Amphicnemis braulitae spec. nov. from Camiguin Island, the Philippines (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae)

2005·0.86 MB·English

by  Villanueva, R J

Odonatologica34(1):77-81 March 1,2005
Amphicnemisbraulitae spec. nov.
fromCamiguinIsland, thePhilippines
(Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae)
R.J.Villanueva
BiologyDepartment,AteneodeDavaoUniversity, 8000DavaoCity,Philippines
e-mail: reaganjoseph￿lycos.com
ReceivedFebruary11,2004/Revised andAcceptedAugust5,2004
Thenew sp.isdescribed,illustratedandcomparedwiththeother3 spp.oftheAmphi-
cnemisforcipataBrauer-group.Holotype<J; Philippines,Camiguin,Guinsiliban,Lilob,30-
-IV-2003;depositedinRMNH,Leiden.Afewnotesontheecologyareprovided.
INTRODUCTION
ThegenusAmphicnemis isoneofthemostspecioseandwidely distributedgroupsof
thePhilippine damselflies.Currently, ten describedspecies andsome14-15partlyun-
verifiednewtaxa areknownfromthecountry (HAMALAINEN& MLILLER, 1997),
allendemictothePhilippines. DuringarecentsurveyoftheodonatefaunaofCamiguin
Island(VILLANUEVA,2005)apopulation ofanAmphicnemis species was foundina
smallNipaswampinGuinsilibanonthesoutheasterncoastoftheisland.Amalespeci-
menwas sent toDr MattiHamalainen(Universityof Helsinki,Finland)forstudy,and
hekindly informedthatitrepresentsanundescribedspecies.
AMPHICNEMIS BRAULITAE SP.NOV.
Figures 1-4
Material.—Holotype<J:Philippines,CamiguinIsland,Guinsiliban,Lilob,30-IV-2003,R.J.Villanueva
leg.DepositedintheNational MuseumofNatural HistoryNaturalis (RMNH) inLeiden. —Paratypes;4<J,
3 9,fromthesamelocalityastheholotype,8-IV-2001,27-III-2003,30-IV-2003,R.J.Villanueva leg.,allin
R.J. Villanuevacollection,but2 cjand 9paratypeswillbe depositedatRMNH,Leiden.
Etymology. —ThespeciesisdedicatedtomygrandmotherBraulita Torayno.
MALE(holotype). — Head. — Labiumwhitish;labrumfurnishedwithpaired me-
78 R.J.Villanueva
dialdepressions,blackwiththeanteriorthirdbeige;genaeyellowgreen;baseofmandi-
blespartlydarkbrown.Anteclypeus withsinuouspale bluishstripe;postclypeus black;
anteriorsurfaceoffronswith yellowishbandinterrupted by black in themiddle;frons
above,vertexandocciput black,with metallicgreenreflections.Antennalscapeblack
withobscure yellowbandinfrontalportion, pedicle black withyellow apical ring, 3rd
segmentdarkbrown,partlypale infront,restofantennae darkbrown.
Thorax. — Prothorax(Figs 1-2)metallicblue-green,lowerpartoftheanteriorlobe
andthelowersideofmedianlobebeige. Themedianlobeis smoothandonly slightly
raised.Themiddleportion oftheposterior lobeislow,broadand fan-shaped directed
rearward;onits sidesfurnishedwithelevated,sharply pointedprocesses whichare di-
rectedupwardsandoutwards.Lateralportionsofthehindlobedevelopintolong horn-
likeprocesses, directednearly straightrearwardandformingalmostaright anglewith
the projectingpart ofthemiddlelobe.The hornsarejust reaching the “tooth”on the
dorsalcarinaofthe synthorax. Theirbasalpart is flat, triangularwith medianridge, at
therootoftheremaining cylindrical portion, whichbecomesslightly enlarged atits api-
cal 1/4,thatbendsslightly inward,withbluntsmoothedtips.
Synthorax. — Mesepistemum entirely metallicgreen.Dorsal carinafurnished with
asmall“tooth”, projecting forward,and arising less than 1/4ofthesynthorax length
fromthe prothorax. Mesinfraepistemum metallicgreenexcept on lateralandventral
bordersthatare yellow. Mesepimeron partly metallicgreen,partlyyellowbrown. Me-
tepistemumbeigeexceptforalarge triangularmetallicgreenpatch near thewingbase.
Metepimeron andventralsideofsynthorax entirely beige.
Figs1-4.Amphicnemisbraulitae sp.n.,holotype<5:(1)prothorax,dorsalview; —(2)posteriorlobeofpro-
thorax,rightlateralview; —(3)analappendages,dorsalview;— (4)same,leftlateralview.
Amphicnemisbraulitae sp.n. 79
Legs. — Coxaandtrochanterbeige, butlittledarkerthanmetepistemum.Thefemo-
ra andtibiaarebeige, withblack streakalong thejoints. Spinesblack. Theforefemora
havethreelong andfourshortpairsofspines, middleandhindfemorahavefourlong
pairswhilethetibiahas irregular numberoflongspines.
Wings. — Hyaline, black veins. Neurationof thegenus; petiolation ceases before
Ac,arculusinbothwingsopposite2ndantenodalcross-vein,middleforkis atsubnodus.
Thereare 11-13postnodal cross-veins inboth wings. R3is betweenPnx5-6; IR2isop-
positePnxlO; IR3 1/4ofcelllength offsubnodus.Thedarkbrownpterostigmanearly
rectangular, with subcostalsideslightly longerthancostalside.
Abdomen. — Indorsalview, S1-S2andS10 slightly broaderthanS3-S9. In lat-
eralview,S1-S2,S8-S10andapicalportion ofinflating S7slightly broaderthanS3-S6.
S10halfas long as S9. S9abouthalfas long as S8.S7longer thanS8-S10combined.
S2-S8andS10darkmetallicgreenindorsalhalf, beige inventralhalf.SIbeige, with
metalliccolourrestricted toalargetriangularpatch, withbaseon theapex. S9 mostly
metallicgreen,withlargeinfero-apical yellowspotandbeige ventralportion.
Analappendages (Figs 3-4). — Thesuperiors slightly shorterthansegments9and
10together, white,forkedatbasal 1/3oftotallength afterbroadjointbase,withupper
fork arching downwardand inward. Basalportion of upperforkslightly oval, where
bendinwardbecomesflatter.Theapices overlapeach otherandcontainwhitebristles,
with smalltubercleonthetip,pointingforwardinupperforkandrearwardinthelow-
er.Lowerforkrobust, interiortriangularbranchdirectedabout45°downwardinward,
intherearfurnishedwithawhitebristle.Vermiformprocess atthebaseofsuperiorap-
pendages narrowandelongated, clearly visibleinlateralpositionanddirectedparallel
tobasal marginofthelowerbranchofsuperior. Inferiorappendage withashorttuber-
cle, clearly visibleinlateralview,withfinewhitishbristle.
Measurements (inmm).— [Holotype]:abdomen (incl.appendages)35,hindwing21;— [Para-
types]:abdomen 35-39,hindwing21-23.
VARIATIONINPARATYPEMALES. — Thestructureofprothorax isidenticalinallpara-
types,although thereare smalldifferencesinthe middleportion of theposteriorlobe.
Somespecimenshaveabroadermiddleportionandothershaveaslightmediandepres-
sionunliketheholotype whichis nearlyflat.Thelateralhornsoftheposteriorlobemay
bendslightly inwards,about 1/4oftheentirelength atapex,or projectnearly straight
rearwards.Thebasal vermiformprocess ofthesuperiorappendage maybe curvedup-
wardsinsteadofrunning along thelowerforkofthesuperiorappendage. Thecoloura-
tionis fairlyconstant though somespecimens haveadarkermetalliccolourandsome
tend tobe morebluish thanothers, somevary inthe shape of the metallicpatch in
mesepimeron, probably largelyanage-dependant variability.
FEMALE. — Resemblesclosely the male, differing only inas follows: somehave
shorterhornsinthehindlobeofprothorax, notreaching the“tooth”ofsynthorax,mes-
infraepistemumhasreducedmetalliccolor, mesepistemum has metalliccolourlimited
as alarge streakinsameareaofthemale.Abdomenmuchshorterthanmale;SI lacks
thetriangular metallicgreenspotwhichappearsonly as alarge dorso-apical band;SI-
80 R.J. Villanueva
S8 nearly ofequal broadness;S9 aquarterbroader.Pterostigma smaller, nearlysquar-
ish; 13-14postnodals inboth wings. Theovipositor is longerthansegments9and 10
combined,furnishedwithablack stylus.
Measurements (inmm). —Abdomen32-35,hindwing21-24.
DISCUSSION. — Thenewspecies belongs tothesamegroupasA. furcata Brauer,1868
andA. circularisLieftinck, 1974,whichare characterizedby abranchedsuperior and
arudimentary inferiorappendages inmales(seefiguresinLIEFTINCK, 1957,1974).
HAMALAINEN&MULLER(1997)recognized alsoA. dentifer(Needham& Gyger,
1939),ofwhichonly thefemalehasso farbeendescribed,andthreestillunnamedtaxa
asbeingreferabletothis group.
A. braulitaesp. n. male differsclearly fromits congeners,furcata, circularisand
dentifer(M. Hamalainenhaskindly provided informationontheundescribeddentifer
male)in thestructure ofanalappendages andhindlobeofprothorax. In braulitaethe
lowerbranchoftheforkedsuperiorappendageisconsiderably longerandrobusterthan
intheotherspecies. Moreover,inbraulitaethepeculiar vermiformrudimentventrally
atthebaseof superior appendage is longer andmore visiblethaninfurcata andcir-
cularis; in dentiferitis missing. Unlikeintheotherspecies, themiddleportion ofthe
posteriorlobeof prothoraxhas two obliquelyelevated pointedprocesses. The“tooth”
onthe middorsalcarinaof synthorax is smallerthanincircularisanddentifer(com-
pletelylacking 'mfurcata).
NOTESONECOLOGY. — Thetypelocality, a Nipaswamp atLilob,is surroundedby
ricefieldintheNorthandSouth,shorelineintheEastandbyaprovincialroadintheWest,
andhas anareaofca5hectares.Theswampisdividedby alargepondthattraversesfrom
theroadto thecoast, anditisseparated fromtheseaby asandbarless than3mwide
during thehigh tides.The deepest partofthe muddy pond reaches4manditswidest
point isabout5 m.Amphicnemis was foundonly onthe northernside.Lush Nipa fruc-
ticanstrees covertheareathatsupportsalsofernsandseveralspeciesofgrassandvine
anditisdottedalsoby mangrovetrees.Theground ismuddy, withplentyofdecaying
vegetation. Duringextremely hightidesthe waterlevelinthearearises.
Amphicnemis prefers acool,shadyand moistarea,withplenty ofvegetation. Itflies
lowabovetheground, ca2 feet.Somewere seen hovering 2 mabovetheground,but
always about2 ftabovethevegetation. Itperches onany substrate: twig,leaf, Nipaor
treetrunk, vineorrock — as longas theperching siteisnotexposed todirectsunlight.
Pairsintandemwereobservedabout10-12AMandtheoviposition takesplaceonmoist
ormuddy groundrich inhumus.Observationsweremadeduring March-May andOc-
tober-December,butadultsare probably present throughout theyear.
Severalsimilarhabitatsintheisland,particularlynearthetypelocality,wereexplored
butA.braulitewasnotseenthere.Unlessthespecies canbefoundinotherlocalities, its
status isendangered. Particularly so as thetypelocality is situatedclosetoatown.
Amphicnemisbraulitae sp.n. 81
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Iamvery gratefultoDrMATTIHAMALAINEN(UniversityofHelsinki,Finland),whokindlyrendered
varioushelpand whorevisedmymanuscriptdraft.For assistance withthe illustrations,specialthanks are
duetoDrFEBAGAJO.
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LIEFTINCK,M.A., 1974.DragonfliescollectedbytheNoonaDanExpeditioninthesouthwesternPhilip-
pineIslands(Insecta,Odonata).Steenstrupia3(12):111-147.
NEEDHAM,J.G.&M.K.GYGER, 1939.TheOdonataofthePhilippines,2.SuborderZygoptera.Philipp.
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