Discovery of Raphidioptera (Insecta: Neuropterida) in Xizang, China, with description of a new species of Inocellia Schneider

Abstract

The holometabolous order Raphidioptera is recorded from Xizang Autonomous Region for the first time. A new species of the family Inocelliidae, Inocellia tibetana sp. nov., from southeastern Xizang is described and its two sexes illustrated. Based on the male gonocoxite 9 that is longer than width of its base, the new species belongs to the I. fulvostigmata species-group, and it appears to be closely related to I. fulvostigmata U. Aspöck, Rausch & H. Aspöck, 1968. Both species are distributed near the southern edge of the Himalayas. The male of the new species is characterized in the genitalia by the presence of a membranous, short and digitiform gonostylus 9, the gonarcus (fused gonocoxites 11) subtriangular in caudal view dorsally with a pair of short tubercular processes, and the reduction of bristle tuft on the endophallus.

Unraveling the evolutionary history of the snakefly family Inocelliidae (Insecta: Raphidioptera) through integrative phylogenetics

“…Synchronously, the Tibetan uplift resulting from the collision between India and Eurasia was accelerated, and the large‐scale orogeny associated with the growing Himalayas (Spicer et al., 2021; Su et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2021), such as the formation of the Hengduan Mountains, might have played an important role in providing geographical isolation for allopatric speciation. The high species diversity and endemism of Inocellia along the Himalayas as well as in the Hengduan Mountains (Liu, Aspöck, Zhang, et al., 2012, Liu et al., 2018; Shen et al., 2019) stresses the importance of this topographic factor as a driving force for speciation.…”

“…There are nine nongenital characters, and the remaining 39 characters were obtained from male and female genitalia. Illustrations are provided for most characters (Figs 7–9, Figs –), with some figures modified and adapted for the present study from the literature (Aspöck & Aspöck, 1968; Aspöck et al., 1982, 1991, 2009, 2011; Liu et al., 2009a, 2009b, 2010a, 2010b; Liu, Aspöck, Zhan, et al., 2012; Liu, Aspöck, Zhang, et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2013; Liu, Aspöck, et al., 2014; 2014; Liu & Hajong, 2015; Liu et al., 2018; Shen et al., 2019, 2021).…”

“…Biologically, extant snakeflies are distinguished by an obligatory period with reduced (cooler) temperature for regular ontogenesis and their arboreal, predatory mode of life (Asp€ ock, 1998(Asp€ ock, , 2002. Although the taxonomy of extant snakeflies is well-founded owing to extensive studies over the past decades (Asp€ ock et al, 1991(Asp€ ock et al, , 2009(Asp€ ock et al, , 2011Liu et al, 2009aLiu et al, , 2009bLiu et al, , 2010aLiu et al, , 2010bLiu, Asp€ ock, Zhan, et al, 2012;Liu, Asp€ ock, Zhang, et al, 2012;Liu et al, 2013;Liu, Asp€ ock, et al, 2014;Liu & Hajong, 2015;Liu et al, 2018;Shen et al, 2019Shen et al, , 2021, several key questions on the evolution of snakeflies remain unresolved. One regards the largely undetermined phylogenetic relationships at the level of genus and species within the order.…”

“…1). The majority of species (31 species in four genera) occur in the eastern Palaearctic and Oriental regions with Inocellia crassicornis (Schummel) distributed also in the western Palaearctic (Aspöck et al., 2011; Liu et al., 2009a, 2010a, 2010b, Liu, Aspöck, Zhan, et al., 2012; Liu, Aspöck, et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2018; Shen et al., 2019, 2021), whereas the remaining 13 species are endemic to either the western Palaearctic or western Nearctic regions (Aspöck et al., 1991). Based on fossil records, three extinct genera of inocelliids are known from the Eocene of Europe and North America, namely Electrinocellia Engel, Succinofibla U. Aspöck & H. Aspöck and Paraksenocellia Makarkin, Archibald & Jepson (Aspöck & Aspöck, 2004; Carpenter, 1958; Engel, 1998; Makarkin et al., 2019).…”