A remarkable new genus of Perlodinae (Plecoptera: Perlodidae) from China, with remarks on the Asian distribution of Perlodinae and questions about its tribal concept

Abstract

Wuia qinlinga gen. n., sp. n. is described from Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi Province of China, on the basis of male and female adults. The new genus is characterized by the unique features of male epiproct (lack of basal anchor, presence of unusually large paragenital plate and epiproct tip), dense sensilla basiconica patches on male terga VII–X and exceptionally large female subgenital plate. On the basis of morphology, no closely related Perlodinae genus can be assigned, although some characters may place it within the tribe Diploperlini. However, our studies show that epiprocts of Diploperlini genera are extremely variable, questioning the present concept of the tribe. An overview of distribution of Perlodinae genera in Asia, and a checklist of Chinese Perlodinae species are also given.