Amphicnemis valentini - little critters on Phu Quoc*

* Updated January 1, 2020 as a result of the publication of a paper in Zootaxa by Kosterin & Kompier (2018) on Amphicnemis valentini.

Last year August I went to Phu Quoc Island to find a few species I had not yet seen there, but that had been recorded from the island. One of these was Amphicnemis gracilis, which had been recorded by Do et al. (2011). It turned out to be really localized. It frequents swampy forest with lots of ferns. It was not at all easy going, but once I knew how to find them, I saw plenty. They are inconspicuous, sometimes hanging from tips of leaves, but also sitting on twigs and other stuff on the muddy ground. The immature females are pretty, with their red thorax. When maturing they become bluish green. The males are shiny metallic green, with intricate white and very vulnerable appendages. All males had a recurved spike on the prothorax that had not been described for this species, but the caudal appendages are in line with what you would expect of A. gracilis. However, after Oleg Kosterin found the species in nearby Cambodia, displaying the same peculiar spike, it was published in Zootaxa as a new taxon: Amphicnemis valentini. This is the only place in Vietnam where it is known to occur.

A male Amphicnemis valentini. They hang out in the dark, so it is all flash work.

Another male

And yet another

These fleshy things are the caudal appendages

And here you can see the recurved spike from the posterior lobe of the prothorax

The really pretty immature female

And this is what she looks like all grown-up and ready for action. You might think it is a different species, but no.