Sarasaeschana chiangchinlii, Chen, Szu-Lung & Yeh, Wen-Chi, 2014

Chen, Szu-Lung & Yeh, Wen-Chi, 2014, Description of a new species of the genus Sarasaeschna Karube & Yeh, with a key to the species of Taiwan (Odonata: Anisoptera: Aeshnidae), Zootaxa 3764 (1), pp. 92-100 : 93-97

Sarasaeschana chiangchinlii sp. nov.

Figures 1–7, 15–17, 21, 25, 29, 32 & 33

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to Mr. Chin-Li Chiang for his continuous effort and hard work in searching for many rare dragonfly species of Taiwan and also discovery of this new species.

Diagnosis. S. chiangchinlii is a medium and black aeshnid with yellow markings. It differs from the other known Sarasaeschna mainly in having the male cercus resemble a sickle. Male has hastate and female has sagittate AD spots on S2. All wings of female colored with pale brown entirely and more intensely at basal half.

Male (holotype, Figs 1, 3). HEAD: labium with medial lobe yellow and lateral lobes dark brown. Face black on lower part, with faint yellow basal spots on mandibles and labrum. Anteclypeus black, postclypeus yellow with lower margin black. Antefrons black and wrinkled, lateral sides and lower 1/5 smooth and yellow, upper margin straight (Fig. 5). Postfrons depressed medially and black, laterally invaded by a pair of transverse yellow spots originating from yellow area of antefrons, and forming a T-mark ( Fig. 21 ). Vertex, antenna and occiput black; vertex about 1/3 width of frons, tumid, with pair of small faint yellow spots on top. Compound eyes dull green in life, interorbital suture short, about 2/3 width of vertex. Black hairs present on upper half of head, denser and longer on frons, vertex and occiput, and lacking from wrinkled area of antefrons.

PTEROTHORAX: Dorsal stripes cigar - shaped and a little divergent downward from each other, lower ends obtusely attenuate and upper ends connected above with pair of round spots ( Fig. 21 ). Antealar sinuses black. Stripes of mesepimeron roundly obtuse at upper ends, broadening and touching humeral suture at lower half. Upper spot of metepisternum small and triangular, posterior 3/4 of metepimeron yellow. Mesinfraepistermun entirely yellow, metinfraepisternum yellow at ventral margin and posterior half. Brown long hairs densely present on front and less so on sides of pterothorax.

LEGS: Black, apex of hind femur reaching to anterior margin of S2.

WINGS: hyaline, slightly tinged with pale brown at basal extremity, veins black. Pterostigma dark brown, braced in all wings and underlain by 1.5–2.0 cells. Nodal index 6:16:17: 6 in forewings and 7:11:13: 8 in hindwings. One cubito-anal crossvein in all wings. Triangle a little longer in forewings than in hindwings and two- or threecelled. Hypertriangles crossed in left wings and uncrossed in right wings, subtriangles uncrossed. Anal loop compact and three- or four-celled, anal triangle three-celled. Tornus roundly angulate; membranule well developed and pale brownish, reaching downward to upper 1/3 of anal triangle.

ABDOMEN: S1 and S2 swollen, S3 constricted at anterior 1/3; posterior half of S3–7 widened and weakly spindle-shaped, S8–10 narrow and parallel-sided. Dorsally, S2 with a hastate AD spot and a pair of round and closely adjoining PD spots ( Fig. 15 ), S3–8 with paired and closely adjoining PD spots, about equal sized on S3–6, smaller on S7 and tiny on S8. Laterally, S1 yellowish, S2 with large and square AL spot, broadly crescent PL spot and small spot on posteroventral corner (Fig. 32), AL spot covering auricle; S3–5 with AL spots, triangular on S3, small and transverse on S4 and S5. Ventrally, bases of S4–6 with pair of faint spots. Auricles semicircular in shape, protruding backward and armed with row of dark denticles at posterior margin. Mid-dorsal carina well defined on S3–7 and basal half of S8. Cercus about 2-1/3 as long as S10, in dorsal view sickle-shaped, with basal 1/3 narrow and apical 2/3 expanded and broadly ridged dorsally, apex strongly incurved and blunt ( Fig. 25 ); in lateral view, cercus with wide and deep basal notch ( Fig. 29 ). Epiproct a little shorter than 1/2 of cercus, apex upcurved gently and notched deeply with two forks markedly diverging outward, depth of the apical notch a little longer than half its width (Fig. 6).

FIGURES 1–7. Sarasaeschna chiangchinlii . 1, 3, 5 & 6, holotype male; 2, 4 & 7, paratype female; 1 & 2, dorsal; 3 & 4, lateral; 5, face; 6, male epiproct, ventral; 7, ovipositor, lateral.

FIGURES 30–35. 30, S. tsaopiensis , 31, S. pyanan , 32 & 33, S. chiangchinlii . 30, female cerci, dorsal; 31 & 32, abdominal S2 of male, lateral; 33, male penis, lateral, upside down, 34, the habitat of S.chiangchinlii in Daxi, Taoyuan County, Taiwan, 35, the ovipositing female of S.chiangchinlii .

PENILE STRUCTURES (Fig. 33): Configuration of penis similar to those of pryeri -group Sarasaeschna (cf. Karube & Yeh 2001, Yeh & Chen 2000) with flagella protruding horizontally in relation to the position of 4th segment.

Females (Paratypes, Figs. 2, 4): General body maculations of females similar to those of holotype male, differences as follows: Wings tinged with pale brown entirely with apical half less intensely, color deeper in teneral stage. Abdomen straight and narrowed smoothly and gradually toward apex. On dorsum, S2 with large sagittate AD spot ( Figs. 16–17 ) and streak-like MD spots, S3 with longitudinal AD spot and streak-like MD spots; on sides, S1 & S2 largely yellow, S3 with large AL spots and tiny PL spots, S4–7 with transverse AL spots, tiny in S7. Ventral side of abdomen black. Female cerci short, as long as S10 (Fig. 7). Ovipositor reddish brown and reaching to posterior margin of S10; dentigerous plate of S10 protruding backward and downward, ventrally armed with numerous closely set spinules.

Measurements (mm). Holotype male, abd. + cerci 46, hindwing 37, cerci 4.0; Paratype females, abd. + cerci 40–42, hindwings 37–40.

Materials examined. All of the specimens including those listed in additional materials were collected from Daxi, Taoyuan County, N. Taiwan. Holotype: ♂, 17/III/2013, leg. C.L. Chiang; Paratypes: 3♀#, 21-22/IV/2010, SLC; 1♀, 30/IV/2010, WCY. All type specimens will be deposited in the Insect Collection of TFRI.

Additional materials: 1♂ (in alcohol), 22/IV/2010, C. L. Chiang. (picked up from a spider web); 1♀, teneral, 17/III/2013, C. L Chiang.

Figures

FIGURES 18 – 29. Different characters of the Sarasaeschna of Taiwan. 18 – 21, male pterothorax, dorsal; 22 – 25, male cerci, dorsal; 26 – 29, male cerci, lateral; 18, 22 & 26, S. pyanan; 19, 23 & 27, S. lieni; 20, 24 & 28, S. tsaopiensis; 21, 25 & 29, S. chiangchinlii.

FIGURES 8 – 17. Dorsal maculations of abdominal S 2 in the Sarasaeschna of Taiwan. 8, S. pyanan, male; 9, S. pyanan, female; 10, S. lieni, male; 11, S. lieni, female; 12, S. tsaopiensis, male; 13 & 14, S. tsaopiensis, females, 13, normal form, 14, dark form; 15, S. chiangchinlii, holotype male; 16 & 17, S. chiangchinlii, paratype females.