Sixty new dragonfly and damselfly species from Africa (Odonata)
Author
Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B.
Author
Kipping, Jens
Author
Mézière, Nicolas
text
Odonatologica
2015
44
4
447
678
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.35388
Orthetrum lusinga
Dijkstra
sp. nov.
– Spring Skimmer
(
Type
Photo 52
,
Photo 67
,
Fig. 31
)
Taxonomy
Genetically nearest to the
saegeri
-group (see
O. agaricum
sp. nov.
), which includes the syntopic
O. kafwi
sp. nov.
(
Tree 8
), but has a distinctive hamule shape and is coloured very differently with limited black markings. Treated as a distinct species by
Dijkstra & Clausnitzer (2014)
.
Material studied
Holotype
♂
.
RMNH.INS.505542
,
Congo-Kinshasa
,
Katanga
,
Upemba National Park, source area of
Lusinga
near park headquarters
, spring streams in gallery forest and adjacent bog, dam and channel,
1760 –1800 m
a.s.l. (
8.933 ° S
27.199 ° E
),
15 -xi- 2011
, leg.
K.-D.B. Dijkstra
,
RMNH
.
Further material.
CONGO-KINSHASA
(
Katanga
):
4 ♂
(
RMNH.INS.505475
,
RMNH.INS.505483
,
RMNH.INS.505518
),
1 ♀
(
RMNH.INS.505482
), as holotype,
RMNH
.
1 ♂
(
RMNH.INS.505550
),
2 ♀
(
RMNH.INS.505551
),
Upemba National Park, Kabwekanono, source area of
Kafwi
, stream through gallery forest and bogs in open grassy plains,
1770 –1820 m
a.s.l. (
8.937 ° S
27.166 ° E
),
15–16 -xi- 2011
, leg.
K.-D.B. Dijkstra
,
RMNH
.
2 ♂
(
RMNH.INS.505675
),
Kundelungu National Park, source area of Lutshipuka
, grassy plateau with pools, bog, wet meadows and gallery forest patches,
1680 – 1705m
a.s.l. (
10.58 ° S
27.83 ° E
),
23–24 -xi- 2011
, leg
K.-D.B. Dijkstra
,
RMNH
.
Genetics
Four unique haplotypes (n= 7) are distinct from other
saegeri
-group species, but one unique haplotype (n = 1) is similar to
O. umbratum
sp. nov.
(
Tree 8
).
Type
Photo 52
.
Holotype of
Orthetrum lusinga
sp. nov.
, RMNH (horizontally mirrored from original).
Male morphological diagnosis
Recalls the widespread
O. guineense
Ris, 1910
and sympatric
O. machadoi
Longfield, 1955
by (a) moderate size, Hw 28.0–
30.8 mm
(n = 7); (b) the absence of cell-doublings in the radial planate and thus a single row of cells there; (c) the pale subcostal Ax at least proximally, although they can be notably dark; and (d) the medium-sized pale brown Pt that are 10–11 % of Hw length,
2.8–3.3 mm
. When not pruinose also similar by (e) the thorax lacking whitish stripes; (f) all abdominal segments being brown and variably but generally quite narrowly black on the dorsal carina of S 3–9 and lateral carinae of S 3–8; and (g) the always dark cerci. However, (1) the hook of the hamule has a concave anterior border and a broad and outward-turned tip lying closely against the rather low lobe, i.e., similar to
O. chrysostigma
(Burmeister, 1839)
but with the sigmoid anterior profile of
O. saegeri
(
Fig. 31
). When not yet pruinose also (2) unlike
O. guineense
lacks a black line on the ventral carina of the metepimeron; and (3) unlike
O. machadoi
S 6–8 are only narrowly black on the lateral carinae and S 9–10 are largely brown rather than black.
Etymology
Named after the headquarters of Upemba National Park at the source of the
Lusinga
stream, the species’
type
locality (noun in apposition).
Range and ecology
Found between 1 680 and 1
820 m
a.s.l. at boggy spring areas bordering or enclosed by forest on the otherwise grassy Kibara and Kundelungu Plateaus of
Katanga
(
Map 11
).