Calicnemia akahara - New to science!

Yesterday was a happy day with the publication of an article on Zootaxa by Phan, Karube and myself on the Calicnemia of Vietnam. It introduced a new species that is in outward appearance very similar to C. miles, but it misses the black abdomen tip of that species. It also has a very different genital ligula, placing it in group 1 (thin flagella), not in group 2 (as C. miles). So, if you are unsure, get out your magnifying glass! Luckily the abdomen tip is a great help and C. miles is restricted to northern Vietnam, with C. akahara, for that is what the new species is called, occurs in central Vietnam. Here are some photos from various encounters with the species last year, between late April and early August.

Calicnemia akahara, male, from Quang Binh Province. Note the completely red abdomen. 

Calicnemia akahara in copula, the female similar to C. miles, but withers dark dorsum to S8-10, but otherwise mostly orangy brown abdomen. This pair from Quang Tri Province.

An aged male in early August from Bach Ma National Park

More details of Calicnemia haksik* **

* This post was adjusted after true identity of C. uenoi was established.
** This post was adjusted after the identity of C. mortoni was rectified as C. haksik.

A few weeks back I found a blackish Calicnemia in Yen Bai with just a little red at the beginning of the abdomen, superficially like C. haksik. But I postulated it is in fact C. uenoi, based on the structure of the appendages and coloration, although Asahina (1997) described more segments reddish. Now I found a few C. mortoni of which I could take close-ups to prove at least that the Yen Bai species is not mortoni.

Calicnemia haksik, male and female

C. haksik appendages

C. uenoi appendages

C. haksik penile organ ventral

C. uenoi penile organ ventral

More Calicnemia at Yen Bai*

*Article adjusted after identification of C. uenoi

On 10 and 11 May, when visiting Yen Bai Province and checking streams along the QL32, I found two more Calicnemia species. Like earlier C. miles, C. eximia and C. soccifera were all present and easily found at many places with shallow streams, rocks and bushes. But in the forest I bumped into two more species that apparently required a different habitat altogether, preferring forested surroundings with grass or plant cover on the ground and muddy areas. The first was C. erythromelas, the species that had been missing until now. It shares the general appearance with C. soccifera, but has all dark legs and orange thorax stripes, not grey, and colorful markings on the dorsum of the head, where C. soccifera only has two small light spots. It also has a huge ventral tooth on the superior appendages and, yes, a different penile organ. The other looks very much like C. mortoni, but the red on S3 is much reduced when compared to specimens I have seen on Tam Dao, the antehumeral stripe clearly defined and the female with a two-toned abdomen. Coloration and appendages fit well C. uenoi, a little known species from Sa Pa. (Later I found this species to be common in Sa Pa, although Asahina (1997) described it as having S1-5 reddish. But in fact he only illustrates this for the female).

Presumed Calicnemia uenoi male. Note almost no red on S3 and yellow at base of grey stripe on thorax.

Calicnemia uenoi in copula

Calicnemia uenoi, immature male

Male Calicnemia erythromelas

Another male

Note the extensive yellow and orange markings on the dorsum of the head

The female of C. erythromelas (caught in tandem)

Penile organ of C. erythromelas in lateral view

Penile organ of C. erythromelas in ventral view, very different from C. soccifera

Note the enormous ventral tooth, protruding even ventrally past the inferior appendages

Penile organ of Calicnemia uenoi in lateral view

The same in ventral view. 

Appendages of Calicnemia uenoi in lateral view. Note, hard to see in the picture, the small ventrobasal tooth to the superior appendages

4 species of Calicnemia*

*Adjusted after C. mortoni was re-identified as C. haksik.

Asahina (1997) mentions 4 species of Calicnemia for Vietnam, C. miles, C. uenoi, C. erythromelas and C. eximia. A fifth species (C. mortoni, although this record likely refers to C. haksik, which had not yet been described at the time) was recorded at Tam Dao in 1975 (Pritykina in Do & Dang, 2007). On top of this, Sebastien Delonglee in May 2013 found another species at Ba Vi that looked very much like C. soccifera. He did not collect it and could not get shots of the penile organ to be absolutely certain. But be that as it may, at least 6 species of Calicnemia occur in Northern Vietnam.

On April 30 we followed the QL32 into Yen Bai Province in search of good weather. There was a promise of clear skies in the west. It all ended in mist, but first we had some good spells just west of Nam Bung. There on the rocks along the road where small streams run down we found many Calicnemia. A few C. miles, large numbers of C. eximia and quite a few C. soccifera. Indeed identical to the shots on Sebastien's blog, but we also got shots of the penile organ to ascertain the identity. Interestingly, this species was described as recent as 2013.

On May 2 at Tam Dao we also found, in rainy weather, several C. haksik. I am happy to introduce all 4 species here, although C. miles and C. haksik were already featured before.

Calicnemia eximia, male

C. eximia, female

Another C. eximia male

Beautiful Calicnemia miles, a male

Copula of Calicnemia haksik

Calicnemia haksik, a male

Calicnemia soccifera, male, not at all rare in Vietnam, apparently

The female of Calicnemia soccifera

An immature male, thorax stripes still yellow

The typical penile organ of C. soccifera

And the distinctive appendages, with double tooth on the venter of the superior appendage

Calicnemia miles

Asahina mentions Calicnemia miles from Lai Chau, a specimen collected in May 1995. Travelling along the QL 32 on April 17 in Yen Bai Province, we checked a small stream coming of the rocks and found Rhipidolestes owadai and a small red damselfly. As you may have guessed it was Calicnemia miles. Possibly it occurs more widely in Northern Vietnam. I already mentioned the species a few posts back; here are an additional shot in hand and a close-up of the appendages.

Calicnemia miles, male, a stunning little damselfly

Inferior appendages with reddish base and remainder black.

17 April, QL 32 back from Sapa to Ba Vi, and Ba Vi on the 18th

On the 17th we drove back from Sapa along the QL 32, as we had originally planned as the route to use towards Sapa. It is a great drive, but long and although quiet (devoid of heavy traffic) and generally good pavement, it twists and turns, thus slowing progress. But the scenery is nice and the hills are strewn with streams. I could do only very few stops, but the few we did produced great species. One open stream in an area with degraded forest had at least 30 or so Archineura hetaerinoides, yes again, so maybe not so rare after all. The same stream also had a billion or so Zygonyx iris. Another stop produced a fresh Bayadera male, still to be identified. And yet another stop a Rhipidolestes owadai male and a beautiful male Calicnemia miles. Lastly, a small stream over rocks by the road had 15 or so fantastic Coeliccia chromothorax.

Ba Vi on the 18th was shrouded in mist, so species were hard to find. I only saw a single Coeliccia scutellum, a fresh male and a female Indocnemis orang, first of the season, and also the first 4 fresh Agriomorpha fusca, besides a few common dragonflies.

Fresh male Bayadera species, work to be done

Female Coeliccia chromothorax

And the magnificent male Coeliccia chromothorax

Not to be confused with C. chromothorax, immature male Indocnemis orang, also with yellow thorax

The very beautiful Calicnemis miles, male

Male Rhipidolestes owadai

Brilliant Archineura hetaerinoides, temporarily held captive, male

Tam Dao! Ochre Titan!*

*Adjusted after true identity of C. mortoni was established as C. haksik and again after it became clear that C. mingxiensis is just a synonym of C. cyanomelas (removed from this entry).

Today, April 9, I went to Tam Dao with my birding pal Hein. The birding was okay, but it was rather misty, so it could have been better. Halfway the afternoon it became better and we even had a little weak sun, so we went to the Belvedere Resort surroundings and ran into several very cool damselfly species along the trail. 3 of these I had not seen before. And two of these belonged to genera I had not seen before in Vietnam and one even to a family that was new to me! The adrenalin!

The prize of the day goes to the fresh male of the magnificently weird Philoganga vetusta, as large as it is weird really. A frightening damselfly, measuring 7.5 solid heavy-bodied centimeters. The other new species was Rhipidolestes owadai, of which I saw both male and female Coeliccia scutellum created some confusion, as the fresh males looked rather different from what I am used to. Finally, the fourth species was a fresh female Calicnemia mortoni.

This is exactly as Hein (thank you!) spotted it perched, immature male Philoganga vetusta

In hand. The colors are starting to show, but for the real thing, visit Sebastien's page.

Head in close-up.

And the very simple appendages in ventral view.

Male Rhipidolestes owadai. Note the spine on S9. A wonderful species.

The female is rather similar to the male, but less dark on the wingtips

Immature male Coeliccia scutellum. Much yellower on flanks, prothorax and abdomen.

C. scutellum close-up. See also dorsal pattern of head, almost absent in mature male

Female C. scutellum, likewise immature and with more extensive yellow on S9-10.

And finally, immature female Calicnemia haksik