Macromidia donaldi pethiyagodaisubsp. nov. from Sri Lanka (Odonata: Corduliidae)

2012·0.39 MB·

by  Nancy Van Der Poorten

InternationalJournalofOdonatology
Vol.15,No.2,June2012,99–106
Macromidia donaldi pethiyagodai subsp. nov. from Sri Lanka
(Odonata: Corduliidae)
NancyvanderPoorten*
17MonktonAvenue,Toronto,OntarioM8Z4M9,Canada
(Received6March2012;finalversionreceived5May2012)
Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.(holotype♂:SriLanka,RatnapuraDistrict,nearKudawe,
6.26◦N,80.25◦E,03July2007;paratype♀,samelocation,17April2008,tobedepositedintheSriLanka
NationalMuseum,Colombo)isdescribedandfigured.ItsphenotypediffersfromthatofM.d.donaldi
fromIndia.ThisisthefirstrecordofthegenusMacromidiafromSriLanka.Thehabitatcharacteristics
andspeciesbehaviourarebrieflyoutlined.
Keywords: Odonata;dragonfly;Corduliidae;Macromidia;newsubspecies;SriLanka
Introduction
The family Corduliidae as traditionally defined includes over 251 species in 38 genera that are
distributed throughout the temperate and tropical world, especially Australia, North America,
Europe,Africa,Asia, and China (Schorr & Paulson, 2012).The genus Macromidia (subfamily
Idionychinae) is confined to easternAsia ranging from Sri Lanka and India in the west to the
RyukyuIslandsintheeast,ZhejiangChinainthenorth,andSumatrainthesouth.Elevenspecies
arepresentlyknown.
Most species of Macromidia are of very limited known distribution, having been reported
fromonlyonelocation.MacromidiagenialisLaidlaw,1923(withtwosubspecies,M.g.erratica
andM.g.shanensisinadditiontothenominateone)isthemostwidespreadandisreportedfrom
Malaysia,Sumatra,BurmaandThailand(Lieftinck,1971;Wilson,1996)whileM.rapidaMartin,
1907 is found in Hong Kong & Guangdong (China), Thailand and Vietnam (Wilson, 1996).
Macromidia atrovirens Lieftinck, 1935 is endemic to the southwest of Sumatra and M. fulva
Laidlaw,1915toNorthBorneoandSarawak(Lieftinck,1971).Twospeciesarereportedfromthe
Philippines:MacromidiaasahinaiLieftinck,1971fromPalawanIslandandM.samalNeedham
and Gyger, 1937 from Mindanao. Macromidia ishidaiAsahina, 1964 is reported from Ryukyu
IslandsinJapanandfromTaiwan(Yehetal.,2006).Chinahasthreeendemicspecies:M.ellenae
*Email:[email protected]
ISSN1388-7890print/ISSN2159-6719online
©2012WorldwideDragonflyAssociation
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13887890.2012.692112
http://www.tandfonline.com
100 N.vanderPoorten
Figure 1. Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.,male,dorsalview.
Wilson,1996(HongKong),M.kelloggiAsahina,1978(Foochow[Fuzhou],FujianProvince,and
Zheijiang) and M. shiehae Jiang, Li &Yu, 2008 (Jiangxi). Macromidia donaldi (Fraser, 1924)
is found in the Western Ghats of peninsular India with which Sri Lanka is zoogeographically
related. No species of Macromidia have been reported from Sri Lanka (Bedjanicˇ et al., 2007;
deFonseka,2000).
AnewsubspeciesofMacromidiadonaldiwasfoundintheRatnapuradistrictinthesouthern
partofSriLankain2007anditsdescriptionisprovidedhere.
Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.
(Figures1–7)
Etymology
Nouninthegenitivecase,namedinhonourofRohanPethiyagoda,scientist,writerandfounderof
thenon-profitorganization,theWildlifeHeritageTrust(WHT)ofSriLanka.TheWHTpublished
thefirstbookdedicatedtothedragonfliesofSriLanka(TheDragonfliesofSriLankabyTerence
de Fonseka, 2000). Rohan personally oversaw the publication of this book, which presented
up-to-dateinformationontheodonatesofSriLankainasinglesourceforthefirsttime.
Specimensstudied
Holotypemale:SriLanka,SabaragamuwaProvince,Ratnapuradistrict,nearKudawe,6◦ 16(cid:3)(cid:3)N,
80◦ 15(cid:3)E,altitude550masl,3July2007,leg.NvdP;tobedepositedattheSriLankaNational
Museum,Colombo.Paratypes:1(cid:2),samedataasholotype;1(cid:3),samedatabut17April2008((cid:3)
alsotobedepositedattheSriLankaNationalMuseum,Colombo).
Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.fromSriLanka 101
SpecimensofMacromidiad.donaldiatNHMLondon:Maletype(label:“SampajiGhat,Coorg,
[India].7.vi.24.Coll.F.C.Fraser”);Maleparatype(label:“Tamaracherry,S.Malabar,10.v.29,S.
India, F. C. Fraser”); Female allotype (label: “Tamaracherry, S. Malabar, nr. Calicut, 15.vii.28.
Coll.F.C.Fraser”);Femaleparatypes:(label:“Tamaracherry,S.Malabar,13.vi.28,Coll.Fraser”;
(label: ????R, Coorg, 14.??.29, F. C. Fraser). Specimen of M. d. donaldi at UMMZ Michigan:
Male(label:“Tamaracherri,Malabar,10.viii.28,FromFraser”).
Figure 2. Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.,male,lateralview.
Figure 3. Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.,male,wings(scale=5mm).
102 N.vanderPoorten
Figure 4. Macromidia donaldi pethiyagodai subsp. nov., male, anal appendages: (a) dorsal view; (b) lateral view
(scale=3mm).Thisandfollowingillustrations,exceptFigure6,weretracedfromphotographs;setaeareindicated
schematicallyandmoresparselythaninreality.
Figure 5. Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.,male,secondarygenitalia,lateralview;abbreviationsareas
follows:ah–anteriorhamules,al–anteriorlamina,au–auricle,glb–genitallobe,glg–genitalligula,ph–posterior
hamules,vs–vesicaseminalis(penis)terminalsegment(scale=1mm).
Descriptionofholotypemale(Figures1,2,3,4a,b,5)
Head. Labrumandmandiblesblackishbrownwithgreenmetallicreflections.Labiumentirely
brightyellow.Fronsandpostclypeusdarkgreenishblack.Anteclypeusdullyellow.Occiputblack.
Eyesdarkmetallicgreen,yellowishbelow(Figure1).
Thorax. Prothoraxpaleyellow,posteriorlobebrightyellow.Synthoraxmetallicemeraldgreen
marked with yellow as follows: antealar sinus; stripe from trochanter of second leg to mesin-
fraepisternum;threelateralstripes–(1)onmetepisternumfromcoxaofhindlegtojustdorsalto
spiracle;(2)onmetepimeronverticallyatmid-lengthfromventertometapleuralsuture;and(3)
on metepimeron covering posterior 1/4 – all stripes continuing beneath the thorax to join with
thecorrespondingstripesontheotherside.Betweenstripesonsidesandonlowerpartofdorsum
Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.fromSriLanka 103
Figure 6. Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.,female,wings(scale=5mm).
Figure 7. Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.,female,valvulavulvae,ventralview(scale=1mm).
brownishred,belowdarkmetallicblue.Legsblack,coxaeyellow,trochanterandproximalendof
femoraoftheanteriorpairyellow,trochanterofmid-pairyellowmedially(Figures1,2).Wings:
(Figure3)hyaline,Fw:brownishyellowincostalspaceandsubcostalspacetonodus;Hwbrown-
ish yellow in costal and subcostal space and anal triangle; 1 cubital crossvein in Fw, 2 in Hw;
supertriangletraversed2×inleftFw,1×inrightFw,1×inHw;analloopwith7cells,discoidal
field commencing with 8 rows of single cells in Fw, 4 in Hw, anal triangle 2 cells, Pt grayish
black,covering2cells;membranegrayishwhite;Fwwith12Ax,7Px;Hw9Ax;9–10Px.
Abdomen. Black, marked with yellow: S1 with thin apical ring ventrally; S2 with diamond-
shaped dorsal spot at base extending in a thick line to the apical end, auricles yellow on inner
surfaceandlaterallyjoiningwithventralelongatedspot;S3–S6withmid-dorsalstripe,sometimes
faint,sometimesinterruptedinthemiddle;S7withmid-dorsalstripeslightlywidenedsub-basally;
S8–S10 unmarked; ventrally yellow on edges of S3–S10.Abdomen slender, widest at S1–S2,
tapering to base of S6, then widening to base of S8, base of S9 narrower than apex of S8,
but S9 widening apically. Anal appendages black with fine hairs, cerci nearly as long as S9
and S10, pointed, subcylindrical, broadening about 1/3 distance from apex to form a robust
lateralangulation(Figure1);epiproctslightlyshorterwithapexcurvedupwards(Figures4a,b).
Secondarygenitaliadarkbrown,anteriorlaminaandgenitallobemoderatelyprominentandwith
longhairs;anteriorhamulesratherprominent,posteriorhamulesrobustpincer-likecurvedhooks,
slightlylongerthanlobe(Figure5).
104 N.vanderPoorten
Measurements(mm). Totallength40;abdomen27;cerci2.5;Fw26;Hw27.
Variationinparatypemale
Wings:supertriangletraversed1×inleftFw,2×inrightFw;Fw12,13Ax;7,8Px.
Descriptionofparatypefemale(Figures6,7)
Head. Labrum and mandibles blackish brown with green metallic reflections. Labium bright
yellow,borderedwithbrown.Fronsandpostclypeusdarkgreenishblack.Anteclypeusdullyellow.
Occiputblack.Eyesdarkmetallicgreen,yellowishbelow.
Thorax. Colorationnearlyidenticaltomale.Wings(Figure6):hyaline,Fw:brownishyellowin
costalspacefor3cells,inthesubcostalspacetonodusandincubitalspace;Hwbrownishyellow
incostalspacefor3cells,insubcostalspacehalfwaytonodus,incubitalspaceandanaltriangle;
cubitalnervures1inFw,2inHw;supertriangletraversed1×inleftFw,2×inrightFw,2×in
leftHw,1×inrightHw;analloop9cellsincludingonecentralcell,discoidalfieldcommencing
witharowofsinglecells(6inFwand2inHw),analtriangle3cells,Ptgrayishblack,covering
2½cells;membranegrayishwhite;Fw13Ax,6Px;Hw9Ax,10Px(Figure6).
Abdomen. Black,markedwithyellowasfollows:S1allblack;S2asinmale;S3–S6withmid-
dorsalstripe,sometimesfaintbasally,sometimesinterruptedinthemiddle;S7mid-dorsalstripe
slightly widened sub-basally; S8–S10 unmarked; ventrally yellow on edges of S2–S8. S3–S5
constricted at the middle; S6 constricted subbasally; S7–S9 widest apically; abdomen slender,
taperingfromthebaseofS2toS7,thenwideningtotheapexofS9,thennarrowingagain.Cerci
black, pointed, slightly longer than S10.Valvula vulvae very short (one-fifth the length of S9),
completelydividedtoformtwoobtuselypointedblades,eachofwhichhasadeepinvagination
one-thirdthewayfromthecentre(Figure7).
Measurements(mm). Totallength39;abdomen28.5;cerci0.5;Fw32;Hw32.
Diagnosis
ThemaleofM.donaldipethiyagodaidiffersfromthemaleofM.d.donaldiasfollows:
M.d.donaldi larger(abd+app34mm,Hw30mm),labiumnarrowlyborderedwithbrown,
postclypeusblackwithbluishmetallicreflections,prothoraxentirelypaleyellow,yellowthoracic
stripes longer, trochanter of all legs yellow, additional yellow rays in cubital and anal triangle,
S1withbroadyellowlateralspotandminutebasodorsalone,S2dorsalspotrectangular,S7with
broadsubbasalspotshapedlikeaceofclubswithitsstalktaperingtotheapicalborder,abdomen
ofuniformwidthfromS1tobaseofS7,thenwidestatS8(whichisuniformalongitslength),
taperingtoS10,S3–S6borderedfinelywithyellowventrolaterally.
ThesecondarygenitaliaofM.d.donaldihavenotbeenfigurednorweretheydescribedwhen
thespecieswasfirsterectedasanewgenusIndomacromia(Fraser,1924).Martin(1906)didnot
describethesecondarygenitaliaofMacromidiawhenhefirsterectedthegenus.Fraser(1936)did
notdescribethesecondarygenitaliaofM.d.donaldithoughhedescribedthesecondarygenitalia
forthegenusas:“laminadepressed;hamulesrobustcurvedhookswithbroadfoliatebase;lobe
small,triangular,projecting”.Lieftinck(1971)wroteofthegenusMacromidiawhencomparing
it with Idionyx: “Outer branch of male posterior genital hamule longer, thinner and incurved,
projectingmuchbeyondhook-shapedinnerbranch”.However,thesegeneraldescriptionsdonot
applytoallmembersofthegenus,manyofwhichhavebeendescribedsince1971.
Macromidiadonaldipethiyagodaisubsp.nov.fromSriLanka 105
ThoughthetypespecimenofM.donaldi andphotographsofaspecimenfromUMMZwere
examined, it was difficult to clearly discern what the secondary genitalia looked like as the
specimens(inparticular,thetypespecimen)werenotingoodcondition.However,theyappear
tobesimilartothoseofM.donaldipethiyagodai.
The female of M. donaldi pethiyagodai differs from the female of M. d. donaldi as follows:
M. d. donaldi with longer abdomen but shorter wings (abd 31mm, Hw 28–30mm), frons and
postclypeusblackwithbluishmetallicreflections,prothoraxpaleyellow,thoracicstripesextend-
ing closer to bases of wings, trochanter of all legs yellow, yellow rays at base of both wings
butmorerestrictedinspreadalongthewing,supertriangletraversed2×inallwings,analloop
with 6–8 cells without a central cell, S1 with broad lateral yellow spot and minute basodorsal
one,S7withbroadsubbasalspotshapedlikeaceofclubs,itsstalktaperingtotheapicalborder
and onto S8, abdomen narrowest at apex of S4 and widest at S8 (which is of a uniform width
alongitslength),taperingagaininS9–S10.ThoughFraser(1936)statedthatthevalvulavulvae
were “as for the genus: triangular, ending in two robust divergent spines and half the length of
S9”,thiswasnotborneoutbyanexaminationofthespecimenoftheallotypefemale.Though
this specimen was not in good condition, the valvula vulvae appeared to be similar to those of
M.donaldipethiyagodaiandnotasFraserdescribedthem.Thoughtheshapeoftheabdomenof
M.donaldiandM.donaldipethiyagodaiappeartobesignificantlydifferent,itispossiblethatthe
abdomensoftheIndianspecimensaredistorted.
Biologicalnotes
M. donaldi pethiyagodai was found in the wet zone (annual rainfall 3000–6000mm) of the
southwest of the island within a semi-disturbed, hilly dipterocarp forest with bamboo and tree
ferns.Thehabitatwasasmall,perennial,slow-movingstreamwithmarshylandononesideand
aforestedhillsideontheother.Theedgesofbothsidesofthestreamweredenselycoveredwith
vegetation.Attheheightoftherainsthestreamreachedamaximumdepthof1mandoverflowed
intotheadjoiningmarshyarea.Furtherdown,thestreamdescendedasteepslopeandthewater
ranmuchfaster.Theedgesofthispartofthestreamwerecoveredbytalltreesbuttheundergrowth
waslessdense.Thetypemalewasseenhawkingalongthetrailneartheopeningtoasmallpool
inthestream.Itsflightwasextraordinarilyfastandabout1mfromtheground.Anothermalewas
seenalongthetrailfurtherawayfromthestream.Athirdmalewasobservedinsidetheroomofa
touristinnnearthesteepsectionofthestream.Thefemalewasseeninthemarshyareaadjoining
thestream.
Discussion
Macromidia is widespread acrossAsia but is poorly represented in the Indian subcontinent, of
whichSriLankaiszoogeographicallyapart.Onlyonespecies,M.donaldi,isfoundincontinental
IndiaanditsdistributionisrestrictedtotheWesternGhats(Fraser1936).Lieftinck(1971)believed
thatMacromidiawasabridgebetweenMacromiaandIdionyxbecauseofthemanycharactersthat
thethreegenerashared–inparticular,thevenationofMacromidiaresembledthatofMacromia
though the more rounded wings and less sinuous primary veins resembled Idionyx. However,
Wareetal.(2007)reportedthatthesubfamilyIdionychinae(familyGomphomacromiidae)(which
comprises only Idionyx and Macromidia) formed a monophyletic group. Macromia belongs to
thefamilyMacromiidaewhichisaseparatemonophyleticcladefromCorduliidae.Therearetwo
species of Macromia in Sri Lanka, both of which are endemic (M. zeylanica Fraser, 1927 and
M.flintiLieftinck,1977).Laidlaw(1951)consideredM.zeylanicatobefromthesamestockas
106 N.vanderPoorten
theIndianspeciesofwhichthereare14.NospeciesofIdionyx occurinSriLankathoughthere
are13speciesinIndia(Subramanian,2009).
ItispossiblethatM.donaldipethiyagodairepresentsanewspeciesandisnotasubspeciesof
M.donaldi.However,thiscannotbeprovenuntilcertainaspectsofM.d.donaldiaredescribed
morefullyandaccuratelyanduntilthevariationwithinthespeciesisdocumented.Inthemale,the
secondarygenitalia,theshapeandmarkingsoftheabdomen,theyellowtintingonthewingsand
wingvenationneedtobefullydocumented.Inthefemale,theshapeandmarkingsoftheabdomen,
the yellow tinting on the wings, the composition of the anal loop, and the shape of the valvula
vulvaeneedtobefullydocumented.Unfortunately,M.d.donaldiappearstobeascarceinsectin
Indiaandhasnotbeenreportedinrecenttimes(K.Subramanian,personalcommunication).
Astudyofthemolecularphylogenyofthegenuswouldbehelpfulinelucidatingtherelationship
ofM.donaldipethiyagodaitoM.d.donaldiandtotheotherspecies.
AlthoughSriLankaisgeographicallyandzoogeographicallyconsideredpartoftheIndiansub-
continent,ithasseveralcharacteristicsthatdistinguishitfromtheWesternGhatsandsouthIndia
withwhichitisoftengrouped.Ofthe118speciesofodonatesreportedfromtheisland,46species
areendemicatthespecieslevel(fiveofthemdescribedwithinthepastthreeyears),whileeightare
endemicatthesubspecieslevel.Thisisanexceptionallyhighlevelofendemismthatmatchesthat
ofBorneoandSulawesi(Kalkmanetal.2008).Althoughataxonomicrevisionofsomespeciesis
necessary,thereareadditionalendemicspeciesintheprocessofdescription(M.Bedjanicˇ,per-
sonalcommunication;K.Conniff,personalcommunication).ThisnewsubspeciesofMacromidia
furtheraddstothedistinctivecharacteroftheodonatefaunaoftheisland.
Acknowledgements
IamgratefultoMikeMayforadvice,acriticalreviewofthemanuscriptandhelpwithillustrations;KeithWilsonfor
acriticalreviewofthemanuscript;MattiHämäläinenforadvice;MatjažBedjanicˇ foradviceandinformation;David
GoodgeroftheNaturalHistoryMuseum,LondonandMikeO’BrienatUMMZMichiganforhelpwithspecimens;
DinarzardeRaheemforhelpinobtainingreferences;andGeorgevanderPoortenforphotographyandacriticalreview
ofthemanuscript.
References
Bedjanicˇ,M.,Conniff,K.,&deSilvaWijeyeratne,G.(2007).AphotographicguidetothedragonfliesofSriLanka.
Colombo:JetwingEcoHolidays.
deFonseka,T.(2000).ThedragonfliesofSriLanka.Colombo:WHTPublications.
Fraser,F.C.(1924).AsurveyoftheOdonate(Dragonfly)faunaofWesternIndiawithspecialremarksonthegenera
MacromiaandIdionyxanddescriptionsofthirtynewspecies.RecordsoftheIndianMuseum,26,423–522,figs.1–6,
incl.pl.25–27.
Fraser,F.C.(1936).ThefaunaofBritishIndiaincludingCeylonandBurma(Vol.3).London:Taylor&Francis.
Kalkman,V.J.,Clausnitzer,V.,Dijkstra,K.-D.B.,Orr,A.G.,Paulson,D.R.,&VanTol,J.(2008).Globaldiversityof
dragonflies(Odonata)infreshwater.Hydrobiologia,595,351–363.
Laidlaw,F.F.(1951).AnoteonthederivationoftheOdonatefaunaoftheislandofCeylon.EntomologicalNews,62,
77–83.
Lieftinck,M.A.(1971).StudiesinOrientalCorduliidae(Odonata)I.TijdschriftEntomologie,114,1–63,figs.1–50.
Martin,R.(1906).CollectionsZoologiquesduBaronEdm.deSelysLongchamps.CatalogueSystématiqueetDescriptif.
FasciculeXVII.Cordulines.Bruxelles:Hayez,ImprimeurdesAcadémies.
Schorr,M.,&Paulson,D.(2012).WorldOdonataList.Retrievedfromhttp://www.pugetsound.edu
Subramanian,K.A.(2009).AchecklistofOdonata(Insecta)ofIndia.Kolkata:ZoologicalSurveyofIndia.
Ware,J.L.,May,M.L.,&Kjer,K.M.(2007).PhylogenyofthehigherLibelluloidea(Anisoptera:Odonata):anexploration
ofthemostspeciosesuperfamilyofdragonflies.MolecularPhylogeneticsandEvolution,45,289–310.
Wilson, K.D.P. (1996). The Idionychinae from Hong Kong, with a description of Macromidia ellenae spec. nov.
(Anisoptera:Corduliidae).Odonatologica,25,355–366.
Yeh,W.-C.,Tang,H.-C.,Chen,S.-L.,&Tsou,M.-H.(2006).Threedragonflies(Odonata)newlyrecordedinTaiwan.
FormosanEntomologist,26,137–195.