Coeliccia suoitia, Dow, Rory A., 2016

Dow, Rory A., 2016, A remarkable new species of Coeliccia from the Tuyen Lam Lake area, Lam Dong, southern Vietnam (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platycnemididae), Zootaxa 4103 (5), pp. 481-486 : 481-484

Coeliccia suoitia sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 – 14 )

Etymology. The species is named suoitia , a noun in apposition, after the type locality.

Type material. Holotype: ♂, Suoi Tia, Tuyen Lam Lake, Da Lat, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, 1400m, 13 xii 2006, leg. M. Hämäläinen, in RMNH. Paratypes: 2 ♂, data as holotype, in RMNH.

Description of holotype male. Head: Labium mostly pale. Labrum and postclypeus almost entirely black, anteclypeus pale with pair of small ca semicircular black marks adjacent to labrum ( Fig. 2 ). Genae, mandible bases and area above pale bluish, this extending onto anterior part of frons and narrowly above post clypeus for some distance ( Fig. 2 ). Subrectangular yellow mark extending from each lateral ocellus towards antennae ( Fig. 1 ), large yellow post ocular markings. Top part of scape yellowish, antennae otherwise largely black and dark brown. Rest of dorsum of head matte black, underside entirely pale yellowish.

Thorax: Prothorax with propleuron pale except upper rear part, pronotum black except for two short yellowish conical horns positioned dorsolaterally on middle lobe, directed slightly forwards ( Figs. 3, 4 ). Posterior lobe of pronotum simple, collar-like. Synthorax with mesepisternum and mesepimeron shiny black, mesepisternum with two narrow yellow antehumeral stripes reaching to apex of antealar triangle, slightly expanded in anterior part ( Fig. 5 ). Laterally ( Fig. 6 ) metepisternum largely occupied by broad pale band, continued across lower part of mesokatepisternum, broadly separated from interpleural suture for most of length. Metepimeron and most of metakatepimeron pale. Venter pale, with dense field of short, sharp, slightly rearward directed setae on metaposternum ( Fig. 7 ). Legs with coxae entirely pale yellowish, trochanters same with small distal black mark on extensor surface. Femur pale with black extensor surface, black streak on distal ca two-thirds flexor surface on anterior femur, one third on middle femur. Tibia with flexor surfaces dark, otherwise mostly pale. Tarsi dark. Wings with arculus situated slightly distal to Ax2, R4 before Sn, IR3 after Sn. Pterostigma ca rectangular, brown with narrow pale margin, covering just more than one underlying cell. 19 (right)–20 (left) Px in forewing, 17 Px in hindwing.

Abdomen: S1–8 dark brown to black above, mostly pale cream laterally. Pale colour extended as narrow basal annulus, dorsally interrupted, on S3, S4–6 with brown area basally, small pale dorsolateral spot above this. S7 black above, pale lower laterally, S8 black with only lower part of side pale, S9 black except for irregular lateral apical spot, S10 pale except narrow black area dorsally ( Fig. 10 ). Prominent epiproct visible in dorsal view ( Fig. 12 ). Superior anal appendages mostly whitish, in lateral view ( Fig. 13 ) expanded ventrally soon after base as a ridge bearing a black tooth soon after origin, apically extended very strongly downwards, tip hidden between paraprocts. In dorsal view cerci relatively simple ( Fig. 12 ), along outer margins gradually running towards each other, with an inner dorsal ridge along apical ca two-thirds, inner margin below ridge expanded before turning towards apices. Paraprocts longer than cerci ( Fig. 13 ), of simple form, tapering from base to a rounded apex in lateral view, hooked inwards apically in ventral view ( Fig. 11 ).

Genital ligula ( Figs. 8, 9 ) with terminal segment abruptly contracted at ca half length, divided into two arms apically, lying on either side of shaft, these sharp at apex in lateral view, apex of segment between the arms smoothly and gently concave.

Measurements (mm): Hw 26.5, abdomen without anal appendages 41, superior anal appendages ca 1.

Female. Unknown.

Variation in paratype males. One paratype is teneral and has more extensive yellow markings on the head, where an irregular yellow band runs from eye to eye, and on the prothorax where the yellow on the horns extends well to their rear and below to join the pale colour on the propleuron. In this specimen the horns are less conical and more nipple-like; it is also smaller. The other male differs only in having the yellow on the horns extend slightly further below.

Measurements (mm): Abdomen without anal appendages 39.5–42; Hw 26.5–28.5; 16–18 Px in Fw, 15–16 Px in Hw.

Diagnosis. Easily separated from all other species of Coeliccia known from mainland Asia by the short horns on the middle pronotal lobe and the form of the cerci, lacking a basal interior tooth and strongly expanded downwards apically.

Remarks. The habitus of the holotype of C. suoitia is shown in Fig. 14 . The male of C. suoitia cannot be confused with any other species known from mainland Asia because of the structures on the middle pronotal lobe of the male. Although the female is not known, it would be surprising if it were not at least equally distinctive.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Habitus of Coeliccia suoitia holotype.

FIGURES 1 – 2. Coeliccia suoitia holotype head: (1) dorsal view; (2) dorso-frontal view.

FIGURES 3 – 7. Coeliccia suoitia holotype: (3) prothorax, lateral view, scale bar 0.5 mm; (4) prothorax, dorsal view; (5) synthorax, dorsal view; (6) synthorax, lateral view, the small arrow shows the position of the area magnified in Fig. 7; (7) detail of venter of synthorax, lateral view, showing field of setae, scale bar 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 8 – 9. Coeliccia suoitia holotype genital ligula: (8) ventral view, scale bar 0.2 mm; (9) lateral view terminal segment, scale bar 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 10 – 13. Coeliccia suoitia holotype: (10) terminal abdominal segments, dorsal view; (11) left paraproct, ventral view, scale bar 1 mm; (12) anal appendages dorsal view, scale bar 1 mm; (13) anal appendages, lateral view, scale bar 1 mm.