Afissa xuexii Wang & Wang, 2025

Afissa xuexii Wang & Wang sp. nov.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Wang Xing-Min; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: BE19C187-EF54-5DE9-85FF-ECA3C9DE85A7; Taxon: scientificName: Afissa xuexii ; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan; county: Pingbian County; locality: Mount Dawei ; verbatimElevation: 2100 m; Event: samplingProtocol: Sweep netting; eventDate: 11-19/10/2006; Record Level: collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Wang Xing-Min; individualCount: 16; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 5C9D6F4A-E372-5F39-B149-40C59A6964C9; Taxon: scientificName: Afissa xuexii ; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan; county: Pingbian County; locality: Mount Dawei ; verbatimElevation: 2100 m; Event: samplingProtocol: Sweep netting; eventDate: 11-19/10/2006; Record Level: collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Wang Xing-Min; individualCount: 10; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: D77F8963-02CC-5456-B00F-5CC443AF6780; Taxon: scientificName: Afissa xuexii ; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan; county: Pingbian County; locality: Mount Dawei ; verbatimElevation: 2100 m; Event: samplingProtocol: Sweep netting; eventDate: 11-19/10/2006; Record Level: collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ren S. X., Wang X. M., Chen X. S. & Hao J. Y.; individualCount: 11; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: FE0D6A3E-53DB-52B1-A17E-06AA8970F09E; Taxon: scientificName: Afissa xuexii ; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan; county: Pingbian County; locality: Mount Dajian ; verbatimElevation: 2100 m; Event: samplingProtocol: Sweep netting; eventDate: 20-21/04/2008; Record Level: collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ren S. X., Wang X. M., Chen X. S. & Hao J. Y.; individualCount: 12; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 4280CF0F-B3B1-5101-A688-6FA9BC4770BB; Taxon: scientificName: Afissa xuexii ; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan; county: Pingbian County; locality: Mount Dajian ; verbatimElevation: 2100 m; Event: samplingProtocol: Sweep netting; eventDate: 20-21/04/2008; Record Level: collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Wang X. M., Liang H. B., Hao J. Y. & Peng W. L.; individualCount: 8; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: CE5122B9-D425-528C-8B5B-D488EE9FBF35; Taxon: scientificName: Afissa xuexii ; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan; county: Cangyuan County; locality: Banhong Village, Nangun River ; verbatimElevation: 1790 m; Event: samplingProtocol: Sweep netting; eventDate: 14-15/05/2008; Record Level: collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Wang X. M., Liang H. B., Hao J. Y. & Peng W. L.; individualCount: 4; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: C5DA2DC2-44B0-5F3C-B6DE-CF123DC7BA77; Taxon: scientificName: Afissa xuexii ; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan; county: Cangyuan County; locality: Banhong Village, Nangun River ; verbatimElevation: 1790 m; Event: samplingProtocol: Sweep netting; eventDate: 14-15/05/2008; Record Level: collectionCode: Insects

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Wang Xing-Min; individualCount: 3; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 4E1A4A11-67B8-5AD3-8816-804D84516C47; Taxon: scientificName: Afissa xuexii ; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Guizhou; county: Zunyi City; locality: Xishui National Nature Reserve ; verbatimElevation: 1016 m; verbatimCoordinates: 28°30′52″N, 106°28′18″E; decimalLatitude: 28.5144; decimalLongitude: 106.4717; Event: samplingProtocol: Sweep netting; eventDate: 18-22/07/2022; Record Level: collectionCode: Insects GoogleMaps

Description

TL: 4.7-4.9 mm, TW: 3.5-3.8 mm, TH: 2-2.2 mm, TL / TW: 1.29-1.34; PL / PW: 2.18-2.2; EL / EW: 1.11-1.14.

Body elongate-oval, moderately convex, with only a narrow outer margin flattened (Figs. 1 a-c). Dorsum densely covered with white pubescence. Colour: Head yellow. Pronotum yellow with a large central black spot. Scutellum black. Elytra yellow with black spots. Prosternum yellow, meso- and metasternum black and epipleura yellow. Legs yellow; trochanters and 2 / 3 of femora blackish-brown.

Head relatively small, approximately 0.34 times the width of the body (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 d). Frons flat, with fine and dense punctures, inter-puncture distance 0.5–1.5 times their diameter; surface smooth and glossy, bearing short golden setae. Eyes relatively small, prominently projecting, with a rough surface and distinct small facets; interocular distance approximately 0.23 times the head width.

Pronotum transverse, arcuate lateral margins, slightly reflexed (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 b). Anterior angles not prominent, rounded and blunt; anterior margin arcuate and concave medially. Posterior angles rounded; posterior margin tightly fused to elytral base, width approximately 0.29 times body width (body width / pronotal width = 3.45). Surface with punctures similar in size to those on the head, smooth and glossy, inter-puncture distance 0.5–1.0 times their diameter.

Elytra strongly vaulted, smooth and glossy, densely punctured (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 a). Punctures small, indistinct and varying in size. Each elytron with five black spots arranged in 2-2 - 1 pattern. Black spot near scutellum fused at suture.

Prosternum T-shaped, with a quadrate process, lacking prosternal process, surface rough and densely covered with fine setae (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 i). Mesosternum trapezoidal, with a slight longitudinal elevation at the centre, anterior margin slightly concave medially, surface rough and densely covered with fine setae (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 j). Metasternum wide, with a distinct median discrimen, longitudinally concave near the median discrimen, with central elevation on both sides; surface finely punctate and densely covered with short fine setae, inter-puncture distance 1.0–2.5 times their diameter. Abdomen with nearly complete abdominal postcoxal lines, posterior margin almost reaching the hind margin of the first abdominal segment (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 o).

Tarsal claws with two terminal teeth, inner tooth non-opposing, lacking basal tooth (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 k).

Male genitalia. Penis slender, curved in circular shape, with a short, expanded penis capsule (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 p). Distal 1 / 3 of the penis slightly enlarged and rounded at apex. In lateral view (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 q), distal half of the penis guide splits into two parts, part near the parameres longer. Parameres slender, arcuate, slightly shorter than the penis guide, with sparse setae at apex. In ventral view (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 r), shorter part of the penis guide noticeably wider than longer part, the latter with a finger-like process at apex.

Female genitalia. Coxites subtriangular, densely setose apically. Inner margins smooth, without depressions. Styli distinct, each bearing an apical seta (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 n).

Diagnosis

Afissa xuexii closely resembles A. expansa ( Dieke, 1947) , A. hydrangeae Pang & Mao, 1979 , A. kambaitana (Bielawski, 1966) and A. anhweiana ( Dieke, 1947) in elytral colouration and pattern and their distributions are geographically proximate. However, A. xuexii can be easily distinguished from these species by its bifurcate penis guide and the elongate-oval body shape. Bifurcate penis guide is a rare and distinctive diagnostic character within Afissa .

Etymology

The new species is named after Xuexi, an institution that provided valuable support and inspiration in the first author’s study of insect taxonomy.

Distribution

China (Yunnan, Guizhou).