midline by pale membrane ( Fig. 21 ). Dorsal portion of tergite nine shallowly emarginated medially, terminating into pair of ear-like lobes on lateral corners which is densely covered with setae ( Fig. 21 ). Ventral portion of tergite nine possessing pair of black narrow rods which are serrated on inner margins ( Fig. 21 ). Gonocoxite separated from sternite nine except ventral area, massive, with two small points on apex and black long spine on mesoventral portion only observed in ventral view ( Figs 22–23 ). Lobe of gonostylus narrow and elongated ( Fig. 24 ). Clasper of gonostylus with upper beak broad and obtuse, preceded by black ridge along mesal margin; lower beak blackened oval lobe; medial surface raised into blackened, nearly rectangular lobe ( Fig. 24 ). Sternite nine with ventral lobe of A9S thumb-like, dorsal lobe of A9S blade-shaped, broad at base, gradually narrowed to sharp black apex ( Fig. 23 ). Adminiculum relatively short, nearly triangular in ventral view, truncated apically; median portion protruded into distinct sclerite ( Fig. 23 ). Semen pump with central vesicle swollen ( Fig. 26 ). Ejaculatory apodeme with deep V-shaped median incision, lateral arms expanded apically ( Fig. 25 ). Posterior immovable apodeme narrow ( Fig. 26 ). Anterior immovable apodeme distinctly broad, round in dorsal view ( Fig. 27 ). Aedeagus thick at base, gradually narrowed to apex, more than 3.5 × as long as semen pump ( Fig. 26 ). Female Unknown. Remarks Tipula ( V. ) medialobata sp. nov. is assigned to the T. ( V. ) subticta species group. The new species is very similar to T. ( V. ) tillyardana Alexander, 1970 , from Arunachal Pradesh , India , by details of tergite nine. Posterolateral corners of tergite nine are extended into lobes in both species, but still differs by the shape: T. ( V. ) medialobata sp. nov. has lobes ear-shaped while the lobes are obliquely truncated in T. ( V. ) tylliardana ( Alexander 1970 : fig. 37). They can also be separated by the gonocoxite which apically has two points in the new species while only a small blackened spine is present in T. ( V. ) tylliardana ; the mesoventral portion of the gonocoxite has a black spine in the new species while a curved arm with microscopic points is present in T. ( V. ) tylliardana . Also, the new species is distinguished by a clasper of the gonostylus bearing a blackened lobe on the medial surface while such a lobe is absent in T. ( V. ) tylliardana .