The world of Protosticta revisited

*This entry was updated on 24 December 2022 in view of two publications:

Kompier (2018) Protosticta curiosa Fraser, 1934 and its synonyms in Vietnam and China (Odonata: Platystictidae)

Phan et al. (2022) Taxonomic and faunistic notes on the genus Protosticta Selys, 1885 in Laos (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platystictidae)

In Kompier (2018) it was pointed out that P. albifrons was a junior synonym of P. curiosa Fraser, 1934, and in Phan et al. (2022) is was pointed out that in turn P. curiosa is a junior synonym of P. trilobata Fraser, 1933.

To my dismay I noticed that I had not yet published here on the blog 4 species of Protosticta found in the course of last year. To be more precise, one had been published by Jan van Tol in 2008, P. linnaei. Another had been known for a while, but was considered a dark form of P. satoi. It was published last year, by me, as P. nigra. A third species I found in a small touristic area with wet forest near Bao Loc. This was P. proboscis. And lastly I ran into yet another species, that occurred side by side with P. satoi in Xuan Son National Park: P. trilobata, described by Fraser in 1933. All this just goes to show that you really need to give these little critters a close look. For let's be honest, they do look alike a lot. It is really in many cases only possible to tell them apart by a close look at their tiny caudal appendages. See below for photos of all species, but if you are interested in their diagnostic features, please read up on them in Phan & Kompier, 2016 and Kompier, 2016.

Female of P. trilobata. Note the large white spot on S9, the thin black metapleural line and the pattern on the prothorax.

The male of P. trilobata. Similar thin black line and prothorax pattern. The true and straightforward feature is of course the shape of the caudal appendages, but that is impossible to see here.

The male of P. linnaei. Note the pattern of the prothorax. Again, the appendages would be the give-away feature, but you need a microscope.

The handsome female P. linnaei. Note the lack of a white spot on S9.

Now, this handsome devil is more easy to identify, thanks to the black thorax. This is P. nigra.

Yes, and this fellow is again rather similar to the previous ones, before P. nigra. It is P. proboscis, its name coined after the drooping central lobe at the apex of the appendages. Anyone that can identify it from a distance is a true connoisseur. 

The world of Protosticta

Once you start looking at Protosticta species, you will find there is a whole world out there! Only recently I published a paper with Toan giving details on the currently known 9 species from this genus for Vietnam. Two of these are large and different: Protostica grandis and P. ngoai. One has very typical appendages: P. spinosa. The remaining 6 are very similar. I had not yet seen several of these, but on May 5 in Quang Tri province I found an area where I kept bumping into one of these: P. caroli (first described by Jan van Tol in 2008). It can be identified by the only partially pale S9, the stubby inferiors (compared to for instance P. socculus) and the prothorax of which always the posterior lobe is extensively dark, which extends onto the central lobe. But really one needs a microscope to settle its identity for sure.

In the same area, but on a drier slope, I ran into what seemed a "very" different species. A little smaller, it was crispier, in that the white rings on the abdomen were really white, the prothorax had only on oval black spot in the posterior lobe, it has all white S9 and under the microscope there are also important differences in the appendages (like a missing lobe). Careful checking at home showed it was none other than P. socculus.

Relatively boring P. caroli. It shares with P. socculus the broad black line over the metapleural suture. S9 is only two-thirds pale, but not truly white, and the abdominal rings are likewise not very crisp.

Another specimen, similarly with limited white on S9.

A male in hand. This specimen has minimal dark markings on the prothorax, but still all dark posterior lobe, dark extending onto central lobe in two triangles, remainder off-white. The colour of the thorax is a dull dark green. 

P. socculus. Note the very white abdominal rings, the crisp white prothorax with contrasting posterior lobe

A close-up of the prothorax. Note also that the colour of the thorax is a different green.

Four new Protosticta species described for Vietnam

Today Zootaxa published our article on Protosticta in Vietnam (Quoc Toan Phan & Tom Kompier: A study of the genus Protosticta Selys, 1855, with descriptions of four new species from Vietnam (Odonata: Platystictidae)). Two species I already published on my blog. Today I could officially add their names: P. socculus and P. spinosa. Please see under Protosticta.

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.

Two interesting females with their males

On April 5 I flushed a fresh damsel from a stream in Cao Bang Province at the foot of Pia Oac Mountain that upon study through my binoculars appeared to be a female of Sinosticta debra, a species I found first for Vietnam last year in Xuan Son National Park. But it flew off before I could take a picture. Luckily on April 18 I saw another female briefly in Xuan Son and this time managed to take a quick ID shot. The same day I also managed some photos of the male. Probably, as this is an early species, the next time I visit they will already have receded in the mists of time.

On April 19, this time in Huu Lien, I saw several Gomphidia abbotti, a not so common, but widespread, species in at least the north of Vietnam. But I also caught a female, something I had not seen previously.

Gomphidia abbotti, male

And Gomphidia abbotti, female

The vulvar lamina of the female

And the final segments in lateral view

Something completely different, elegant Sinosticta debra, male

Undoubtedly as elegant, the female, at least a photo

Coeliccia galbina - a cool addition to the Vietnamese list

Sunday October 19 turned out to be a nice day, so I drove to Huu Lien. I had not been there for a while and wanted to collect a few of the Paracercion (yes, not Pseudagrion, we know that know thanks to Xin Yu) species novum for descriptive purposes. I did not expect new things so much, because we had visited Huu Lien many times last autumn. Indeed, most was familiar. But on the way back through the forest I noticed a large damselfly. Female Indocnemis orang, I thought, based on size and thorax pattern, but then I noticed vague orange appendages. Was this a male? Then what is this!? I did not dare take pictures in situ, but decided to catch it and take pictures in hand. Indeed, this was clearly an unknown Coeliccia species! At home I checked what literature I have and finally came upon Wilson & Reels' paper on damselflies in Guangxi (2003). They described a new Coeliccia, C. galbina. In fact, in the detail of the description it differs in the color of the stripes on the thorax, more yellow/green in the blue, and the same for the lateral markings on S1, but other characteristics are a close fit, and indeed penile organ and appendages fit too. This species is remarkable for the vague orange markings on S9-10, that have a hint of blue, and the pale orange appendages. I do not know how many records there are from Guangxi, presumably few if any besides the types. Two were collected in May, one teneral, from limestone karst hills in Longrui, in the Southwest of Guangxi. It is probably no coincidence that Huu Lien is also limestone karst hills. Longrui is about as far from Huu Lien as Hanoi. In other words, just around the corner.
The slightly more blue, not yellow/green in the thoracic markings I postulate as caused by the maturity of the specimen compared to the May specimens of the description. Such change is very common on blue Coeliccia species.

A fantastic find: Coeliccia galbina, male, new for Vietnam

The same male in dorsal view

The appendages and S9-10 in dorsal view. Note the strange orange-blue (purple) markings and pale orange appendages

Appendages in lateral view, the superiors with a ventral process with a black tooth

The penile organ, distinctive

Drepanosticta revisited - a new species after all*

*This entry adjusted August 8, 2018. The new species described below has been published by Dow & Kompier (2018) as Drepanosticta emtrai.

Today, June 27, I had a home day, during my 3 week survey of Northern Vietnam. But of course I could not stay in, so I went for a short trip to Hoa Binh Province, to a touristic site Sebastien introduced to me. Sorry to say, I hated it, but while I was there I noticed a female Coeliccia that was big and had the colors of C. uenoi. That would be a great discovery, so I looked around for the male. I did not find it. But while doing so, I noticed a Drepanosticta. It looked as it was supposed, dark thorax, small rings on dark abdomen, blue abdomen tip. All the works of D. hongkongensis, see the other blog entry on that species. Nevertheless, in hand the appendages appeared different and because it was a new location, I ventured to take it with me. Ba Vi is of course not that far from Hoa Binh, but far enough. When I got home I checked it under the microscope and lo and behold! It showed the same lobe on the superior appendage as the specimen from Ba Vi I took pictures of last year and now, after seeing a great many D. hongkongensis, had sort of dismissed as aberrant (see the first Drepanosticta entry). There are in fact many differences in the appendages, apart from its slightly smaller size, and like I thought of last year's specimen, it has blue markings on the prothorax and also a small blue mark at the base of the second pair of wings. There can be no doubt, this is a different Drepanosticta species and the same as that encountered last year on Ba Vi mountain. Clearly, there are two species in that forest, possibly one appearing earlier (May) and the other later (June/July)!

The two species side by side. On top is Drepanosticta hongkongensis, albeit larger than originally described by Wilson and with pale anterior lobe to the prothorax. In this scan a preserved specimen was used for comparison, so it is slightly duller than in real life. The bottom specimen is the new species from Hoa Binh. It is marginally smaller.

Appendages of D. hongkongensis in dorsal view. Note the blunt tooth to the inferiors.

The same for the new species, note the acute tooth, slanted posteriorly.

Ventral view of appendages of D. hongkongensis. Note the blunt tooth to the inferiors and absence in this view of a process to the superiors (which in fact have a small process, as can be seen in dorsolateral view).

The rather differently shaped appendages of the new species (Drepanosticta emtrai). Dorsum of superiors smoothly rounded and large ventral process at 3/4th of length of superiors.

In dorsolateral view a small process can be seen in D. hongkongensis on the inside of the superior appendages.

This is clearly much more prominent in the new species (Drepanosticta emtrai)

Ventral view of appendages of D. hongkongensis. Note almost straight outer edge of inferiors, that smoothly bend inwards towards the tip.

This is very different in Drepanosticta emtrai. At the halfway point (where the acute tooth can be seen) the appendages make a clear bend outwards and curve almost semicircular back inwards again.

The prothorax shows blue on the lateral lobes and on the anterior lobe.

Here in view of the complete thorax blue can also be seen at the bases of the wings, notably the second pair.

Eventful day at Tay Thien, a few more goodies

This weekend (June 15-16) proved pretty productive at Tay Thien. Apart from the species already described, I encountered about 50 more. Here are a few other highlights

The first was this beautify male Polycanthagyna erythromelas. I saw several females flying about, but this male resting for a short while in a nearby bush was a treat.

And in the lower river stretches were several Lamelligomphus formosanus active. Once you know the species, it is not so confusing anymore.

Another species present in good numbers, towards the evening in the open and during the day in dark clearings, was Macromidia rapida. I was lucky with a male that perched nearby.

The female of Sinorogomphus sachiyoae. Very much like the male in appearance. After these shots she happily continued ovipositing.

Another cool female, Heliogomphus scorpio. The male was active nearby as she was ovipositing near the nunnery. Like the male, very pale (white) metepimeron, unlike Heliogomphus sp., which occurred at the same stretch, but is much yellower.

Here a close-up of her pretty face. Note the horn on the occipital ridge.

There was something else I did not expect, Drepanosticta hongkongensis. I noticed a male at 350m asl beyond the nunnery. Under the microscope it is identical to the specimens from Ba Vi. I thought the species there was known only from that location in Vietnam, but when this is D. hongkongensis, well, in that case it is not surprising it occurs elsewhere. Although the caudal appendages are identical, the anterior lobe of the prothorax is all black, as it should be for D. hongkongensis, unlike the specimens from Ba Vi.

The penile organ, identical

As are the caudal appendages

Protosticta beaumonti - interesting addition to the Vietnamese list

June 7 we visited Mau Son Mountain, close the border with China. Sebastien had visited the area the previous weekend and was plagued by mist. We had mostly cloudy conditions. Nevertheless we also ran into most of the species he saw and a few others. One species that grabbed my attention was the Protosticta there, that looked different from what I am used to see from P. satoi, a species that occurs in a light and a dark color phase and moreover is apparently rather variable in body length. It has caused me before to be convinced for a while (in Ba Be National Park) that two species were involved, so extreme is the individual size variation. And although the Protosticta of Mau Son was long-bodied, it was about the same length as my largest P. satoi from Ba Be. Nevertheless, it had quite a different and consistent thorax pattern, with a clear elongated spot on the metepisternum. Under the microscope the appendages, at a first glance very similar to P. satoi, do in fact display some differences, with several more pronounced lobes and processes. Additionally the dorsum of S9 of the female is dark, not white as in P. satoi. This combination convinced me enough to make me search the literature.

Jan van Tol (2008) erected P. satoi as a different species, but postulated that it might be conspecific with P. beaumonti (Wilson, 1997) from southern China. Do Manh Cuong (2011) discusses the whole issue. It is clear though that the Protosticta from Mau Son is structurally different in detail and consistent with the description by Wilson, including the patterning of the female abdomen. Apparently, the species had been overlooked in Vietnam. I apologize for the bad close-ups. These little critters are, well, little.

Protosticta beaumonti, male, in full glory

The thorax pattern, different male

The female. Apart from the similar spot on the flanks, note the dark dorsum of S9.

In close-up for the skeptics

The complete and long bodied male

Appendages of P. beaumonti in lateral view

Those of male Protosticta satoi, indeed, one could think they were similar 

But look close in ventral view, look at the processes of the superior appendages of P. beaumonti

Compare with the smooth appearance of P. satoi

And it is not just the angle, here dorsal view of P. satoi, likewise, much smoother