Coeliccia yunnanensis Dow & Zhang 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Dow, Rory A.
name: Zhang, Hao-Miao
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Odonata
Platycnemididae
Coeliccia
Coeliccia yunnanensis

description: Coeliccia yunnanensis sp. nov.
(Figs 2, 4–8, 10, 12–14, 17–20, 22, 25–28, 30, 32, 34, 36)
Coeliccia sp. 3;— Zhang 2017: 17, Fig. 22e.
Type material: Holotype. 1 ♂ (C32), 25 vi 2015, Tongbiguan (24.61522N, 97.58558E, ca 1245 m a.s.l.), Yingjiang County, Dehong Dai & Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, China, in RMNH. Paratypes. 1 ♂ (C33), 1 ♀ (C34), data as holotype, in coll. Dow; 7 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, 24 vi 2015, other data as holotype, in coll. HMZ.
Etymology. The species is named Coeliccia yunnanensis, the Coeliccia from Yunnan, in reflection of Yunnan’s remarkable diversity of Odonata.
Description of holotype male. Head (Figs 2, 4). Labium whitish except hooks of labial palps, which are black. Labrum shining black. Mandible bases largely bluish white, black below clypeus and narrowly beside genae. Postclypeus shining black, anteclypeus black. Genae pale blue, this colour intruding onto frons above clypeus for some distance. Antenna black with top part of scape, base of pedicel white, top of pedicel dark brown, rest missing. Frons and vertex mostly black, with small white mark behind median ocellus, whitish streaks based on outer edge of lateral ocellus, directed towards rear of antenna base, but not reaching it. Ocelli white. Whitish, small, elongate oval, transverse postocular spots. Underside of head mostly black with pair of very small pale markings on either side of point of attachment, just below occipital ridge.
Thorax. Prothorax with pronotum entirely black (Fig. 10), upper part propleuron black, yellowish below (Fig. 12). Anterior carina of anterior pronotal lobe same height as main part (Fig. 12). Posterior pronotal lobe simple, raised along free margin. Synthorax (Figs 17, 18) with mesepisternum black with pair of broad yellow markings occupying lower ca one third of its length (Fig. 17). Mesepimeron black, metepisternum largely yellow, this extending narrowly onto mesepimeron, narrowly black beside antealar carina, this extended for short distance above metapleural suture. Metepimeron yellow. Mesokatepisternum black, small pale area in corner at rear above coxae, metakatepisternum entirely yellowish. Venter of synthorax pale. Legs (right anterior and posterior legs missing below trochanter) with coxae entirely pale, trochanters pale with tiny brown marks immediately above femurs. Femur mostly pale with broad black stripes on extensor surfaces, anterior femur with black stripe along lower ca two thirds flexor surface, similar on middle femur but stripe on flexor surface only in distal ca one-third, on posterior femur even shorter; tibia mostly pale, dark along flexor surface, tarsi including claws black and very dark brown. Wings with arc situated slightly distal to Ax 2. Fw with 17 (left) or 19 (right) Px, Hw with 16. Three post quadrilateral cells in all wings. R 4 proximal to Sn, IR 3 at or very slightly distal to it. Pt dark brown with irregular narrow white margin, almost a rhombus, covering one underlying cell entirely and up to ca one third of another.
Abdomen. S1 yellowish cream except dark brown in narrow apical annulus including posterior carina and area behind, narrowly dark on dorsum. S2 mostly pale laterally, black above. S3 pale lower laterally (e.g. immediately above margin of tergite), dark brown above becoming darker apically, narrow basal pale annulus broadly interrupted dorsally; S4–S7 similar but lacking pale basal annulus and becoming darker on successive segments, S8 almost entirely black, pale orange behind posterior carina. S9 black with pair tiny transverse basal dorsal pale orange streaks, pair tiny pale orange spots subapically, pale orange behind posterior carina. S10 pale orange (Figs 25, 26, yellow in life), centrally placed irregular black mark dorsally (Fig. 25). Anal appendages pale orange (yellow in life). In lateral view (Fig. 32) cercus relatively narrow at base, expanding ventrally at ca one-quarter length, from this point subrectangular to rounded apex, expanded part bearing a small black interior and downwards directed tooth (barely visible in lateral view). In dorsal view (Fig. 30) cercus expanded at ca one-quarter length, expansion starting with a blunt inwardly directed subbasal spur, continuing as an inner ridge, whole tapering to bluntly rounded apex. Paraproct in lateral view broad at base, narrowing (irregularly along upper margin) to just after one-third length, then cylindrical, directed gently upwards, extending well beyond cercus, turning slightly down apically to rounded tip. In ventral view (Fig. 34) tapering gently from base, slightly sinuous along inner margin, curved strongly inward subapically, small black tooth at tip.
Genital ligula. Terminal segment narrowing from base then divided into two long, narrow arms from (Fig. 22).
Measurements (mm). Abdomen without anal appendages ca 36.5, cerci ca 0.7, Hw ca 24.5.
Description of paratype female (C34). As male except as noted.
Head (Figs 5, 6). Pale markings yellowish rather than blue. Anteclypeus dull yellowish with pair brown marks, well separated above labrum. Labrum with pair of very small yellow basal streaks at edges. Large irregular yellow stripes originating between median and each lateral ocellus, running behind antennae bases towards, but not reaching, eye margin, just joined behind median ocellus. Antennae missing.
Thorax. Prothorax (Figs 7, 8, 13, 14) yellow with central part posterior pronotal lobe black, lapels brown, anterior pronotal lobe black except lower lateral part, which has small black streak at anterior carina (Fig. 7). Lower cervical spur well developed. Notopleural projection (Fig 8), present in form of rounded bulge fused with lateral part anterior pronotal lobe. Posterior pronotal lobe with short rounded lapels just separated from short but broad central part with lateral parts produced as pointed almost triangular horns directed up and slightly upwards (Figs. 13, 14). Synthorax (Figs 19, 20) with pair yellowish antehumeral stripes, not quite reaching level of apex of antealar triangle. Lateral markings of synthorax similar to male but black mark on mesepimeron above metapleural suture isolated from black mark beside antealar carina. Left anterior leg missing below coxa Wings with arculus at Ax 2, 17 (left) or 18 (right) Px in Fw, 15 Px in Hw. IR 3 distal to subnodus. Pt covering from one to one and ca two thirds underlying cells
Abdomen. S1 with area behind posterior carina yellowish brown. S2 dark brown dorsally. S8 very dark brown, orange-yellow in apical ca one third and lower part laterally for entire length, S9 almost entirely orange-yellow, S10 dark brown (Figs 27, 28). Cerci black, subtriangular in lateral view, shorter than S10. Ovipositor black, largely yellow in upper half, reaching ca same level as tips of cerci, styles missing.
Measurements (mm). Abdomen without anal appendages or ovipositor ca 36.5, Hw ca 26.
Variation in paratype males. There is an orange brown spot centrally on the labrum at the free margin in some paratypes. S8 sometimes yellow lower part sides in basal ca four fifths. The markings of S9 are variable, although the area beyond the posterior carina is always orange or yellow. The small orange markings on S9 present in the holotype are sometimes absent. In one paratype there is a large yellow apical transverse mark on S9, dorsally extended toward base as two short arms in the position of the tiny orange spots on the holotype, in two others a similar marking is present but it is divided into two and in the other five it is reduced to a pair of apical orange spots. The dorsal black mark on S10 is sometimes reduced to narrow central spot in basal half, and a small brown mark can be present lower on the sides of S10.
Measurements (mm). Abdomen without anal appendages ca 34–39.5, Hw ca 23.5–27, 17–20 Px in Fw, 17–19 Px in Hw.
Variation in other paratype females. The colour of S8-10 and the ovipositor is variable. One female has S8 orange-yellow except the basal-dorsal one-third and S9 and S10 largely black with dorsal orange-yellow spots. One female with S8 similar to Figs 27–28 but S9 and ovipositor almost black, with just the extreme tip of the ovipositor orange-yellow.
Measurements (mm). Abdomen without anal appendages or ovipositor ca 36–38.5, Hw ca 24.5–26, 18-19 Px in Fw, 17 Px in Hw.
Diagnosis. The male of C. yunnanensis is easily separated from that of all other species except those of the C. hayashii -group (defined in Phan & To 2019) from Vietnam, consisting of C. coronata Kompier, Dow & Steinhoff, 2020, C. doimedea Kompier, Dow & Steinhoff, 2020, C. duytan Phan, 2017, C. hayashi Phan & Kompier, 2016, C. lecongcoi Phan, 2019, C. matti Phan & Kompier, 2016 and C. schorri Phan & To, 2019, by the combination of the form of its antehumeral markings, genital ligula and anal appendage structure. Its anal appendages are most similar to those of C. duytan, C. hayashi and C. lencongcoi (see the illustrations in Phan & Kompier 2016, Phan 2017, Phan & To 2019) but it can be separated from these and the other hayashii -group species by the form of the terminal segment of the genital ligula, which has the terminal segment divided from base in those species but in C. yunnanensis it is only divided from just after the level of the internal fold. It also differs from the Vietnamese hayashii -group species in other details of colouration and in lacking any pruinosity on the synthorax, however a note of caution is needed with respect to this last character, pruinosity can develop with age so it is possible that very mature individuals of C. yunnanensis might develop pruinose patches on the thorax.
The female of C. yunnanensis can be distinguished from most species by the form of the posterior pronotal lobe, but comes close to three of the hayashii -group species: C. diomedea, C. duytan and C. lencongcoi in this character, however it differs from these in having the central part of the posterior pronotal lobe wider, and in the more extensive pale colouration of the middle pronotal lobe, continuous with that on the propleuron in C. yunnanensis but separated from that by black in C. diomedea, C. duytan and C. lencongcoi.
Remarks. This species inhabits similar habitats to Coeliccia tongbiguan sp. nov., seepages in shady forests, but at a higher elevation; it was only found above 1000 m a.s.l. The population was clearly larger than that of C. tongbiguan. The flight season also overlaps with C. tongbiguan; this is another a species that appears to prefer the wet season. Males normally perch on plants low above water and seldom fly. Pairs in tandem were found apparently ovipositing on small sections of dead wood or plants above the water surface. Species co-occurring with C. yunnanensis include Echo Selys, 1853 spp., Yunnanosticta spp., Planaeschna McLachlan, 1896 spp., Anotogaster Selys, 1854 spp., Coeliccia chromothorax (Selys, 1891) and Coeliccia furcata Hämäläinen, 1986. As with C. tongbiguan, C. yunnanensis is likely to occur in Myanmar as well as China.
description: Published as part of Dow, Rory A. & Zhang, Hao-Miao, 2020, Two new species of Coeliccia Kirby from Yunnan, China (Odonata: Zygoptera Platycnemididae), pp. 491-502 in Zootaxa 4838 (4) on pages 494-499, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4838.4.3, http://zenodo.org/record/4405395