Copera number 3

On November 15 I was checking some ponds in the forest along the main road in Cat Tien National Park. A truly dark place it was, but with some small sunny patches where the sun peeked through the foliage. I noticed a Copera there with yellow legs, but only very little white on the abdomen tip. After I caught it, it became obvious it had very different appendages from C. marginipes or C. vittata. The latter species in the north of Vietnam also has yellowish legs, but here in the south the legs are truly very orange. So, obviously it was not C. vittata and it also was not C. marginipes. I knew of another species in South-East Asia, C. chantaburii, but was not aware of its occurrence in Vietnam. Checking the literature I learned two things: it indeed was C. chantaburii and that species is known from southern Vietnam. But to me it was new. Interestingly, it occurred side by side with both C. marginipes and C. vittata. Below photos were all taken along the same 4 metres or so of pool edge.

This is Copera chantaburii. Note is has appendages of approximate the same length both superior and inferior. S8-9 are completely dark dorsally. Nevertheless, with its yellow legs easily mistaken for C. marginipes.

Close up of the dorsal pattern of another male

And the interesting appendages, all equal in length

Copera marginipes has S9 all white and S8 extensively white on the posterior half. The superior appendages are very small, but the inferiors are very large.

And although in the north confusingly similar in colour, here C. vittata sports very orange, almost red legs. It has less white on the abdominal tip, with most of S9 white, but S8 black. The superior appendages reach to halfway of the inferiors.