Protidricerus albocapitatus Suryanarayanan, Ábrahám, Bijoy & Palot, 2025

Protidricerus albocapitatus Suryanarayanan, Ábrahám, Bijoy & Palot sp. nov.

( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 )

Type material: Holotype. ♀ INDIA, Kerala State, Malappuram District, Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary, Nedumkayam , 58 m, 11°17′30.66″N, 76°20′19.17″E, 17.V.2022, leg. Suryanarayanan T. B., ZSI/ WGRC /IR/ INV30029 GoogleMaps . Paratype (tip of abdomen missing) same recording site as holotype 30.IV.2022, leg. Muhamed Jafer Palot, SERLNR295.

Diagnosis. Clypeus and labrum yellow, and there is a long, dense tuft of white hairs on vertex in dorsal view. Antennal club predominantly yellowish-white. Mesonotum dark brown with indistinct yellow markings. Wings narrow, with a concave anal margin and a small protuberance. Pterostigma dark brown proximally and white with dark cross-veins distally on both wings.

Only P. elwesii has been previously reported from India, which is the largest known Protidricerus species (forewing length: 39–45 mm). Both pairs of wings in P. elwesii are remarkably broad compared to the new species; the pterostigma is monochrome and varies from reddish-brown to dark brown, and the antennal club is dark brown. Protidricerus exilis , the only known species of the Hengduan Mountains, is easily distinguished from the new species by its dark brown club and dark brown pterostigma. In the continental South Asia, the known distributional areas of P. elwesii and P. exilis are at a significant geographical distance from that of the new species.

Description

Measurements. Holotype ♀ Body length: 22 mm; forewing length: 34 mm, width: 7.5 mm; hindwing length: 27 mm, width: 6 mm.

Paratype ♀ (n=1) Forewing length: 35 mm, width: 7.5 mm; hindwing length: 28 mm, width: 6 mm.

Head ( Fig. 2A–B View FIGURE 2 ). Vertex narrow, yellow with long dense tuft of white hairs on top, but covered with long black hairs on anterior and posterior parts. Frons shining yellowish-brown with long, dense, soft brownish-yellow and black hairs. Long dense tuft of black hairs intermingled with greyish-white ones between scapus. Long dense tuft of black hairs originating from anterior tentoral pits. Gena subdominantly pale yellow, but dark brown next to frons, light brown to brown on inner margins. Clypeus bright yellow with brown apically and lateral margins with brownish-yellow and black hairs. Labrum bright yellow with ochreous red setae directed to mouthparts. Mandible bright yellow basally, but apices and inner margin brown to dark-brown. Maxillary and labial palps brown, with short black setae at joints. Eyes large, hemispherical-shaped, without transversal furrow. Scape, pedicel brown. Flagellomeres brown with dark brown rings distally. Club elongately pear-shaped, yellowish-brown, with black verticils. Occiput dark-brown with large oval-shaped yellow mark on both sides.

Thorax ( Fig. 2B View FIGURE 2 ). Pronotum narrow, dark-brown, both margins upwards, dull-black, posterior margin with long soft and black hairs. Mesonotum, prescutum dark brown; scutellum with yellow marks medially and dark bown marks laterally; scutum dark brown with yellow marks laterally and also with a yellow mark disto-medially. Metanotum, postscutum and postscutellum dark brown. Notum covered with shorter dark brown hairs medially and longer dark brown and white hairs laterally. Sides covered with dense white hairs.

Wings ( Fig. 2C View FIGURE 2 ). Forewing longer than hindwing. Membrane completely transparent, veins brown with sparse short and black setae. Wing tips rounded; wing narrow, only 3–4 rows of cells in cubital area; pterostigma longer than wide, rhomboid-shaped, brown basally, white distally, with 3–4 cross-veins; apical area beyond Sc+R wide and with three rows of cells. Radius sector with 8–9 branches. In front of oRs with 5 cross-veins, but two distal cells divided by veins. Beyond oRs, 4–5 cells interconnected by cross-veins below R. Anal margin slightly concave with a small blunt protuberance.

Hindwing membrane transparent, narrow, only two rows of cells in cubital area. Pterostigma longer than wide, rhomboid-shaped, brown basally, white distally, with 4–5 cross-veins; apical area beyond Sc+R with 2–3 rows of cells. In front of oRs with 3 cross-veins, distal cell divided by vein. Radius sector with 8 branches.

Legs ( Fig. 2D–E View FIGURE 2 ). Short, strong and dark-brown. Coxae brown with long greyish-white hairs. Femora slightly shorter than tibiae, mixed with short and long white and black hairs. Tibiae brown with short and long black hairs in foreleg and midleg, with white and black hairs in hind leg. In foreleg, tibial spurs as long as tarsal segments 1–3 combined; tarsomeres with short black setae; tarsal segments 1–4 subequal in length; segment 5 longer than length of segments 1–4 combined. In hindleg, tibial spurs slightly shorter than length of tarsal segments 1–3 combined; tarsomeres with short black setae.

Abdomen. Considerably shorter than hindwing. Each tergite dark-brown with two gray marks antero-laterally and two yellow spots disto-laterally, covered with short black setae. Inter-segmental membrane very wide, less chitinised and with large black and yellow marks (in female). Sternites dark-brown, covered with black hairs.

Terminalia ( Fig. 3A–B View FIGURE 3 ). In lateral view, T8 nearly quadrate, dominantly dark-brown with short black hairs; T9 oval-shaped, covered with short black hairs and medium-long hairs on ventro-caudal margin; ectoproct hemispherical-shaped, covered with short dense black hairs caudally and ventrally. In ventral view, S9 caudal margin rounded, covered with short black hairs.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin— albus, which means white, and capitatus, referring to the long, dense tuft of white hairs on the vertex and a sub-dominantly white club of the antenna.

Remarks. The first identification of the new species was based on a photograph taken near Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Thiruvananthapuram ( Kerala), in 2019. It was a male specimen ( Fig. 4B View FIGURE 4 ). No further specimens were found until 2022. At that time, we collected two female specimens ( Fig. 4A View FIGURE 4 ) from Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary, Nedumkayam ( Kerala). The male of the new species is only known from a photograph, it is not part of the type series and description. Nevertheless, we publish the photograph because it helps to recognize the males in the future. The male exhibits some characteristics that are typical of the species. The club is sub-dominantly white, with long white hairs on the vertex. The pterostigma is dark basally and white distally. In both images ( Fig. 4A–B View FIGURE 4 ), it is unusual that there is a conspicuous white powder-like coating on the thorax and abdomen segments 1–3. However, this can easily be reduced or even disappear from the specimens, but the white, dense hairs on the thorax and abdominal segments remain. A similar characteristic can be observed on the sternal segments in the Asian species of Maezous Ábrahám, 2008 , but it can also be observed in several African genera.

Distribution. The new species has so far been collected only in India: Kerala: Malappuram (Nedumkayam) and Thiruvananthapuram (Neyyar WLS) ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ). The new species is likely endemic to the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.

Habitat and flight period of adults in Kerala. Nedumkayam is the lowest elevation region of the Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary, one of the recently declared wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala.The vegetation here primarily consists of teak plantations, interspersed with moist deciduous and evergreen elements, especially near the Karimpuzha River—one of the main tributaries of the larger Chaliyar River. The sanctuary features a significant elevation gradient, ranging from 2,500 m near Mukurthi Peak to just 58 m near Nedumkayam (a low-altitude region in Kerala). The adult flight period of Protidricerus albocapitatus Suryanarayanan, Ábrahám, Bijoy & Palot sp. nov. is April and May, while the adult flight period of Protidricerus elwesii ( McLachlan, 1891) from India is May through July based on McLachlan (1891); van der Weele (1909); Ghosh (1985; 1988; 2000a; 2000b).