Protosticta, Selys, 1885

Key to males of Protosticta View in CoL spp. of Western Ghats

1 Posterior lobe of prothorax with medial spines.............................................................. 2

Posterior lobe of prothorax without medial spines............................................................ 4

2 The posterior lobe of the prothorax with relatively short medial spines reaching around the mesostigmal plate; S7 with sky-blue mark............................................................................................... 3

The posterior lobe of the prothorax with very long medial spines reaching up to the proximal one third of pterothorax; S7 without sky-blue mark..................................................................... P. antelopoides

3 Cerci tip without any obvious notch, but has apical bulging; medial spines of prothorax relatively long and narrow, lateral spines of prothorax blunt........................................................................ P. francyi

Cerci tip notched and without any bulging; medial spines of prothorax relatively short and broad, lateral spines of prothorax sharp................................................................................. P. ponmudiensis

4 Inner fork of cerci ending as a process (either short or long), outer fork of cerci ending as either an expansion or a process.. ................................................................................................... 5

Inner fork of cerci ending as a triangular lamina, outer fork of cerci ending as an expansion......................... 14

5 Apical fork of cerci deeply incised more than one-third of the total cerci length.................................... 6

Apical fork of cerci shallow incised, much less than one-third of total cerci length................................ 10

6 Apical fork of cerci without a tubercle at its centre; length of abdomen + caudal appendages> 25 mm................. 7

Cerci with a small tubercle at middle of the apical fork; length of abdomen + caudal appendages < 25 mm. P. myristicaensis

7 Prothorax with blue or violet markings; cerci with short or long basal spine....................................... 8

Prothorax with a hexagonal black marking covering central portion of posterior lobe and small portion of middle lobe; cerci with a prominent laterally pointed basal spine...................................................... P. gravelyi

8 Prothorax with combination of blue or violet with black markings; inner fork of cerci long (approximately half of the outer fork)............................................................................................... 9

Prothorax completely blue; inner fork of cerci relatively short (shorter than half of the outer fork)............. P. hearseyi

9 Anterior and middle lobes of prothorax blue, posterior lobe of prothorax black; cerci with a long laterally pointed basal spine............................................................................................ P. mortoni

Prothorax violet with variable markings of black; cerci with a short spine on the outer fork................ P. sexcolorata

10 Cerci with a small basal spine; outer fork of cerci simple, not bi-lobed.......................................... 11

Cerci with a prominent robust basal spine; outer fork of cerci bi-lobed.......................................... 12

11 Dorsum of middle portion of posterior lobe of prothorax completely black extending as two points to the dorsum of middle lobe; pterostigma rectangular, black; inner fork of cerci thick, outer fork ending with a short extension towards inner fork............................................................................................ P. davenporti

Dorsum of posterior lobe of prothorax black, laterally brown; middle lobe of prothorax with a small dorsal faint black spot; pterostigma large, squarish, reddish brown; inner fork of cerci thin, outer fork large and squarish without any extension............................................................................................. P. rufostigma

12 Lateral one third of mesepisternum and mesepimeron brown to black; dorsal surface of cerci apex has a tubercle......... 13

Lateral one third of mesepisternum and mesepimeron crimson red; dorsal surface of cerci apex does not have any tubercle................................................................................. P. sanguinithorax sp. nov.

13 The apical fork of cerci has long and thin thumb process with a polygonal margin; dorsal surface of cerci has a relatively large tubercle; filaments of apical segment of genital ligula have triangular tips.......................... P. sanguinostigma

The apical fork of cerci has short and thick thumb process with a near-rounded margin; dorsal surface of cerci has a small tubercle; filaments of apical segment of genital ligula have reniform tips...................... P. shambhaveei sp. nov.

14 S9 completely black or marked only at ventral border; posterior border of prothorax not expanded; paraprocts not lobed at apices............................................................................................. 15

S9 laterally marked with a large yellow spot at anterior border, reaching more than 2/3rd of the segment, not connected apically in both sexes; posterior border of prothorax expanded; paraprocts thin, long and lobed at apices................. P. sholai

15 Outer fork of cerci ending as a chisel-shaped expansion...................................................... 16

Outer fork of cerci ending as a rounded expansion.......................................................... 17

16 Basal spine of cerci directed diagonally inwards; posterior lobe of prothorax brown, unmarked; pale mark on anterior part of S8 is small and well-separated on dorsum...................................................... P. anamalaica

Basal spine of cerci directed backwards and upwards; posterior lobe of prothorax almost fully marked with black; pale mark on anterior part of S8 is large and may or may not be separated on dorsum............................. P. armageddonia

17 Eyes blue; femur bright blue internally; S8 with a bright blue annule extended laterally two-third of its length; outer fork of cerci straight............................................................................ P. cyanofemora

Eyes dark grey above, bluish green below; femur pale yellow; S8 black dorsally, ventro-laterally one-fourth yellow; outer fork of cerci curved at apices..................................................................... P. monticola

(Note: Exact cerci structure of P. anamalaica and P. monticola are not presented in the original descriptions. Hence to accommodate these species in the keys, tentative identification characters are mentioned. However, this key may get amended after thorough examination of cerci structure of these species.)