Protosticta socculus, Phan, Quoc Toan & Kompier, Tom, 2016

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 : 538-539

7. Protosticta socculus spec. nov.

( Figure 7 A–K)

Type specimens. Holotype: male, Aso, Dong Giang district, Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam, 28.V.2015, Quoc Toan Phan leg.; Paratypes: 4 males, same date, location and collector as the holotype; 4 males, Bhalee, Tay Giang district, Quang Nam Province, 19.IX.2015, Quoc Toan Phan leg.

Etymology. The specific name socculus is derived from the Latin word “ socculus ” (meaning slipper), in reference to the slipper-shaped structure at the tip of the paraprocts.

Description of male holotype. Head ( Fig. 7 A). Anteclypeus and labrum pale blue with inferior margin of labrum black. Antennae black, basal half of second segment pale yellow; postclypeus, genae, frons, vertex and occiput entirely black. Prothorax ( Fig. 7 B) almost entirely pale yellow, with anterior and posterior lobes black dorsally. Synthorax dull black with pale yellow stripe over metepisternum, black line over interpleural suture and mostly pale yellow metepimeron. Legs pale yellow with black stripe over flexor surface; spines black. Wings ( Fig.

7I) hyaline, 13–15 postnodal veins in both wings. Pterostigma brown. Abdomen long and thin, black with pale yellow markings as follows: S1–2 short, ventral half pale yellow; S3–7 very long, blackish brown with whitish anterior ring and indistinct brown sup-apical ring; S8–9 shorter, dorsum of S8 blackish brown, large part of basal segment bluish white; S9 bluish white with anterior and posterior margin black; S10 entirely black. Anal appendages ( Figs. 7 C–G) black; cerci strongly curved downward; paraprocts with elongated tip, tapering, with a prominent slipper-shaped cup-like structure bearing a long spine on its distal margin. Penile organ as in Fig. 7 H.

Measurements. Hindwing 19; abdomen including appendages 44.

Female. Unknown.

Variation in paratype males. In the paratype males, the slipper-shaped cup-like structure at the tip of the paraprocts is not as prominent as in the holotype ( Figs. 7 J–K), but the spine at the distal margin can be seen easily in lateral view.

Measurements of paratype males. Hindwing 19–20; abdomen including appendages 43–44.

Differential diagnosis. P. s o c cu l us spec. nov. appears to be closely related to P. khaosoidaoensis judging by the elongated shape of the paraprocts, which both have a very large cup-like structure with a spine at the distal margin on their apex on the dorsal side. It can be separated from that species as follows:

(1) In P. socculus spec. nov., cerci with only one protuberance ventrally at midpoint ( Figs. 7 C, 7E), two protuberances in P. khaosoidaoensis ( Fig. 10 B).

(2) In P. socculus spec. nov., the tip of the cerci is structurally complex ( Fig. 7 F), flattened and rounded in P. khaosoidaoensis ( Fig. 10 C).

(3) In P. socculus spec. nov., the dorsum of the synthorax is completely black ( Fig. 7 A), a pale yellow line along the dorsal carina in P. khaosoidaoensis ( Fig. 10 A).

Figures

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 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.