Lucanus gravidus Saito et Zilioli, 2018

This species is a rare Lucanus that found from North Vietnam, it very close to Lucanus fujitai that was described by Katsura and his wife (Doan Lan Giang) in 2002.

Males of Lucanus gravidus Saito et Zilioli, 2018 (the photo from holotype in orginal description).

The species mainly difference from its close species (L. fujitai) with stronger mandibles, larger and more pronounced posterolateral corners of the cephalic lobes. And the aedaegus with longer flagellum, shorter and thinner median lobe and longer apically curved parameres.

Lucanus marazziozum Zilioli, 2012

The species Lucanus marazziozum Zilioli, 2012 was described based on materials that collected from Laos (Houa Phan Province, NE of Laos). Latterly, it also was recorded from North of Vietnam, Yen Bai Province. The species is quite close to L. formosus (a species that also found from North Vietnam, Sa Pa, Lao Cai Province) but difference in dorsal teguments glabrous and mandibles.

Male holotype and female paratype of Lucanus marazziozum Zilioli, 2012 (photo from original description).

Lucanus planeti Planet, 1899

A quite common species that found from Thailand, Vietnam and South China (Yunnan, Shichuan, Guangxi); they are very varietal in body size. It close to Lucanus vitalisi and Lucanus laminifer but clearly difference in structure of clypeus.

 

 
Male of Lucanus planeti Planet, 1899

Endemic species of Lucanus from Vietnam

There are 8 species of Lucanus that known only from Vietnam, they usually collected in good forest mountain areas with elevation over 700m.

1. Lucaus dongi

2. Lucanus fujitai (from Fujita 2010)

3. Lucanus fukinukae (from Fujita, 2010)

4. Lucanus luci (from original descrption), this species found from Ngoc Linh, Kon Tum Province (South Center of Vietnam) with large populations.

5. Lucanus kraatzi giangae, this species has been found both from Vietnam and China but the subspecies has known as an endemic taxon of Vietnam, found from Cao Bang Province, North Vietnam

6. Lucanus ngheanus (from Fujita, 2010), the specimens of type were collected from Pu Mat, Nghe An Province, however later this species also be found in Ngoc Linh, Kon Tum Province

7. Lucanus persariini (from Fujita, 2010)

My previous post on Lucanus persariini now is considered as Lucanus pulchelus (8) however its situation should be reviewed in the future.

Lucanus persarinii Zilioli, 1998 and Lucanus kazumiae ZIlioli, 1998

Lucanus is a very diversity genus in Vietnam, particularly North Vietnam; the species Lucanus persarinii was described by Zilioli in 1998. The author based on a single specimen that collected from Tam Dao 2 (in his paper the name of the locality is Tam Dao Hai), the holotype was not deposited in a public museum but in the author private collection.

Lucanus persarinii never been studied in a series of specimens and the hotlotype seem is a medium male. In the same paper, Zilioli also described another new species that found from Cao Bang Province, the species Lucanus kazumiae. The single holotype was based for the description and it is a large male, author also kept the holotype in his private collection. The species Lucanus persarinii never been recorded again in Tam Dao because the habitats of insects of the national park now have been changed very much, and the species Lucanus kazumiae from Cao Bang has not been confirmed again.

In the field trip to North Vietnam this year, 2014, I found a species with a series of sizes, from small to large males. An interesting thing is the medium male matched very well to Lucanus persarinii, but the large males are very similar to the species Lucanus kazumiae. So my opinion it is very possible that two species described by Zilioli just an one species.

The question about Lucanus persarinii and Lucanus kazumiae are synonyms only be answered if a series of each species be compared together. The photos below are the first time the species Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae be recorded in nature with life photos.

 

Medium size male of Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae, photographed by Cuong Do, 2014 (external morphology matches with Lucanus persarinii in the original description)

Large size male of Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae, photographed by Cuong Do, 2014 (external morphology matches with Lucanus kazumiae in the original description)

Small size male of Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae, photographed by Cuong Do, 2014

Female of Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae, photographed by Cuong Do, 2014

Lucanus dongi Maeda, 2009

One of the most important discovery of Lucanidae recently is the paper by Maeda in 2009 with a series of new and rare species of this group from South Vietnam. One of them is Lucanus dongi Maeda, 2009. The species is typical with a lower apical tooth that flatten, not point and two posterior lobes of head are developed remarkably.

Takeshi Maeda in an entomologist and collector from Japan, he worked mainly in Vietnam about more than 10 years ago, can speak Vietnamese very well, he helped many Japanese entomologists get the materials from Vietnam for studying in a long time. Not same to Mr. Katsura, only collecting, Mr. Maeda done some works on taxonomy of Lucanidae from Vietnam. He co-worked with Mr. Dong, who is a local collector from Tam Dao, and one of the local collector can identify the insect groups. Mr. Dong can't speak English, can't read manuscript and know nothing about taxonomy but he collected insect in very early time. His knowledge about biology as well as ecology of insects from Vietnam makes any specialists be surprised. About 5 to 10 years ago, he is maybe only the Vietnamese who understand about species of Lucanidae in Vietnam, who can recognized undescribed species of the fauna. Name of the species was named after Mr. Dong who first person recognized the species was unknown species, but Mr. Maeda make the description of the paper.

The type locality of L. dongi that recorded in the paper is Kon Tum, South Vietnam, however since it found in 2009, no more record of the species in Kon Tum be confirmed again, so the question about the true type locality of Lucanus dongi has not been full cleared.

Dorsal view of large male of Lucanus dongi

Lateral view of Lucanus dongi

Head and mandible of Lucanus dongi

Lucanus kraatzi giangae Ikeda, 1997

The taxon was described by Haruo Ikeda as a subspecies of Lucanus kraatzi Nagel, 1926.

The subspecies L. kraatzi giangae found from North Vietnam, near Vietnam-China border. The taxon also considered as Vietnamese endemic subspecies. The subspecies was named after a Vietnamese, who is the wife of a Japanese's collector, Ms. Doan Lan Giang. 

The subspecies can be easy separated to L. kraatzi kraatzi Nagel, 1926 based on the position of the middle teeth on mandible. The teeth about the middle of mandible in L. kraatzi giangae but it look near the apex in L. kraatzi kraatzi. The size of L. kraatzi giangae also larger than it related subspecies. L. kraatzi kraatzi was found in Yunnan Province, South China.

L. kraatzi giangae was found in the good forests with elevation about 1900m.

Lucanus kraatzi giangae Ikeda, 1997 (dorsal view)

Lucanus kraatzi giangae Ikeda, 1997 (oblique view)