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| Protosticta sexcoloratus Chandran, Muneer, Madhavan & Jose, 2023 |
Abstract
Protosticta Selys, 1885 is a speciose genus of damselflies distributed in the tropical and subtropical forests of Asia. During an ongoing study to document the odonate diversity of the Western Ghats, we came across a colony of Protosticta species in Wayanad, Kerala, that appeared different from all other species hitherto described. We describe this population as a new species after detailed morphological comparison with closely similar species occurring in the region.
Keywords: biodiversity, endemic, shadow, damsel, taxonomy, Zygoptera
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| Live photographs of Protosticta sexcoloratus sp. nov. male: A, in the habitat; B, dorsal view of head and thorax; C, face; D, caudal appendages; E, legs; F, lateral view of head and thorax. |
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| Live photographs of Protosticta sexcoloratus sp. nov. female: A, in the habitat; B, dorsal view of head and thorax; C, head, legs and venter of thorax; D, lateral view of head and thorax. |
Order Odonata Fabricius, 1793
Suborder Zygoptera Selys, 1854
Superfamily Platystictoidea Kennedy, 1920
Family Platystictidae Kennedy, 1920
Genus Protosticta Selys, 1885
Type species: Protosticta gravelyi Laidlaw, 1915
Protosticta sexcoloratus Chandran, Muneer, Madhavan and Jose sp. nov.
Diagnosis. Unlike in most Protosticta species, the male and female Protosticta sexcoloratus sp. nov. are colored very differently. The following differential diagnosis of Protosticta sexcoloratus sp. nov. is based on recently published descriptions and keys (Joshi et al. 2020; Sadasivan et al. 2022; Vijayakumaran et al. 2022; Payra et al. 2023).
Etymology. The species epithet sexcoloratus highlights the difference in coloration between the sexes. In the new species, the sexes are of the same length, but show distinct difference in coloration.
Ayikkara Vivek Chandran, Puthukudy Kunjamu Muneer, Maran Madhavan and Subin Kaniyamattathil Jose. 2023. Description of Protosticta sexcoloratus sp. nov. (Odonata, Platystictidae) from the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity. In Press. DOI: 10.1016/j.japb.2023.11.010
