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| Vermitigris tsangyanggyatso Shan & Wang, 2026 仓央嘉措印穴虻 || DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1276.184675 |
Abstract
The brachyceran family Vermileonidae (wormlion flies) is characterised by larvae that construct pitfall traps for predation. The Oriental genus Vermitigris Wheeler, 1930 previously included four described species distributed in China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In 1978, unidentified larvae of Vermitigris were collected by Fa-Sheng Li from Yadong, Xizang, China, but the adult stage remained unknown. During a 2025 expedition, adult specimens were obtained, enabling their association with the larvae and recognition as a new species. Herein, Vermitigris tsangyanggyatso sp. nov. is described, with accounts of its immature stages and notes on its biology. This discovery increases the number of Vermitigris species recorded from China from one to two, the total number of species in the genus from four to five, and all the extant species in the family from 66 to 67. The biogeographical implications for Vermitigris are also discussed.
Key words: Dinggyê, new species, taxonomy, western China, Yadong
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| Morphological characters of Vermitigris tsangyanggyatso sp. nov. (I). A. Holotype, male, dorsal view; B. Paratype, male, dorsal view; C. Terminal portion of right hind leg of holotype, male, dorsal view; D. Paratype, female, dorsal view; E. Right halter of paratype, male, dorsal view; F. Paratype, male, left-lateral view. Scale bars: 2.0 mm (A, B, D, F); 0.2 mm (C, E). |
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| Habitats and habitus of Vermitigris tsangyanggyatso sp. nov. A. A pavilion shades a larval colony; B. Larval colony in fine-grained soil under a giant rock; C. Larva inhabiting wood debris produced by wood-boring insects under a pavilion; D. Larva inhabiting fine-grained river sands accumulated under a giant rock next to a river; E, F. Male resting on a plant leaf. |
Order Diptera Linnaeus, 1758
Suborder Brachycera Zetterstedt, 1842
Family Vermileonidae Williston, 1886
Genus Vermitigris Wheeler, 1930
Vermitigris tsangyanggyatso Shan & Wang, sp. nov.
Chinese vernacular name. 仓央嘉措印穴虻.
Differential diagnosis.
In the larvae of this species, the marginal spines in the proleg are approximately as long as or only slightly shorter than the middle ones (Fig. 6B–D). However, in V. fairchildi, whose adults are unknown, the marginal spines are approximately half as long as the middle ones (Wheeler 1930: fig. 25j).
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Etymology. The species is dedicated to Tsangyang Gyatso (1683–1706), the 6th Dalai Lama, a Tibetan poet-monk from Xizang, renowned for his romantic verse and unconventional life. Noun in apposition.
Li-Xia Shan and Ji-Shen Wang. 2026. After forty-eight years: An enigmatic New wormlion fly from Xizang, China (Diptera, Vermileonidae). ZooKeys. 1276: 249-262. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1276.184675 [07 Apr 2026]
