Chlorocypha flammea Dijkstra & Clausnitzer

Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B., Kipping, Jens & Mézière, Nicolas, 2015, Sixty new dragonfly and damselfly species from Africa (Odonata), Odonatologica 44 (4), pp. 447-678 : 469-472

Chlorocypha flammea Dijkstra & Clausnitzer sp. nov. – Flame-tipped Jewel

(Type Photo 4, Photo 8, Fig. 2)

Taxonomy

Confused with the poorly understood C. victoriae , which was also described from Uganda (Entebbe) and may be locally sympatric. FÖrster’s (1914) two males were not found in UMMZ and thus seem lost ( Garrison et al. 2003). He described the abdomen as red, which is true for two Chlorocypha species in the region. Fraser (1950) mentioned a »frons with a large blue or bluish green spot« for C. victoriae , which better fits C. trifaria (Karsch, 1899) , while Pinhey (1967) mentioned both blue frontal spots and white-streaked tibiae, a combination of characters not known in the genus. To end the confusion, we select a male labelled » C. rubida, Kyagwe Coast. R.Uganda. H. Carpenter« and »F.C. Fraser Bequest. Brit. Mus. 1963 – 234.« in BMNH as neotype, which agrees with Fraser’s (1949) redescription of C. victoriae based on material »from a coast stream on the Karagwe side of Lake Victoria, south of Entebbe, collected by G. Hale Carpenter«. Karagwe is on the Tanzanian side of the lake and is taken to be a misinterpretation of Kyagwe on the Sezibwa River. The specimen (Hw 23.0 mm) has only limited and poorly contrasting brown markings on the head and thorax, the mid and hind tibiae all white anteriorly and an all-red abdomen marked as in Figure 2. The species described here is sufficiently distinct in morphology to be treated as such by Dijkstra & Clausnitzer (2014). Moreover, it is genetically nearer the blue C. aphrodite (Le Roi, 1915) than to specimens assigned to C. victoriae and similar red species.

Material studied

Holotype ♂. Uganda, Bundibugyo District, 20 km NW of Fort Portal, Semliki National Park, Ntandi, Nkisi River , shallow, sandy river (and small- er streams) flanked by bushes in open rainforest, 700 m a.s.l. (0.815 ° N 30.1433 ° E), 29 -v–07-vi- 2003, leg. K.-D.B. Dijkstra, ZMMU .

Further material. UGANDA: 2 ♂, as holotype, RMNH . 2 ♂ ( RMNH.5009370 , RMNH.5009528 ), Kibale National Park, Dura River at Chimps Nest , 1141m. a.s.l. (0.4093 ° N 30.4063 ° E), 15 -vii- 2014, leg. V. Clausnitzer, RMNH .

Genetics

Two unique haplotypes (n = 2) nearest to five of C. aphrodite (n= 6).

Male morphological diagnosis

Similar to the potentially sympatric C. victoriae by (a) the largely black labrum with two poorly defined dark brown spots; (b) the white streaks on the anterior surface of the mid and hind tibiae; (c) the largely red abdominal dorsum; and (d) the black markings on the dorsum of S 2 lying near the apical border, curved laterally and not extending to base ( Fig. 2). However, has (1) greater size, Hw 23.0–25.0 mm (n = 3) rather than 20.0– 22.5 mm; (2)the markings on the head, thorax and abdomen underside are pale greenish rather than dark brown and thus more contrasting; (3) the basal third to half of the fore tibiae also with a white streak, rather than wholly black; and (4) the red on the abdominal dorsum is not uniform but on S 8–9 grades to a yellow S 10.

Etymology Latin “fiery” refers to the flame-like transition of the abdomen from red to yellow (feminine adjective). Range and ecology

Forested streams and small rivers between 700 and 1 230 m a.s.l. in western Uganda, now known from Mitano Gorge and several sites in Kibale, Queen Elizabeth and Semliki National Parks.