A new earwig species, Nannopygia alfordi sp. nov. (Dermaptera: Diplatyidae), is described from Zhejiang Province, eastern China. This represents the first record of the genus Nannopygia Dohrn, 1863 from Zhejiang and extends the known distribution of the genus northward in China. The new species is diagnosed based on adult male morphology and is readily distinguished from its Chinese congeners by the shape of the penultimate abdominal sternite and by characters of the genitalia, particularly the configuration of the external parameres and the structure of the virga. Among the known species, N. alfordi sp. nov. is most similar to N. longqishanensis Ma & Chen, 1993, but differs in several stable characters, including the presence of two long triangular spines on the posterior margin of the penultimate sternite, the curvature and expansion of the external paramere, and the size and shape of the apical fork of the virga. Checklist and key to the known Chinese species of Nannopygia based on male characters are provided. This discovery highlights the underestimated diversity of Diplatyidae in eastern China and suggests that geographically close regions may harbor distinct, previously unrecognized species.
Ma et al. (Wed,) studied this question.