Abstract
The morphology of the male salivary glands of eighteen species of Panorpidae from China was studied using light micro- scopy. The results show that the male salivary glands differ markedly both at generic and specific levels. In Neopanorpa, the sali- vary glands consist of only two simple long secretory tubes extending to the fifth or sixth abdominal segment, whereas in Sinopanorpa, the salivary glands are composed of six extremely elongated secretory tubes. In Panorpa, the salivary glands are quite diverse, comprising two simple short secretory tubes only extending to the prothorax in the P. amurensis group (P. liui and P. jilin- ensis), six long tubes in the P. centralis group, eight to twelve in the P. diceras group and of a very variable number in the P. davidi group (especially in P. bifasciata and P. subambra). Morphology of the male salivary glands should be included in future studies on the systematics and phylogeny of the Panorpidae.
Highlights
Panorpidae, the most species-rich family in the Mecoptera, currently consist of over 420 species in four genera (Byers & Thornhill, 1983; Cai et al, 2008)
The species of Panorpa examined are assigned to four species groups sensu Carpenter (1938) and Issiki (1933): P. diceras group (P. magna and Panorpa sp.), P. centralis group (P. byersi, P. dubia, P. nanwutaina and P. obtusa), P. davidi group (P. bifasciata, P. kunmingensis, P. sexspinosa and P. subambra), and P. amurensis group (P. liui and P. jilinensis)
The size of male salivary glands in some European Panorpa is dependent on the age of the adults (Mercier, 1915)
Summary
Panorpidae, the most species-rich family in the Mecoptera, currently consist of over 420 species in four genera (Byers & Thornhill, 1983; Cai et al, 2008). The genus Panorpa L., 1758 occurs throughout the northern continents and includes 274 species (Penny & Byers, 1979; Hua & Cai, 2009). The Oriental Neopanorpa Weele, 1909, ranging from India through southern China and Indo-China and southward to Indonesia, consists of 134 species (Cheng, 1957; Rust & Byers, 1976; Cai & Hua, 2009). The genus Panorpa is a large and widely distributed group and its constituent species are categorized into different species groups based on morphological criteria for local faunas (Carpenter, 1931a, 1938; Issiki, 1933; Cheng, 1957; Willmann, 1977; Byers, 1993). The Northeast Asian fauna of Panorpa is divided by Issiki (1933) into nine species groups including the P. communis and P. amurensis groups. More new characters are needed for a phylogenetic analysis of the Panorpidae
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