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Showing posts with label Dong Nai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dong Nai. Show all posts

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Rhinocypha fulgipennis Guérin-Méneville, 1831

This species is a colorful wings damselfly that belong to Chlorocyphidae family, the genus name maybe because of its structure of the face with a object that is prominence forms a rhino face shape.

The small species is one of the most early species that was described as a new species for science from Vietnamese fauna of Odonata. The holotype was collected from South Vietnam with note as Cocochina area. Recently, this species has been found also from Cambodia and Laos.

They are very sensitive species that found near that clean running water (waterfalls, streams) of shadowed forests in low land areas. In a quick observation, this species is easy to misidentified with another common species, the species Rhinocypha fenestrella. However they are clearly difference in color and color marking of the wings.



Lateral view of male of Rhinocypha fulgipennis, photographed by Cuong Do


Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Cheirotonus, Long arm beetles from Vietnam

Cheirotonus is a genus of Euchiridae or some author keep them in subfamily of Melolonthidae or subfamily Euchirinae of Scarabaeidae. Their English name is long arm beetle and in Vietnamese, they are called "Cua Bay" with meaning is flying craps, anyway, the name of the genus because of their very long fore legs. In Vietnam there are four species of the genus, three of them with mun-ti spots on the elytra: Cheirotonus battareli, Cheirotonus gestroi and Cheirotonus parryi and the remain with dark green elytra: Cheirotonus jansoni. 

The species Cheirotonus parryi is the first species that named for science of the genus, its name honor to Major Frederick John Sidney Parry who was a British Army Solder and an entomologist of Entomological Society of London and Linnae Society as well. He was an specialist of Coleoptera, particularly Lucanidae. In Vietnam the species Cheirotonus parryi  has been found from Southern Forests: Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai Province.

Male of Cheirotonus parryi with long medial spine of fore legs.

Two other yellow spotted elytra species is Cheirotonus battareli and Cheirotonus gestroi. The species Cheirotonus battareli have been found only from North Vietnam: Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Van Ban (Yen Bai), Tay Con Linh (Ha Giang), Mau Son (Lang Son), Pia Oac (Cao Bang), Tam Dao (Vinh Phuc), Pu Mat (Nghe An)... and the later species Cheirotonus gestroi maybe distributes in South Center of Vietnam: Kon Tum, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Lam Dong. They are very similar each other but difference from Cheirotonus parryi in the medial spine of fore legs (shorter). In Cheirotonus gestroi, the lobe of medial spine of fore femur without teeth but there are some teeth on it of Cheirotonus battareli. 

 
Male of Cheirotonus battareli

Male of Cheirotonus gestroi

In 1994, Muramoto published a paper with description of Cheirotonus fujiokai from China, near Vietnam border (Ha Giang Province). The question if Cheirotonus fujiokai can be found from Vietnam has not been answered, however this small size species very similar to Cheirotonus gestroi but difference from both Cheirotonus gestroi and Cheirotonus battareli in medio-lateral shallows depression of pronotum of male: in Cheirotonus fujiokai, the area just finely punctured but it is deeply punctured in two previous species. 

Male of Cheirotonus fujiokai (from original description)

Male of Cheirotonus jansoni

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Orolestes octomaculatus Martin, 1902

R. Martin described this species in 1902, its name specify eight dark spots on two pairs of wings (octo = eight, maculatus = spots). It is a medium-large sized damselfly and like other lestid, it opens the wings at rest. Though being quite large, the species is elongate with a long abdomen. The body is greenish with somehow yellowish marking. Last segments of the abdomen are blue on dorsum. Male and female of the species are dimorphism. The wings of male are hyaline with two distinct dark spots on each, these characteristics are absent in female individuals. However, wings of teneral males some time are hyaline. They inhabit in unshaded dust still waters (ground pools) in lowland forests. They fly weakly and hide in bushes or vegetations above water surface about 1-2m high.


Male in dorsal view, photographed by Cuong Do, Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai Province

Male in lateral view, photographed by Cuong Do, Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai Province