Lyriothemis kameliyae published in Zootaxa

Yesterday Lyriothemis kameliyae was published in Zootaxa. This is not at all a difficult species to recognize once you realize that it is actually different from L. bivittata. Problem is that all Lyriothemis species flying around in southeast Asia with a double yellow lateral marking on the otherwise brown thorax and with a red abdomen, plus dark streaks at the wing bases, had been lumped together under L. bivittata. In fact, there are at least several species involved. L. kameliyae occurs together with L. bivittata in northern Vietnam. Xin Yu already wrote to me he had collected L. kameliyae in China. Undoubtedly it is quite widespread. As beautiful as it is, it remained anonymous, until now!

Male L. bivittata (top) and male L. kameliyae (bottom). Spot the differences!

April 2 - Huu Lien and first gomphids

April 2 was a nice spring day to look for the first gomphids of the season in Huu Lien Nature Reserve. As always, the first impression was of clearance progressing, but like last year end of March, Trigomphus kompieri was about at various locations. The first I bumped into was a female, but like last year, I could not catch it and did not get a picture! Trigomphus is genus of early gomphids. Paragomphus may actually be year round, although rare in the winter, I think they may be around. Anyway, there was a male about too, interacting with the Trigomphus. I also saw quite a few Paracercion melanotum and fully mature Gynacantha subinterrupta. Below a few photos.

The first male Trigomphus kompieri of the day, a little difficult to get a clear shot.

And the third. Somewhat easier. The second eluded the camera.

Paragomphus capricornis against a muddy stream background.

Paracercion melanotum male

And Gynacantha subinterrupta showing well

Coeliccia mientrung - a splendid new species

Today a new species of Coeliccia was published: Coeliccia mientrung. This is a species that looks quite a bit like Coeliccia pyriformis, but it differs actually in quite a few details of its coloration. The yellow on the abdomen tip is restricted in comparison, the antehumerals are much shorter, the eyes are colored differently, to name a few. Of course, the genital ligula is somewhat different too, and the shape of the superior appendages are also different. This may sound like a lot, but in fact many it is still rather similar. In Phong Nha - Ke Bang the two species occur side by side. To the north apparently only C. pyriformis occurs and to the south C. mientrung. For details and additional information, please see the Zootaxa article.

Female of Coeliccia mientrung.

The male of C. mientrung, with three-colored eyes, short antehumerals and reduced yellow on the abdomen tip.

Its look-alike, C. pyriformis. Note the blue eyes of the mal, the banana-shaped antehumerals and the large yellow abdomen tip.

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. 

Just around the corner - Lao PDR

On February 21 I had to go to Luang Prabang in Lao PDR for a meeting. In between reading papers for the meeting I popped into the woods close to the hotel. It was smack in the dry season, but I managed to find two species that I had not seen before, not in Vietnam and not anywhere else. The first was pretty Coeliccia dydima. This species might be confused with the similar C. cyanomelas. C. dydima is a common species in Thailand and Lao PDR, but has not been found yet in Vietnam. And maybe that is because it does not occur there. But I will keep on looking. It was nice to get some experience with it in neighboring Lao. I saw at least 10.
The other species was Aciagrion pallidum. This species  has been reported also from Vietnam, although I have not been able to find it yet, so likely it is localized and/or rare in there. It appears to be a dry season species, when it hides in dry forest and waits for the rains. The rufous abdomen is a good character. I saw only the one male.
Lastly, I also saw few Coeliccia poungyi poungyi, always a nice species to bump into. Here are a few record shots.

Here is the male of Coeliccia dydima. Note the limited extent of the blue on the abdomen tip and the large anterior dorsal markings on the thorax (in comparison to C. cyanomelas)

Here is the female. The pattern on S9 is a good feature.

And an immature male (note the color of the eyes). It is very yellow, not blue, and the dorsal markings on the form a pair of somewhat immature C. onoi like spots, not yet separated into two sets of two (meaning 4 separated spots in total). 

How about this? Beautiful, but inconspicuous, male Aciagrion pallidum.

Finally, Coeliccia poungyi poungyi, a female. Note the solid yellow abdomen tip.

And the exquisite male!

Chlorogomphus aritai - another of those magnificent species

Early May last year I was driving along route 14 through Thua Thien - Hue Province, close to the Laotian border. From the corner of my right eye I noticed a large butterfly floating above some bushes by the roadside. But no, a dragonfly! There is very little traffic on route 14 at this point, so I confidently slammed on the brakes and jumped out the car. A magnificent large Chlorogomphid was cruising nearby with colored wings. I was able to catch it and take some in hand shots, before putting it on a bush for some posed photos. Soon after she (it was female) flew off into the nearby forest. What a truly magnificent specimen. I was under the impression it was Chlorogomphus caloptera, but it turned out it was Chlorogomphus aritai, a species described in 2013 by Haruki Karube on the basis of specimens from Bach Ma National Park. Bach Ma centers on mountains close to the sea near Da Nang, but in fact that is not at all far from where I found it, as Vietnam is very narrow at this point. Although the female of C. aritai is superficially similar to the female of C. caloptera, they are not that closely related within the genus. Haruki places C. aritai in the subgenus Nubatamachlorus with C. nakamurai, another species with a female possessing colorful wings, although not nearly as striking as in C. aritai. These species are sought after by insect collectors, and as they are all scarce and under pressure of many negative environmental impacts, this is highly regrettable. I was happy to see her unharmed and hope I will encounter her offspring this year.

Fantastic Chlorogomphus aritai female, posed

The same female in hand before release

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