Several new species of Protosticta for Vietnam*

*This posting was adjusted on April 7, 2016, when the name of this species was first published (Phan & Kompier, 2016) as Protosticta socculus. This species can be identified by the shape of the appendages (under the microscope, I am afraid).

At the end of September I observed several boldly patterned Protosticta specimens in Quang Nam Province, close to Da Nang in central Vietnam. I cannot publish them here yet, for their identity was a puzzle. In the meantime I have been working with Toan, who did the ground work for it, on an article on Protosticta species and this species is one of several we hope to publish soon. It is close in appearance to several other species with bold patterning of the thorax, like P. khaosoidaoensis, P. linnaei, and P. caroli. An intricate puzzle for sure. Once you get into the detail, this is a fantastic genus of many hard to identify species.

Protosticta sp. nov. from Bhalee, Quang Nam Province. Note the largely whitish prothorax, the boldly patterned synthorax and the pattern on the abdominal segments of whitish basal rings and brownish subapical rings. The true identification character is the shape of the inferior appendages.