Laocaia (?) sp. nov.

Laocaia (?) sp. nov.

Figs 13 A, B View Figure 13 , 14 A 1 – A 3 View Figure 14

Material examined. Vietnam • 1 juvenile; Lào Cai Province, Fansipan peak, nearby the peak ; 22.3029°N, 103.7753°E; 3085 m alt.; 21 Oct. 2018; leg. I. Dedov, N. Simov, R. Bekchiev, P. Beron; rocks; IBER-BAS 40338 GoogleMaps • 2 juveniles; Sa Pa district, Fansipan peak , bamboo forest below the peak; 22.3046°N, 103.7759°E; 3040 m alt.; 24 Oct. 2023; I. Dedov, N. Simov, R. Bekchiev, M. Langurov leg.; IBER-BAS 40619-2 GoogleMaps .

Remarks. Almost at the top of Mount Fansipan (3040 m a. s. l.) (Fig. 14 A View Figure 14 ) in 2018 we found a juvenile specimen of an unknown slug, possibly belonging to the genus Laocaia (Fig. 13 A View Figure 13 ). We searched the area of the peak again in 2023 and found two more juvenile specimens (Fig. 13 B View Figure 13 ) at low altitude in the very same spot as the yellowish morph of L. simovi (Fig. 14 B View Figure 14 ). The specimens have a typical pattern different from all other Laocaia species, as well as from the slugs known from the province Lào Cai ( Kuzminykh 1999; Dedov et al. 2019; Đ ỗ Đ ức Sáng et al. 2022; Dedov 2024).

The anterior part of the body is primarily dark-ocher-brownish with horizontal yellowish belt-zone on the underside. On the anterior part of the body, there are also additional whitish, irregular spots and markings. The head and tentacles are dark-brownish, with numerous small white markings on the neck. The visceral hump is dark-ocher-brownish, with irregular whitish spots and two brownish stripes. The tale is dark-ocher-brownish, with irregular whitish spots and markings. The horizontal yellowish belt-zone of the lower part of the body is distinct. The edge of the V-grove is yellowish-whitish. The sole is uniformly pale. Since all the specimens we found are juveniles, we prefer not to describe a new species. We hope to draw the attention of the scientific community to the area and that future studies will be able to identify and describe this taxon.