Coeliccia junis Dow 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Dow, Rory A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Odonata
Platycnemididae
Coeliccia
Coeliccia junis

description: Coeliccia junis sp. nov.
(Figs 1–3, 10–11, 16–19, 24, 26–27, 32–33, 35, 38–39, 42–43, 46, 52)
Type material: Holotype: Ƌ (SAR018_PCD101), near small brown water pool near main “Day 4” stream near Bukit Nyegoh and Bukit Jugam, Bukit Mina Wild Life Corridor, Planted Forest Project, Bintulu Division, Sarawak, approximate coordinates 2.7884N, 113.3151E, ca. 90–110m a.s.l., 10 viii 2018, leg. Cheong Yi Wei, in RMNH.
Paratypes. (2 ƋƋ): 2 ƋƋ (SAR18_PCD27–28), in low pH swamp forest beside tributary to Sungai Menaung, Binyo Penyilam, Bintulu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, approximate coordinates 2.931N, 113.3903E, ca. 30m a.s.l., 20 i 2018, leg. RAD, in coll. Dow.
Etymology: Junis, a noun in apposition, named for Joanes Unggang (date of birth 16 vi 1978), friend of the author and facilitator of both the trips on which material of this new species was collected. Junis (“Joo-nis”) is the local pronunciation of Joanes’ name in the Sungai Katibas area of Sarawak, where he comes from.
Description of holotype male. Head (Figs 1–3): Labium cream except hooks of labial palps, which are black. Labrum shining black. Mandible bases shining black with grey area lower anterior corner. Clypeus black except faint grey central mark on anteclypeus. Genae shining black except immediately adjacent to mandible bases where very dark brown. Pale blue band running from eye margin to clypeus and narrowly above lateral ca. one quarter of clypeus on either side (Fig. 2). Antenna black with top part of scape and base of pedicel whitish, top of pedicel brown. Frons and vertex mostly black, with irregular, incomplete pale marking from lateral margin lateral ocellus running behind antennae to eye margin as shown in Fig. 1. Ocelli whitish. Pale yellow, elongate oval, transverse postocular spots. Underside of head (Fig. 3) black with pale marks at eye margin and behind mandible bases, these narrowly connected to small pale marks beside point of attachment of prothorax.
Thorax: Prothorax (Figs 10–11) with propleuron yellow except small dark mark in lower rear corner and black adjacent to posterior pronotal lobe. Posterior and anterior pronotal lobes black, except narrowly laterally on anterior lobe, where yellow. Anterior carina of anterior pronotal lobe almost reaching same level as main part (Fig. 11). Upper part of notopleural projection just present as small rounded lump. Middle lobe yellow laterally, black dorsally posteriorly with hemispherical, dome-like, bulge on either side bearing many short tubercles (Fig. 11). Posterior pronotal lobe simple, collar like, free margin slightly raised relative to the rest. Synthorax (Figs 16–17) with mesepisternum black with large blue antehumeral markings (Fig. 16), extending from near mesostigmal plates to ca. apex of antealar triangle, outer margin following mesepleural suture for most of length, inner margin irregularly excised centrally. Mesepimeron largely black except narrowly blue above the interpleural suture for some distance and tiny pale mark in upper corner adjacent to antealar carina (Fig. 17). Metepisternum largely blue with black stripe running from antealar carina most of way towards spiracle and narrowly black adjacent to antealar carina. Metepimeron and venter of synthorax pale yellow. Mesokatepisternum black except lower corner adjacent to metepisternum where pale yellowish, Metakatepisternum entirely pale. Legs with coxae and trochanters almost entirely pale, femur most-ly pale with black stripe along extensor surface, dark spines and black stripe along outer flexor surface in distal ca. 2/3 of anterior femur only, tibia mostly pale, dark spines and dark brown on most of flexor surface, tarsi pale with obscure darker areas, claws brown, spines dark. Wings with arc situated slightly distal to Ax 2 (only very slightly distal in right Hw). Fw with 16 Px, Hw with 14 (left) or 15 (right) Px. Two to three post quadrilateral cells in all wings. R 4 arising very slightly distal (Fw) or very slightly proximal (Hw) to Sn. Pt black with narrow irregular white margin, broad, almost a rhombus, covering one and a half to two underlying cells except in right Fw where it covers ca. two thirds of one exceptionally large underlying cell.
Abdomen (Figs 26–27): S1 (visible in Fig. 17) pale yellowish except black in narrow apical annulus including posterior carina and area behind, narrowly on dorsum. S2 pale yellowish laterally except small dark brown subtriangular area basally immediately above margin of tergite, becoming brown dorsally, this widest apically; narrow pale stripe centrally on dorsum subbasally. S3–7 pale lower laterally (e.g. immediately above lower margin of tergite), becoming brown dorsally, pale basal annulus, interrupted dorsally, and pair very faint pale subapical dorsal markings, on each segment. S8 pale lower laterally, this becoming blue apically, otherwise black (Fig. 27). S9 black basally with obscure pale area laterally, remainder pale blue, black extending central dorsally to ca. half segment length, posterior carina black but area behind blue (Figs 26–27). S10 pale blue with narrow dark brown areas at apical margin (Figs 26–27). Very broad and relatively long, black, slightly bi-lobed epiproct visible in dorsal view (Fig. 32, clearer in Fig. 33 which shows a paratype, Fig. 35 shows a sketch of the epiproct in dorsal view made from the same paratype) and raised up so just visible in lateral view (indicated with a white line in Fig. 38) as well. Cerci (Figs 32, 38) mostly blue, dark interiorly, narrowly black above apically; basal tooth present but hidden under epiproct so that only visible in an end-on view, strong central ventral interior tooth with apex before half-length, visible in lateral view (Fig. 38). In dorsal view (Fig. 32) each cercus subrectangular, apex at outer side, distinct ridge running diagonally forwards from apex part way to inner margin. In lateral view (Fig. 38) cercus tapering slightly from base to rounded apex, almost missile shaped. Paraprocts (Figs 38, 42) mostly whitish in visible parts, tips reaching same level of those of cerci, turned inwards and slightly down apically; in ventral view running almost straight after base along outer margin before turning abruptly but smoothly inwards towards apices (Fig. 42), contracting to strongly in-turned apices along inner margin from ca. two-thirds length, so that the inner margin is a semicircle in this part, the apices almost touching (Fig. 42). In lateral view paraprocts (Fig. 38) with lower margin running gently upwards from base to point of down turn, but along upper margin with an abrupt, step-like contraction just before one-third length, thereafter tapering gradually towards apices. In ventral view apical part of paraprocts appearing narrow, but actually rather flattened so that this is an artefact of the view (see Fig. 32).
Genital ligula: only examined in a paratype (Fig. 24), of typical form for the Coeliccia membranipes –group (also see Fig. 1 in Dow 2016).
Measurements (mm): Abdomen with anal appendages 35, Hw 21.
Female. Unknown.
Variation in paratypes. Note that the two paratypes (SAR18_PCD27 is shown in Figs 18–19, 24, 33, 35 and 43, SAR18_PCD 28 in Fig. 46) are somewhat discoloured after being stored in suboptimal conditions for some time and subsequently treated for fungus. The interior excision in the inner margin of the antehumeral stripes in both paratypes is a slightly different shape to that in the holotype (compare Figs 16 and 18). There are a few other, insignificant, differences in markings that are not discussed further here. The pterostigma in one paratype is shorter and deeper in all wings than in the holotype, and brown rather than black, in the other paratype the pterostigma is of similar shape to the holotype in all but one wing but is greyish brown. In both paratypes the epiproct is directed more strongly upwards than in the holotype so that it is more visible in lateral view (compare Figs 38 and 39), since it seems likely that the epiproct is capable of some movement this may merely be the result of its position at preservation rather than genuine variation. In one paratype the epiproct is largely pale rather than black. The apices of the paraprocts are not so strongly in-turned in one (compare Figs 42 and 43).
Measurements (mm): 16–18 Px in Fw, 15–16 in Hw; abdomen without anal appendages 35; Hw 21.5–22.
Diagnosis. Within the Coeliccia membranipes –group the male of C. junis is readily separated from those of C. membranipes, C. nemoricola (and allied forms) and C. cyaneothorax by its excised antehumeral markings. It is also separated from the aforementioned taxa and from C. nigrohamata, C. matok Dow, 2016, C. octogesima (Selys, 1863), C. paludensis Dow, 2016 and C. resecta by its broad epiproct. The size of the epiproct also separates C. junis from C. macrostigma Laidlaw, 1918 and C. roberti sp. nov., but in these species the epiproct is also broad although nowhere near so large. Coeliccia junis is also separated from C. roberti by the position of the ventral tooth on the cercus and indeed the details and position of this tooth also separate it from most other species in the group. In C. macrostigma the ventral tooth of the cercus is in a similar position to that of C. junis but shaped differently and the apex of the cercus is also a different shape (compare Figs 38–39 here with Fig. 60 in Dow (2016)) and the paraprocts are also different (compare Figs 42–43 here with Fig. 65 in Dow (2016)).
Remarks. To expand upon the characters mentioned in the diagnosis, the details of the male antehumeral markings of Coeliccia junis also clearly separate it from all named species in the C. membranipes –group, even those where these markings are excised (for instance compare Figs 16 and 18 here with Figs 35, 37 and 39 in Dow (2016)), however since there is clearly some variation in the markings of C. junis this character is not stressed in the diagnosis. Another character that appears to separate C. junis from both C. macrostigma and C. roberti is that the underside of the head is less extensively pale than in those species (compare Fig. 3 here with Fig. 9 and with Fig. 7 in Dow (2016)), however this character is not unique within the C. membranipes –group (for instance see Fig. 13 in Dow (2016)) and is therefore not more generally diagnostic.
The shape of the anterior pronotal lobe viewed dorsally (Fig. 10) is unusual in C. junis. In most species from the C. membranipes –group the sides of the main raised part of the anterior pronotal lobe converge slightly after the anterior carina or remain approximately parallel (sometimes rounded) to the rear in dorsal view but in C. junis they diverge; this character is shared, at least among named species, with only (both sexes of) C. paludensis (see Figs. 27 and 33 in Dow (2016)). The dome-like bulges on the middle pronotal lobe are also unusual in the C. membranipes group but are shared with C. macrostigma (both sexes) and C. roberti (where they are only present in the male).
The very large epiproct of C. junis is unusual and highly distinctive. The only other C. membranipes –group species with an epiproct that is both broad and often visible in dorsal view are C. macrostigma (see Fig. 59 in Dow (2016)) and C. roberti, but in these the epiproct is significantly smaller and less conspicuous than in C. junis. Since it is not very clear in the dorsal views of the anal appendages, Figs 35–37 show sketches of the epiproct in paratypes of C. junis (Fig. 35), C. roberti (Fig. 37) with C. nigrohamata (Fig. 26), which has a typical epiproct for the group, included for comparison
The ventral view of the cercus unobscured by the paraprocts shown in Fig. 46 is instructive as to the structure of the diagnostically important ventral expansion of the cercus, in this view it is revealed to be the most expanded part of a long ridge or fold. The general form is typical for the C. membranipes –group at least, with the expansion bearing a tooth in its basal part, but the position of the expansion in C. junis is unusually basal compared to most species of the C. membranipes –group, more of it is typically visible in lateral view than in some species (often only the apex of the tooth is visible in this view) and the tooth is large.
Coeliccia junis is only known from two locations in Bintulu Division, Sarawak, where it occurs at very low densities. At Binyo Penyilam it was found in low pH swamp forest beside a small stream; C. nigrohamata occurred on the stream in close proximity to the spot where C. junis was found. In the Bukit Mina Wild Life Corridor the holotype was collected at a small pool in a section of swampy (low pH) kerangas forest.
description: Published as part of Dow, Rory A., 2020, Revision of the genus Coeliccia Kirby in Borneo part III: Two new species from the C. membranipes-group from Sarawak and Brunei (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platycnemididae), pp. 473-492 in Zootaxa 4890 (4) on pages 474-478, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4890.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/4306459