Rhinocypha chaoi Wilson 2004
Creators: name: K. D. P. Wilson
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Odonata
Chlorocyphidae
Rhinocypha
Rhinocypha chaoi

description: <i>RHINOCYPHA CHAOI</i> SP. NOV. Figures 1-3 Material. — Holotype &amp;male;: Dadingshan, Shikengkong, NGuangdong, China, 30-VI-2000, K.D. <b>P</b>. Wilson leg. — <b>Paratypes</b>: 3 &amp;male;,, 2 &amp;female;, ditto, 30-VI-2000, coll. K.D. <b>P</b>. Wilson. — Other material: 4 <i>&amp;male;</i>, Nankunshan, Guangdong, 23°35'N by 113°45'E, 26-V-2002, Tong, Xiaoli leg.; — 4 &amp;male;, 1 &amp;female;, Shimentai Provincial Nature Reserve, 7-VIH-2003, coll. K.D.P. Wilson. Holotype will be deposited at Tai Lung Experimental Station, Agri­ culture, Fisheries and Conservation De­ partment, Lin Tong Mei, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong SAR, China. <i>Etymology</i>. — Named in honour of the late Chao Hsiu-fu. <i>Description</i>. — <i>Rhi-</i> <i>nocypha</i> with black synthorax, streaked above with large, elon­ gate blue mesothoracic triangle, sides streaked predominately cyan blue above and bright yellow, below and abdomen almost entirely coloured a bril­ liant cyan blue. MALE. — Labium pale cream with palpi tipped black­ ish-brown. Labrum, genae, clypeus, mandibles, antennae, shiny black. Frons above and top of head, matt black. Five minute pale spots on top of head; a pair of spots of similar size to the lateral ocelli, each lying just to their outer side, a pair of spots each lying at outer ends of the occiput and one lying at its centre. Prothorax black with three areas of small pale bluish spots laterally, frontal lobe bordered pale bluish and oblong pale bluish spot at centre of the posterior lobe (Fig. 2). Synthorax black with prominent, pale blue, well developed mesothoracic triangle extending to antealar sinus, a pale blue antehumeral stripe above and below the humeral suture, a broad yellow stripe at base of metepistemum and a fine pale blue, curved stripe at posterior, upper comer, and a broad triangular stripe at comer of metepimeron (Fig. 2). Coxae black with posterior border finely pale. Legs black with white expanded inner tibia. Inner face of femora pale. Forewing hyaline. The maximum breadth of forewing <i>is</i> slightly larger than hindwing; typically 5.0 mm forewing and 6.0 mm hindwing; the ratio of hindwing to forewing <i>is</i> 1.2. The hindwing ratio of length to breadth is 4.1-4.3. Slightly more than one-third of the hindwing is coloured blackish inlaid with rectangular windows reflecting metallic violet (<i>Fig</i>. 1). R3 arising two cells distal to the subnodus. Pterostigma finely bordered black with pale bluish-white coloured centres. Abdomen black with small lateral cyan blue patch segment 1 and 2, large blue rectangular patches on dorsum of segments 2-9 as illustrated in Figure 3. <i>female</i>. - Head black with paler yellow markings than male. Base of mandibles, genae, and base of antennae pale yellow. Face of frons with a <i>pair</i> of pale yellow triangular spots. Top of head with same minute pale yellow spots and an additional pair <i>in</i> front of the anterior ocellus. Thorax with similar pattern to male but extent of markings <i>is</i> much reduced and coloured pale yellow. Mesothoracic triangle narrow at base but long, extending to antealar <i>sinus</i>. Legs black without expanded tibia and <i>inner</i> face of femora pale. All wings entirely hyaline with white pterostigmas smoked with brown at proximal and distal areas, subtending 5-6 cells. Abdomen black with fine, interrupted pale yellow stripes at lateral margin and below from 1-7. Very fine interrupted dorsal stripe 2-7. <i>Measurements</i> (mm). — <i>&amp;male;</i> abd. + app. 19.0-21.0, hw 23.0-24.5; &amp;female; abd. + app. 18.5-20.0; hw 26.0-26.5. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS. - Males ofthis species can be separated from all other <i>Rhi ­ nocypha</i> by its well developed mesothoracic triangle, distinctive thoracic and abdominal colouration, its hyaline forewing and broad hindwing with dark apex. REMARKS. — There are seven species of <i>Rhinocypha</i> known from Chinese territory: (1) <i>R.fenestrella</i> Rambur known from Burma, China (Guangxi, Hainan and Tibet), Laos, Nepal, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, (2) <i>R. baibarana</i> Matsumura from Taiwan, (3) <i>R. biforata</i> Selys from Burma, China (Hainan), Indonesia, India, Laos, Nepal, Peninsular Malaysia, and Thailand, (4) <i>R. cuneata</i> Selys from Bangladesh, China, India and Nepal, (5) <i>R. drusilla</i> Needham, known only from Fujian, Guangxi, Hainan (unpub.) and Zhejiang, (6) <i>R. perforata</i> (Percheron), which is widespread throughout southern China, Indo-China, Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia (including ssp. <i>limbata)</i> and (7) <i>R. trimaculata</i> Selys from India and Tibet. <i>Indocypha katharina</i> (Needham), a large brick red <i>species</i> from broad <i>rivers</i>, described from southern China as a species of <i>Rhinocypha,</i> belongs to <i>Indocypha</i> (WILSON &amp; REELS, 2003). The subgenus <i>Aristocypha</i> Laidlaw includes <i>baibarana</i> with blue abdomens and others with more or less black abdomens such as <i>fenestrella</i> and <i>cuneata.</i> Both the fore and hindwings of this subgenus are highly coloured with vitreous spots and the hindwing <i>is</i> broader than forewing. R3 arises at the subnodus or occasionally at least 1 cell distal to subnodus. <i>Rhinocypha fulgipennis</i> (Guerin-Meneville, 1831) from neighbouring Vietnam <i>is</i> also a member of this subgenus. The hindwing ratio of breadth to length for <i>fenestrella is</i> 1:3.6 and its ratio of forewing breadth to hindwing breadth <i>is</i> 1:1.24. <i>R. biforata</i> and <i>R. perforata</i> have hindwing and forewing of similar petiolate shape and breadth. They also have short mesothoracic triangles. These two species belong to the subgenus <i>Heliocypha</i> Fraser. The hindwing ratio of breadth to length for <i>biforata</i> is typically 1:5.5. The classification of <i>chaoi</i> at subgeneric level is slightly problematical. It has a long prominent mesothoracic triangle typical of <i>Aristocypha</i> and hindwing slightly larger than forewing but a hyaline forewing. These characters are features of FRASER’s (1934) <i>bifasciata</i> group. <i>Rhinocypha trimaculata</i> has a black abdomen, lacks a coloured mesothoracic triangle and has highly coloured fiery, coppery red wings. <i>R. drusilla</i> has similar wing shape and venation, but has a red coloured abdomen and short mesothoracic triangle. <i>R. watsoni</i> van Tol &amp; Rozendaal, 1995, which was recendy described from Vietnam, is considered closely related to <i>drusilla.</i> It is a black species with short uncoloured mesothoracic <i>triangle</i> and uncoloured forewing. Both <i>drusilla</i> and <i>watsoni</i> lack the metallic reflecting windows of <i>chaoi. R. seducta</i> HAMALAINEN &amp; KARUBE (2001a), recently described from Vietnam, has similar venation, a hyaline forewing but somewhat proportionately narrower hindwing and the abdomen <i>is</i> almost entirely black. <i>R. orea</i> HAMALAINEN &amp; KARUBE (2001b), also from Vietnam, <i>is</i> another black species with hyaline forewing and opaque, blackish hindwing with violet, green and coppery reflections.
description: Published as part of <i>K. D. P. Wilson, 2004, New Odonata from South-China, pp. 423-432 in Odonatologica 33 (4)</i> on pages 423-425, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3375618
description: {"references": ["WILSON, K. D. P. &amp; G. T. REELS, 2003. Odonata of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, part I, Zygoptera. Odonatologica 32 (3): 237 - 279.", "FRASER, F. C., 1934. Fauna o f British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Odonata, Vol. 2, Taylor &amp; Francis, London.", "HAMALAINEN, M. &amp; H. KARUBE, 2001 a. Two new species of Caloptera damselflies from southern Vietnam (Zygoptera: Chlorocyphidae, Euphaeidae). Odonatologica 30 (2): 209 - 215.", "HAMALAINEN, M. &amp; H. KARUBE, 2001 b. Rhinocypha orea spec, nov., a new damselfly from Vietnam (Odonata: Chlorocyphidae). Zool. Meded. Leiden 75: 405 - 408."]}