Magnalata rennellia, Ballantyne & Lambkin, 2009

Ballantyne, Lesley A. & Lambkin, Christine, 2009, Systematics of Indo-Pacific fireflies with a redefinition of Australasian Atyphella Olliff, Madagascan Photuroluciola Pic, and description of seven new genera from the Luciolinae (Coleoptera: Lampyridae), Zootaxa 1997, pp. 1-188 : 71-72

Magnalata rennellia sp. n.

( Figs 231, 232, 242, 243, 245)

Holotype. Male. SOLOMON ISLANDS: Central Pr. , 11.65S, 160.20E, Rennell, Teavamanga-Lavanggu, 17.x.1951, Danish Galathea expedition; Hutuna, 16.xi.1953, J Bradley ( NHML).

Paratypes (3). Same locality and data as holotype, males ( NHML) .

Diagnosis. Very similar to M. carolinae , distinguished by the flat anterior portion of the hypomeron and the paler pronotum, and the very strongly developed tooth on the inner preapical margins of the LL.

Male. 8.7–8.8 mm long; 2.4 mm wide; W/L 0.3. Colour ( Figs 231, 232): PN orange (PN of three Rennell males with very pale paired median brown spots coinciding with underlying muscle retraction and interpretation of colour is difficult), MN orange yellow, MS dusky brown, almost as dark as elytra; elytra mid-brown, lateral margin in 4/5 appears narrowly paler (this area semitransparent and interpretation could be a consequence of microscope illumination); in two males the lateral margin of elytra with a narrow line of fat body on inner margin of paler lateral margin, and one male with lateral margins very narrowly pale creamy white, extending narrowly around apex to suture on left but not right side; head very dark reddish brown, antennae (except for paler scape) and palpi brown; venter yellowish except for light brown tibiae and dark red brown tarsi of all legs, dark brown V5, posterior half of V4 and irregular brown markings in lateral areas of V2, 3 and creamy white LO in V6, 7; T7 pale mottled brown, T8 yellow semitransparent, remainder midbrown. Pronotum: 1.8–2.0 mm long; 3.1–3.2 mm wide; W/L 1.6–1.7; anterior half of hypomeron flat, posterior area widely flat and closely adpressed. Elytron ( Fig. 232): 6.8–6.9 mm long; 3–4 interstitial lines developed. Head: GHW 2.1 mm; SIW 0.25mm; SIW/GHW 0.1; ASD<ASW; frons-vertex junction rounded, frons about 1 x ASW high. Antennae just> GHW. Mouthparts functional; apical segment of labial palpi like a relatively narrow triangle (longer than wide), with inner (shorter) margin irregular. Abdomen, ventrites (Fig. 245): LO entire in both V6 and V7 reaching sides but not posterior margin and occupying most of V7. MPP short, broad apically rounded. Tergites: T8 about as wide as long; anterolateral prolongations short, narrow, not expanded vertically. Aedeagus (Figs 242, 243): L/W slightly <3/1; LL/ML moderate; LL not divergent along their length dorsally, and slightly shorter than ML; inner apical area of LL with a strong tooth.

Female, Larva. Unknown.

Etymology. The specific name rennellia is a noun in apposition and seeks to emphasise the restricted locality of this species, which is known only from Rennell Island to the outer SW edge of the Solomon Island complex.

Remarks. Within the Solomon Island firefly fauna many fireflies with orange pronota may exhibit paler brown areas in the median pronotal area; in most this is due to the retraction beneath the cuticle of muscle blocks and is not a true colour in the overlying cuticle. It is not possible here to establish the true pronotal colour as the apparent pale brown areas coincide exactly with the area of retraction of muscle beneath the cuticle. Only Pygat. limbatifusca sp. n. has distinct median dark pronotal markings on an otherwise orange pronotum. Problems with the interpretation of the lateral margin as paler coloured under microscopic examination in this species were also encountered in Pygat. salomonis and are discussed further there.