Rhinocypha sangihensis Jan van Tol & André Günther 2018, sp. nov

Rhinocypha sangihensis sp. nov. (Figs 66–70) Material studied Holotype ♂. » INDONESIA / Sangihe Islands: Manganitu. Riverine gar- dens, coconut plantations, secondary forest. 25 May 1985. 3°35’N, 125°32’E. Leg. F.G. Rozendaal « (JvT 5310, in RMNH; Fig. 66). Paratypes (5♂ 1♀) [Sulawesi Utara province] 2♂ 1♀, »Sangihe Islands. Manganitu. 3°35’N, 125°32’E. Riverine gardens, coconut plantations, secondary forest. 10–25 May 1985. Leg. F.G. Rozendaal«; 3♂, »Sangihe Islands. SSW of Liwung. NW slope of Gn Sahendaruman. [Alt.] 600–650 m a.s.l. 3°32’N, 125°32’E. Primary forest and forest edge, water trickle and small stream. 12–19 May 1985. Leg. F.G. Rozendaal«. Etymology Sangihensis, an adjective based on the type locality Sangihe. Diagnosis Small and slender species with narrow wings. Only Rhinocypha known from the Sangihe Islands. The males share the following characters with R. frontalis from northern Sulawesi: head with paired spot on frons (but crescent- shaped and very small in R. sangihensis), a paired pale spot on the anterior lobe of the pronotum, extensive and multiple spots on lateral lobe of pro- notum, synthorax with both ante-humeral stripe on mesepisternum and a short stripe posteriorly on mesepimeron, band on synthorax with dorsoposterior projection, which is, however, distinctly shorter in R. sangihensis; white areas on tibiae of mid and hind legs short, approximately ⅔ length of tibiae; abdomen with large blue marking on S9. Rhinocypha sangihensis males differ from R. frontalis by the following characters: smaller size, white base of labium, mid lobe of pronotum with small triangular spot in latero- anterior corner (but no pale marking in lateral corner of anterior lobe), blue markings of S4–S8 extended dorso-anteriorly and running along anterior margin to dorsum, wings with narrower opaque patches, although there is much variation in R. frontalis. Diagnostic characters of females difficult to define due to insufficient material, but R. frontalis seems to have a larger opaque brown band on the wings, frequently have no pale markings on the frons, or on mid lobe of the pronotum. Description Male (holotype; JvT 5310; head separate and crushed; Fig. 66) Head (Fig. 67) — Labium with extensive pale coloration; base and basal half of (divided) middle lobe creamy yellow; base of lateral lobes creamy yellow; remainder black. Labrum glossy brownish black. Mandibles with large bluish white spot in basal part, covering nearly entire base; anteclypeus brownish black, shiny; postclypeus, frons, vertex, occiput and post-ocular lobe velvet black with a paired, irregular spot at base of frons ca the diameter of distance between spot an antennal base (these markings much smaller than in R. frontalis); spots behind lateral ocelli yellow, somewhat larger than ocelli, and a paired oval yellow spot on post-ocular lobe close to occiput; ge- nae with extensive bluish white markings, being almost completely covered at level of base of mandibles with separate oval spot just above it; marking on gena not extending dorsally along eye. Thorax — Pronotum (Fig. 68): anterior lobe with paired oval marking, well removed from lateral margin, median lobe with a small bluish-white mark- ing in latero-anterior corner, pointed posteriorly; lateral lobe with large creamy white spot covering most of this lobe, extending on ventral margin of pronotum as pale stripe. Synthorax (Fig. 69). Mesopreepisternum yellowish white. Black with bluish or creamy white markings. Mesepisternum anteriorly with triangu- lar marking, widest anteriorly; mesepimeron black with short pale stripe in dorso-posterior corner; wide blue stripe from mesokatepisternum over mesepimeron, metepisternum and metepimeron; stripe dorsally very ir- regular, ventrally more or less straight; mesokatepisternum with trian- gular spot in posterior corner against coxa, continuing on mesepimeron and metepisternum, widening dorsally at level of metathoracic spiracle, halfway the height of mesepimeron; posterior side on metepisternum with posterior projection, continuing posteriorly towards, but not touching hind margin. Legs — Hind margin of coxae of all legs with triangular pale blue markings. Legs black, but white innerside in distal ⁵/₇ of mid tibiae, and distal ³/₅ of hind leg; posterior side of coxae with sub-triangular spots. Wings — Dark opaque patch posterior to nodus or Px1, hind wing with indistinct pattern of metallic sheen on ventral side, purplish or posteriorly more brownish; base of wings transparent with brownish tinge; pterostigma of fore and hind wings brownish black, covering only five underlying cells (usually 7 in R. frontalis, and 8 or more in R. monochroa). Abdomen (Fig. 70) — Dorsum black; side of tergites with extensive blue markings as follows: on segment 1 sub-triangular spot, anteriorly tapering; on S2 and S3 rectangular markings, S2 with distinct and S3 with small ven- tro-anterior emargination; S4–S9 with progressively smaller spots, tapered posteriorly, especially on dorsal side, those on S6–S9 not reaching posterior end of segment; blue markings on S4–S8 dorso-anteriorly projected run- ning dorsad along the anterior border of segment; S10 and anal appendages black. Measurements [mm] —Hind wing length 21.0 mm, hind wing width 5.0 mm; abdomen (including appendages) 17.5. Female [JvT 5353] A teneral, crushed and incomplete specimen (S5–S10 missing). Head — Dark, base of labium pale coloured; mandibles with large creamy spot, with a small triangular pale spot on lowest part of gena next to man- dible; another pale spot of irregular shape more dorsal on gena, with a ven- tral extension along the eye; a short and narrow stripe along the eye at level of antenna; frons between antennae with irregular creamy paired spot, ap- proximately the diameter of post-ocular spot; somewhat smaller paired spot behind lateral ocelli; remainder of head velvet black. Thorax — Pronotum with anterior lobe with paired oval pale spot; lateral lobe with large pale spots, whitish with bluish tones. Synthorax. Brownish black with yellowish or creamish markings.Long ante- humeral stripe reaching from anterior side or mesepisternum beyond level of short stripe on mesepimeron; last stripe ca ⅓ the length of metepimeron; pale stripe over synthorax from mesokatepisternum to posterior corner of metepimeron, somewhat irregular, but straight. Legs — Brownish black. Wings (colours not fully developed) — Opaque brown transverse band from Px 15 to distal side of pterostigma; tip opaque white, base of wing transparent with brown fume. Abdomen — S1 with sub-triangular spot,pointed anteriad;S2 with three spots, one sub-oval against anterior border of segment, one sub-triangular against hind margin, and a smaller oblong spot against ventral margin of tergite; S3 with L-shaped marking extending along anterior and dorsal margin of side of tergite; shorter rectangular spot ventro-posteriorly, sub-quadrangular spot against posterior border; S4 too crushed to evaluate, rest of abdomen missing. Variation in paratypes Mesurements [mm]. Males (n = 5). Hind wing length: x= 21.5 (20.5–23.0); hind wing width: x= 5.0 (5.0–5.0), abdomen (n =4): x= 18.0 (17.0–18.5). Distribution and habitat This species is only known from a small series collected by F.G. Rozendaal on Manganitu (Sangihe Islands) in 1985. The habitat indicated on the labels includes »riverine gardens, coconut plantations and secondary forest«. A recent promotion film on the internet on Manganitu suggests that the hills above the town are still covered with remnants of forest, interspersed with gardens and plantations. Some parts of the island are set apart to protect endemic bird species. We presume that the streams will still be inhabited by this and other endemic odonate species, including Celebophlebia carolinae van Tol, 1987, Protosticta rozendalorum van Tol, 2000 and Libellago manganitu van Tol, 2007 (VAN TOL 1987b, 2000, 2007). These were all taken by the same collector during the same field trip.
Published as part of Jan van Tol & André Günther, 2018, The Odonata of Sulawesi and adjacent islands. Part 8. Revision of the genus Rhinocypha Rambur, 1842 (Chlorocyphidae), pp. 299-386 in Odonatologica 47 (3) on pages 361-366, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1481114