Protosticta khaosoidaoensis Asahina, 1984

Phan, Quoc Toan & Kompier, Tom, 2016, A study of the genus Protosticta Selys, 1855, with descriptions of four new species from Vietnam (Odonata: Platystictidae), Zootaxa 4098 (3), pp. 529-544 : 542-543

Notes on the status of Protosticta khaosoidaoensis Asahina, 1984

( Figure 10 A–E)

Protosticta khaosoidaoensis: Asahina (1984) , pp. 588–590, Figs. 8 –15. Type locality: Khao Soi Dao mountains, Thailand.— Hämäläinen & Pinratana (1999), p. 60 (Chiang Mai, Chantaburi).—van Tol (2008), pp. 220–221, Figs. 5–10 . Makbun et al. (2011), p. 63 (Chiang Mai).— Yokoi & Souphanthong (2014), p. 26, Pl. 3, Fig. 14.

Protosticta khaosoidaoensis khaosoidaoensis: Kitagawa & Katatani (2002) , pp. 33–34, Fig. 1 (Pong Nam Ron, Khao Soi Dao).

The material identified in van Tol (2008) as this species, but no longer considered to belong to it: 2 males, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh Province, 2.VII.1990; 1 male, Ky Son district, Nghe An Province, 8.VII.1990; 2 males, Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An Province, 11-12.VII.1990; 1 male, Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai, Thailand (JvT 19422).

Specimens examined. 1 male, Krating waterfall, Chantaburi Province, Thailand, 10.VII.2011; 2 females, Krating waterfall, Chantaburi Province, Thailand, 03.IV.2015, Noppadon Makbun leg.

Notes. Van Tol (2008) recorded P. khaosoidaoensis from Huong Son district, Ha Tinh Province of central Vietnam based on a comparison with a male of P. khaosoidaoensis from Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Although he recognized that the Vietnamese specimen resembled P. c ur i o s a, he identified it as P. khaosoidaoensis based on the similarity of the color pattern of the prothorax to the original description ( Asahina 1984). To ascertain the status of P. khaosoidaoensis in Vietnam, we examined the types and other specimens of this species from its type locality (Chantaburi, Thailand) and compared these with the Vietnamese and Thai P. khaosoidaoensis illustrated by van Tol (2008: p. 221, Figs. 5–10 ).

Surprisingly, the male " P. khaosoidaoensis " from Doi Suthep illustrated by van Tol (2008: p. 221, Figs. 5–7 ) is different from P. khaosoidaoensis in several characters: (1) in P. khaosoidaoensis , the paraprocts have elongated tips, extending as far as the cerci ( Fig. 10 B and Fig. 13, p. 589, Asahina 1984), but are very short in van Tol's specimen (2008: p. 221, Fig. 6 ); (2) in P. khaosoidaoensis the paraprocts have at their dorsal apex a large cup-like structure with a small spine ( Fig. 10 B) that is absent in van Tol's male (van Tol 2008: p. 221, Fig. 7 ). Therefore, it appears that the male P. khaosoidaoensis from Doi Suthep illustrated by van Tol (2008) does not represent true P. khaosoidaoensis .

Van Tol (2008) also questioned whether P. c u r i o s a and P. khaosoidaoensis are truly distinct species, as structural differences seemed to be small. In fact there are some clear differences. Whereas P. khaosoidaoensis has a large cup-like structure with a large spine on its distal margin at the dorsal apex of the paraprocts ( Fig. 5 B), P. curiosa has only a very small cup-like structure lacking a spine ( Fig. 9 N). The female of P. c ur i os a differs from the female of P. khaosoidaoensis by a large oval yellow spot on the dorsum of S9 ( Fig. 9 Q), whereas this segment is generally, but not always, entirely black in P. khaosoidaoensis ( Fig. 10 E).

The Vietnamese material identified by van Tol (2008) as " P. khaosoidaoensis " is clearly much closer to P. curiosa than to P. khaosoidaoensis . Therefore we reject his specimen as P. khaosoidaoensis and cannot support the occurrence of that species in Vietnam. In fact his material matches our description of P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov.

from the same locality, especially by having the same two small oval yellow spots at the posterior end of the mesepisternum and mesepimeron (van Tol 2008: p. 221, Fig. 8 ). This character is absent in P. khaosoidaoensis ( Figs. 10 A, 10D) and P. c u r i o s a ( Fig. 9 P).

Distribution. Thailand (Chantaburi and Chiang Mai Provinces), Lao PDR (Louang Phabang, Oudomxay Province).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Protosticta beaumonti, Mau Son. [A – D] male— (A) head & thorax in lateral view; (B) prothorax in dorsal view; (C) right cercus & paraproct in oblique-dorsal view; (D) penile organ in dorsal view; [E – F] female— (E) female in nature; (F) tip of abdomen (rearranged from photos taken in nature at Mau Son Mountain, Lang Son Province on 07. VI. 2014 by Tom Kompier, specimens were not collected).

FIGURE 5. Protosticta satoi (dark form), Cao Bang. [A – G] male— (A) head & thorax in lateral view; (B) prothorax in dorsal view; anal appendages in (C) dorsal & (D) lateral view; (E) right cercus and paraproct in oblique-dorsal view; (F) paraprocts in ventral view; (G) penile organ in dorsal view; [H – J] male— (H) head & thorax in lateral view; (I) prothorax in dorsal view; (J) abdomen tip in lateral view; male, Tam Dao— (K) prothorax in dorsal view.

FIGURE 6. Protosticta satoi (light form), Xuan Son. [A – B] male— (A) head & thorax in lateral view; (B) prothorax in dorsal view; [C – E] female— (C) head & thorax in lateral view; (D) prothorax in dorsal view; (E) abdomen tip in lateral view.

FIGURE 7. Protosticta socculus spec. nov. [A – H] holotype male— (A) head & thorax in lateral view; (B) prothorax in dorsal view; anal appendages in (C) dorsal & (D) lateral view; (E) right cercus and paraproct in oblique-dorsal view; (F) tip of cerci in posteroventral view; (G) paraprocts in ventral view; (H) penile organ in dorsal view; (I) wings; [J – K] paratype male— (J) anal appendages in lateral view; (K) right cercus and paraproct in oblique-dorsal view.

FIGURE 8. Protosticta spinosa spec. nov., [A – G] holotype male— (A) head & thorax in lateral view; (B) prothorax in dorsal view; anal appendages in (C) dorsal & (D) lateral view; (E) paraprocts in ventral view; (F) penile organ in dorsal view; (G) wings; [H – J] holotype female— (H) head & thorax in lateral view; (I) prothorax in dorsal view; (J) abdomen tip in lateral view.

FIGURE 9. Protosticta spp. [A – M] Protosticta pseudocuriosa spec. nov. [A – I] male— (A) head & thorax in lateral view; (B) prothorax in dorsal view; anal appendages in (C) dorsal & (D) lateral view and (E) oblique-dorsal view; (F) tip of cerci in posteroventral view; (G) paraprocts in ventral view; (H) penile organ in dorsal view; (I) wings; [J – M] female— (J) head & thorax in lateral view; (K) prothorax in dorsal view; (M) abdomen tip in lateral view; (L) male, Son Kim, prothorax in dorsal view; [N – Q] Protosticta curiosa, Thailand, (later Asahina's col.) male— (N) anal appendages in oblique-dorsal view; (O) tip of cerci in posteroventral view; (P) female, head & thorax in lateral view; (Q) abdomen tip in lateral view.

FIGURE 10. Protosticta khaosoidaoensis, Chantaburi, [A – C] male— (A) head & thorax in lateral view; (B) anal appendages in oblique-lateral view; (C) tip of cerci in posteroventral view; [D – E] female— (D) head & thorax in lateral view; (E) abdomen tip in lateral view.