Kronopolites corticinus Xiong & Chen & Huang & Jiang & Jiang 2026, comb. nov.

Kronopolites corticinus (Attems, 1936) comb. nov. Figs 3 A, 3 B, 6, 7 Orthomorpha corticina Attems, 1936: 201, fig. 31; Attems 1937: 91, fig. 116; Jeekel 1968: 72; Wang and Mauriès 1996: 87; Nguyen and Sierwald 2013: 1288; Golovatch 2019: 354. Mandarinopus corticinus: Golovatch 2020: 297 –302, figs 7–15.; Golovatch and Liu 2020: 170. Kronopolites rugosus Golovatch, 2013: 12; Nguyen and Sierwald 2013: 1288; Golovatch 2013 b: 311; Likhitrakarn et al. 2015: 32; Golovatch 2019: 354; Nguyen et al. 2025: 224. Mandarinopus rugosus: Golovatch 2020: 298; Golovatch and Liu 2020: 170. New synonymy. Material examined. CHINA: Yunnan Province: • 9 ♂♂ and 3 ♀♀ (CMMI 20240528001 –2024080812), Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Shangri-La, Hutiaoxia Scenic Area (27.2410°N, 100.1401°E), asl. 2420 m, 28.V.2024, Yifei Yu & Yuan Xiong leg.; • 6 ♂♂ and 2 ♀♀ (CMMI 20240531001 –20240531008), Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, Yuzhuqingtian Scenic Area (27.0069°N, 100.2086°E), asl. 2730 m, 31.V.2024, Yifei Yu & Yuan Xiong leg.; • 13 ♂♂ and 6 ♀♀ (CMMI 20250803013 –20250803031), Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Jianchuan County, Laojunshan Town, Dajudeng (26.5891°N, 99.6094°E), asl. 2650 m, 3.VIII.2025, Xuankong Jiang, Yifei Yu & Yuan Xiong leg.; • 3 ♂♂ and 4 ♀♀ (CMMI 20250805137 –20250805143), Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, Tuozhi Village (27.1500°N, 99.6915°E), asl. 2310 m, 5.VIII.2025, Xuankong Jiang, Yifei Yu & Yuan Xiong leg. Diagnosis. Differs from other species of the genus by the following combination of characters: coloration dark brown to brown with contrasting yellowish paraterga; collum and following metaterga rugose; sternal cones between ♂ coxae 4 fully separated; gonopods with basal process of solenophore much larger than a slender, finger-shaped, apical process (Golovatch 2019). Distribution. China: Yunnan (Golovatch 2019). Remarks. Orthomorpha corticina Attems, 1936 was originally described from specimens collected at an unspecified locality in Yunnan Province, China. Long treated as incertae sedis within the tribe Sulciferini (Jeekel 1968; Nguyen and Sierwald 2013), the species was redescribed based on newly collected specimens from Dajudeng, Yunnan (Golovatch 2020), and transferred to the genus Mandarinopus (Golovatch 2019). Similarly, Kronopolites rugosus Golovatch, 2013, described from Yuzhuqingtian, Yunnan, was also transferred to Mandarinopus by Golovatch (2019). These two species are morphologically similar. Golovatch (2019) distinguished them based on the presence of a distofemoral process and a mesal process on the apical branch of the solenophore in M. corticinus, traits purportedly absent in M. rugosus. However, Golovatch (2020) subsequently noted their striking resemblance and suggested that verification of their specific status would require additional material. In the present study, we collected specimens morphologically similar to these taxa from their respective type localities, as well as from two additional sites. Morphological examination reveals that the diagnostic characters proposed by Golovatch (2019) are unreliable: the distofemoral process is not consistently present, even in specimens from the same population (Fig. 7), and the mesal process on the apical branch of the solenophore occurs in all examined specimens. Furthermore, genetic distance analysis based on COI sequences confirms that specimens from different localities are conspecific. Therefore, we formally propose Kronopolites rugosus as a junior synonym of K. corticinus.