Laocaia unidentified

Laocaia (?) sp. nov. Figs 13 A, B, 14 A 1 – A 3 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 • 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. Remarks. Almost at the top of Mount Fansipan (3040 m a. s. l.) (Fig. 14 A) in 2018 we found a juvenile specimen of an unknown slug, possibly belonging to the genus Laocaia (Fig. 13 A). We searched the area of the peak again in 2023 and found two more juvenile specimens (Fig. 13 B) at low altitude in the very same spot as the yellowish morph of L. simovi (Fig. 14 B). 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.