Protosticta beaumonti Wilson, 1997

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 : 530-531

1. Protosticta beaumonti Wilson, 1997 (dark form)

( Figure 1 A–F)

Protosticta sp.: Wilson (1995), p. 21, p. 23, Figs. 78, 79, 81, 83, 85 (photos, Hong Kong).

Protosticta beaumonti: Wilson (1997) , pp. 57–59, Figs. 11–16.— Wilson & Reels (2003), pp. 273–275, Figs. 114–120 ( Hong Kong, Guangdong).— Kitagawa et al. (1997), p. 12, Figs. 2–3 (Sunset Peak, Lantau, Hong Kong).

Specimens examined. 1 male, Mau Son Mountain, Loc Binh district, Lang Son Province, 07.VI.2014, Tom Kompier leg.; 3 males, Bhalee, Tay Giang district, Quang Nam Province, 27.V.2015, Quoc Toan Phan leg.

Notes. These are the first records of this species for Vietnam. Wilson (1997) described the light form of P. beaumonti from Hong Kong, and later described the dark form of this species from Guangdong in China ( Wilson & Reels 2003). The male specimens from northern and central Vietnam are consistent with the description of the dark form of P. beaumonti sensu Wilson & Reels (2003) , including the color pattern of the abdomen of the female. P. beaumonti resembles P. satoi closely, but their dark forms can be separated by the following characters:

In P. s a t o i, the yellow marking between the posterior end of the metepisternum and the metepimeron consists of a very small stripe in the male ( Fig. 5 A) and is absent in the female ( Fig. 5 H) but consists of a very large stripe both in the male and female of P. beaumonti ( Figs. 1 A, 1E).

The dorsum of S9 of the female of P. beaumonti is dark ( Fig. 1 F), not whitish as in the female of P. satoi ( Fig. 5 J).

The relationships among the light and dark forms of P. satoi and P. beaumonti are problematic. Van Tol (2008) made a convincing case that the dark form of P. satoi and the light form of P. satoi are the same species. We follow this interpretation. Van Tol also suggested that P. s a t o i may be the same species as light-form P. beaumonti described from Hong Kong by Wilson (1997). At the same time we consider the dark form of P. s a t o i to be different from the dark form specimens from Mau Son and Quang Nam based on coloration and minor morphological differences and consider these to be conspecific with the dark form of P. beaumonti from Guangxi ( Wilson and Reels 2003). Van Tol put forward the possibility that the dark form of P. satoi may be the same taxon as the dark form of P. beaumonti from Guangxi. We do not follow that interpretation here. However, from this follows that either the dark form of P. beaumonti is not the same species as the light form of P. beaumonti (if the light form of P. beaumonti is a junior synonym of P. satoi ) or that the light form of P. beaumonti is not conspecific with P. satoi , in which case the dark form of P. beaumonti may or may not be the same species as the light form of P. beaumonti . For the moment, we follow Wilson & Reels (2003) that the light and dark forms of P. beaumonti are conspecific, as we have not studied the material. For the same reason of not having studied the Chinese specimens, it remains possible that the specimens from Mau Son and Quang Nam here identified as the dark form of P. beaumonti are in fact an additional and as yet undescribed species. Detailed molecular studies are required to verify the total number of species involved and their relationships. The occurrence of at least two species of this complex in Vietnam seems beyond doubt.

Measurements. Male. Hindwing 24–25; abdomen including appendages 43–44.

Distribution. Vietnam (Mau Son mountain, Lang Son Province; Tay Giang district, Quang Nam Province), China (Diding, Guangxi), Hong Kong (Lantau).

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 2. Protosticta caroli, Ba Na. [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) male paraprocts in ventral view; (G) penile organ in dorsal view; [H – J] female— (H) head & thorax in lateral view; (I) prothorax in dorsal view; (J) tip abdomen in lateral view.

FIGURE 3. Protosticta grandis, Cao Bang. [A – E] male— (A) head & thorax in lateral view; anal appendages in (B) dorsal & (C) lateral view; (D) paraprocts in ventral view; penile organ in (E) dorsal view & (F) lateral view; [G – H] female— (G) head & thorax in lateral view; (H) abdomen tip in lateral view.

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.