A study of the genus Protosticta Selys, 1855, with descriptions of four new species from Vietnam (Odonata: Platystictidae) Author Phan, Quoc Toan Author Kompier, Tom text Zootaxa 2016 4098 3 529 544 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.4098.3.6 687e2f7e-8268-4707-9cd7-bf46f9753f3b 1175-5326 257723 A005DB6C-7389-4506-B2D5-392531F832EB 9. Protosticta pseudocuriosa spec. nov. ( Figure 9 A–M) Type specimens . Holotype : male and female, Thuong Hoa, Minh Hoa district, Quang Binh Province, 30.V.2015 , Quoc Toan Phan leg.; Paratype : 5 males , 1 female , same date, location and collector as the holotype ; 1 male , Son Kim, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh Province, 9.V.2015 , Quoc Toan Phan leg. Etymology . The specific name " pseudocuriosa " was coined for this species due to its great similarity to, and initial confusion with, P. curiosa Fraser, 1934 . Description of male holotype . Head ( Fig. 9 A). Anteclypeus and labrum pale yellow, margin of labrum black. Genae black with pale yellow upper margin. Basal first and half of second segment of antennae pale yellow, remainder black. Postclypeus, frons, vertex and occiput black, ocelli pale yellow. Prothorax ( Fig. 9 B) pale yellow with margin of anterior and middle of posterior lobes black. Synthorax ( Fig. 9 A) with mesepisternum and mesepimeron dull black with two posterior pale yellow oval spots; lower part of synthorax pale yellow with a narrow black stripe along interpleural suture. Legs pale yellow, spines black. Wings ( Fig. 9 I) hyaline, 14–16 postnodal veins in both fore- and hindwings. Pterostigma brown. Abdomen long and thin, black with pale yellow marking as follows: S1–2 short, ventral half pale yellow; S3–7 very long, S3–6 blackish brown with whitish anterior ring and indistinct brown supapical ring; S7 black with anterior third pale yellow; S8–9 shorter, S8 blackish with pale yellow marking anteroventrally; S9 almost completely pale yellow but shading to black at both ends; S10 black with a small anteroventral pale yellow spot. Anal appendages ( Figs. 9 C–G) black; cerci strongly curved downward; paraprocts elongated, as long as cerci, with a small cup-like structure at dorsal side. Penile organ as in Fig. 9 H. FIGURE 9 . Protosticta spp . [A–M] Protosticta pseudocuriosa spec. nov. [A–I] male—( A ) head & thorax in lateral view; ( B ) prothorax in dorsal view; anal appendages in ( C ) dorsal & ( D ) lateral view and ( E ) oblique-dorsal view; ( F ) tip of cerci in posteroventral view; ( G ) paraprocts in ventral view; ( H ) penile organ in dorsal view; ( I ) wings; [J–M] female—( J ) head & thorax in lateral view; ( K ) prothorax in dorsal view; ( M ) abdomen tip in lateral view; ( L ) male, Son Kim, prothorax in dorsal view; [N–Q] Protosticta curiosa , Thailand, (later Asahina's col.) male—( N ) anal appendages in oblique-dorsal view; ( O ) tip of cerci in posteroventral view; ( P ) female, head & thorax in lateral view; ( Q ) abdomen tip in lateral view. Female. Color pattern as in holotype male ( Figs. 9 J–K). Wings hyaline with 16 postnodal veins. Abdomen black with pale markings as follows: S1 with a large anterior oval spot, S2–7 with prominent pale yellow anterior ring; S8 with large pale yellow ventrolateral mark; posterior half of S9 with a large oval dorsolateral yellow spot. Structure of ovipositor as in Fig. 9 M. Measurements . Male. Hindwing 21; abdomen including appendages 40. Female. Hind wing 20; abdomen including appendages 33. Variation in paratypes . Prothorax pattern of the paratype male from Ha Tinh Province ( Fig. 9 L) is slightly different from the holotype with dark markings on the anterior and posterior lobes. Measurements of paratypes . Hindwing 19–20; abdomen including appendages 43–44. Differential diagnosis. The measurements, structure of the anal appendages, the penile organ and the color pattern of the male of P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov. agree with the figures and description of P. curi osa Fraser, 1934 , from Thailand given by Asahina (1984: 587, Figs. 3–7 ) . However, the paraprocts of P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov. present a small cup-like structure ( Fig. 9 E) that was not mentioned in the description of P. cu r i os a . We have examined the types of P. curiosa from Thailand used by Asahina (1984) for a comparison with P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov. and confirmed the presence of a cup-like structure similar to that of P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov. , ( Fig. 9 N), but the structure of the cerci is different. In P. c ur i os a the tip of each cercus is relatively robust, round and flattened ( Figs. 9 N–O), whereas the tip of each cercus of P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov. is structurally complex ( Figs. 9 E–F). In the female of P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov. , S10 is entirely black, not marked with a pale yellow stripe as in P. c ur i os a, and the oval pale yellow spot on S9 is much reduced in comparison to P. cu r i o s a ( Figs. 9 M, 9Q), although verification of the consistency of these differences requires a larger sample. Both the male and female of P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov. have two pale yellow spots at the posterior end of the mesepisternum and mesepimeron ( Figs. 9 A, 9J), but these are lacking in P. c ur i os a ( Fig. 9 P). On the basis of these differences we feel confident that the Vietnamese species is different from P. c u r i o s a sensu Asahina. It remains to be seen whether the holotype in the Natural History Museum, London, of Fraser’s P. curiosa is conspecific with P. curi osa sensu Asahina , and whether it is therefore also different from P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov. , as expected on the basis of the large geographical distance. Another similar species is P. z h e n gi Yu & Bu, 2009 , from Yunnan, China . According to the original description, P. zhengi “differs from P. cu r i os a by having curved apical lobes on top of genital ligula”. This differential character seems to be minimal, and an analysis of more specimens is needed to establish its identity visa-vis P. c u r i o s a and P. pseudocuriosa spec. nov.