New records of stoneflies (Insecta, Plecoptera) from the Greater Khingan Mountains, China

Abstract

Plecoptera (stoneflies) are an ancient order of aquatic insects that serve as vital bioindicators in freshwater ecosystems. This study focuses on the Greater Khingan Mountains in north-eastern China, a biodiversity hotspot with limited stonefly research. By documenting new genera and species records, it expands our knowledge of Chinese Plecoptera. The findings enhance biogeographical and ecological insights into this underexplored region.This paper records five families, six genera and seven species of stoneflies from the Greater Khingan Mountains, among them Diura Billberg, 1820 and Megarcys Klapálek, 1912 as new Chinese-recorded genera and seven species recorded for the first time in China, including Isocapnia kudia Ricker, 1959, Paraleuctra zapekinae Zhiltzova, 1974, Nemoura arctica Esben-Petersen, 1910, Nemoura sirotskii Teslenko, 2018, Diura majuscula (Klapálek, 1912), Megarcys ochracea (Klapálek, 1912) and Utaperla lepnevae (Zhiltzova, 1970). The research materials were from the northern part of the Greater Khingan Mountains in north-eastern China, including parts of Heilongjiang Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Keywords

• Plecoptera
• new recorded genus
• new recorded speci