Echinovelleda qiului (Huang, Huang & Liu, 2020) comb. nov.

(Figs.4, 18, 27, Map 1)

Propedicellus qiului Huang, Huang & Liu, 2020: 530. Type locality: Jinxiu, Guangxi, China.

Material examined. China (Guangxi): 19 males, 13 females, China, Guangxi, Jinxiu, Dayaoshan, 1,100 –1,600 m, 2015– 2021, IV.21–IX.7, local collector (CCCC); 1 male, China, Guangxi, Jinxiu, Shiliugongli, 1,100 m, 2014. VII.17, leg. Yi-Ming Yu (CBWX); 1 female, China, Guangxi, Longsheng, Huaping, 2008, leg. Ye Liu (CCCC); 1 male, China, Guangxi, Xing’an, Maoershan, Antangping, 1,700 m, 2018.VI.22, local collector (CCCC); 1 male, China, Guangxi, Xing’an, Jinshi, 1,200m, 2016.V.11, leg. Yan-Quan Lu (CCCC).

Complementary description. Male (Fig. 4). External morphology mostly refers to Huang et al. (2020). The color of integument of flagellomeres are variable from blackish to reddish brown, and the shape of elytral discal granules are variable from rounded to sharply pointed.

Endophallus (Fig. 27) S-shaped, moderately long and slender. Subdivisions of MPH indistinct due to shallow constrictions; MT roughly straight, slightly swollen near its midlength, coarsely wrinkled on both sides; CT strongly curved dorsally at basal half, provided with one small ltc at each side; PB barrel-shaped in basal half, with developed anterior bulb. APH subdivided into ab and bb; ab conical shaped; bb elongated and slender, with gn situated at its apex. Spicules distributed on most part of MPH and ab, except a pair of narrow stripes along dorsolateral sides of CT, those spicules on ab relatively large and sparse.

Distribution (Map 1). China: Guangxi (Jinxiu County; Longsheng County; Xingan County).

Remarks. Based on the comparison of long series of specimens from several localities including sufficient topotypes, most diagnostic characters proposed by Huang et al. (2020) to separate this species from E. guoliangi are considered to be minor differentiated, or ambiguously defined, or observed to be intraspecifically variable. In addition, the veinal characters being used therein are usually applied for a higher classification (Kukalová-Peck & Lawrence 1993, 2004), or if of specific proposition are usually based on the statistical analysis of sufficient samples, e.g., greater than 50 specimens per species (Rossa et al. 2016). The differentiation of vein characters proposed by Huang et al. (2020) based on a comparison of only two specimens per species ignores the possibilities of intraspecific variation, therefore is not recommended to be apply to specific diagnosis herein.

Nevertheless, this species is still retained as valid mainly by the combination of its distinctive endophallic structures, i.e., CT strongly curved dorsally, ltc of CT single and very small, PB distinctly swollen in basal half and bb elongated and slender, with gn situated at its apex.