Australoluciola thailandica Sriboonlert, Swatdipong, and Sartsanga, 2017

Sartsanga, Channarong, Chanchay, Pornchanan, Chaovalit, Sunadda, Ballantyne, Lesley A., Swatdipong, Akarapong & Sriboonlert, Ajaraporn, 2017, Australoluciola thailandica Sriboonlert, Swatdipong, and Sartsanga, New Species (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae) from Thailand: First Record of the Genus Australoluciola Ballantyne from Southeast Asia, The Coleopterists Bulletin 71 (4), pp. 727-732 : 729-732

Australoluciola thailandica Sriboonlert, Swatdipong, and Sartsanga , new species ( Fig. 2 )

Type Material. Holotype male KU- 2016-08-23, pinned, with genitalia in a separate microvial, 17°28′57″N 98°04′26″E, 500 m, Tak, Thailand, 27 June 2016 . Paratypes: Two males KU- 2016-08-18 and KU- 2016-08-24, pinned, with genitalia in a separate microvial, 17°28′57″N 98°04′26″E, 500 m, Tak, Thailand, 27 June 2016 .

Diagnosis. Australoluciola thailandica belongs to that group of Australoluciola which do not have a trisinuate V7. It can be distinguished from other species with non-trisinuate V7, i.e., Australoluciola nigra (Olivier) , Australoluciola orapallida (Ballantyne) , and A. flavicollis , by its pale yellow abdomen with black marking on the thorax and its dark brown, almost black elytra. Both A. orapallida and A. flavicollis have elytra with paler margins, while A. nigra has a black abdomen with the LO on V7 restricted to the medial area only. It is very similar to A. australis but can be distinguished by the shapes of T8, V7, and the aedeagus. Australoluciola australis has T8 tapering toward the apex (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, fig. 30), whereas the apex of T8 of A. thailandica is almost as wide as the width of T8 ( Fig. 2F ). The MPP of A. australis is short and apically rounded and the length approximately 1/6 that of V7 (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, fig. 28), but the MPP of A. thailandica is elongate and truncated at the apex and the length 1/3 that of V7 ( Fig. 1C, D ). The aedeagus of A. australis is elongate slender and length/width ratio = 5/1 (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 31 – 33), but the aedeagus of A. thailandica relatively short and wide and length /width ratio = 3.75/1. Australoluciola thailandica is also very similar to Luciola trilucida Jeng and Lai and Inflata indica (Motschulsky) in size and color, but is distinguished by the nonemarginated elytral apex in L. trilucida and the trisinuated V7 and short slender LL of I. indica ( Ballantyne et al. 2015, figs. 127 – 131).

Description. Male. 4.1 – 4.5 mm long; 1.7 – 1.9 mm wide. Pronotum: 0.7 – 0.8 mm long 1.1 – 1.2 mm wide, pronotal width slightly less than humeral width ( Fig. 2C ); yellow-orange, subparallel-sided, dorsal surface with dense punctuation, with dark median sulcus not reaching either anterior or posterior margins, median area of dorsal surface somewhat convex over eyes; with flat lateral margins. Head: GHW = 0.92 – 0.95 mm; pronotal width/ GHW = 1.2.; eyes large, black; vertex shallowly depressed; antenna filiform; ASD = 0.05 mm; ASW = 0.07 mm; SIW = 0.22 mm; mandibles orange-brown, darker toward pointed apices; apical maxillary palpomere a laterally flattened triangle, widest at base, apex rounded, longer than wide; apical labial palpomere longer than wide, a flattened triangle similar to that of apical maxillary palpomere but smaller and thinner, half as long as apical maxillary palpomere and with inner edge entire, not dentate. Thorax: MS and MN yellow-orange; metasternum pale yellow with dark brown marking ( Fig. 2A, B ). Elytron: 3.4 – 3.6 mm long, dark brown almost black, parallel-sided ( Fig. 2L ); punctures dense, not as large as that on pronotum, unevenly spaced; epipleuron developed as ridge along margin and beyond apex but not around. Abdomen: T1 – 5 pale yellow; T6 – 8 transparent, fat body visible beneath cuticle; V1 – 5 pale yellow ( Fig. 2B, D, P ), fat body visible from posterior half of V5 to V7 and from ventral side margin of abdominal T8; LO in V6 – V7 entire, occupying all of V6 – V7, and extending into the MPP; MPP present, symmetrical, as long as wide, posterior margin truncate; PLP absent, posterolateral corners rounded; T8 symmetrical, as long as wide ( Fig. 2G ), 0.53 mm, widest across middle with lateral margins tapering slightly more toward anterior margin than posterior margin, posterior corners rounded, posterior margin truncate beside short, narrow median emargination; ventral surface of T8 without flanges and lateral ridges, no lateral depressed trough, slight median longitudinal trough; anterolateral arms of T8 short, apically rounded. Legs: Prothoracic legs dark brown except for pale coxae, trochanters, and basal half of femora ( Fig. 2B ); middle and hind legs dark brown except for pale coxae, trochanters, and femora; dark marking present on metacoxae; femora and tibiae not swollen or curved. Aedeagal sheath: 0.99 – 1.02 mm long, 0.34 – 0.35 mm wide, symmetrical without bulbous paraprocts, widest in the middle, evenly tapering anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior half of sternite relatively narrow, apically rounded ( Fig. 2I – K ). Aedeagus: 0.76 – 0.78 mm long, 0.20 – 0.21 mm wide, slender, length/width ratio 3.75:1.00; ML slightly longer than LL; posterior end of ML and LL curve toward each other; lateral margins of LL curving, tapering to apex; apices of LL rounded, LL of the same length, apices slightly visible from beneath at the side of the ML, separated longitudinally wider at anterior; ML slightly asymmetrical at apex, apex rounded and ventrally excavated; BP separated into 2 pieces, slightly asymmetrical, length 1/3 total aedeagal length, not strongly sclerotized ( Fig. 2M – O ).

Etymology. The specific name refers to the country of origin of the type specimens.

Remarks. Australoluciola thailandica was collected using a sweep net in a deciduous forest area on the mountain near the Thailand-Republic of the Union of Myanmar border at 500 m elevation. No females or larvae associated with this species were found nor was a flash pattern observed. The type locality is comprised of mixed deciduous trees with a small stream running through the forest ( Fig. 1B ). The samples were collected during June, which is the rainy season and has an average maximum temperature of 27 – 29° C. During our survey during 2012 – 2016 throughout Thailand, we collected only three male specimens of this species from one locality. A similar study on firefly diversity in the highlands of northern Thailand ( Wattanachaiyingcharoen et al. 2016) reported a new record for the genus Trisinuata in Thailand, but Australoluciola was not collected Australoluciola . Asymmetricata circumdata (Motschulsky) was found in the same habitat with A. thailandica . Unlike A. thailandica , A. circumdata is widely distributed across Thailand ( Nak-eiam et al. 2011), suggesting that A. thailandica may have more restrictive habitat requirements. The small numbers of individuals observed and the limited habitat and distribution of Australoluciola could be a causal factor in this genus not being reported previously in this region. Moreover, as A. thailandica does not show aggregation behavior, identification is more difficult as firefly species that do not fly in aggregation tend to be poorly represented in collections compared to those that do (LAB, personal observation). Our findings extend the range of Australoluciola into Southeast Asia. More work needs to be done on firefly diversity in this region to determine if more undescribed species will be discovered.

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF ADULT MALE AUSTRALOLUCIOLA (Modified from Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013)

1. V7 trisinuate along its posterior margin (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 10, 11, 21, 35, 57, 61, 67, 68, 73, 75). ... .. ... ... 2

1 ʹ. V7 not trisinuate along its posterior margin (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 28, 48, 87); posterolateral corners rounded, not produced; median posterior projection always developed, sometimes longer than wide, may be apically emarginated ....... 11

2. Hind femora swollen, hind tibiae curved (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, fig. 37) .... ...................................................... 3

2 ʹ. Hind femora not swollen, hind tibiae not curved ............................................. 4

3. Elytra dark brown (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 35 – 37) ................................ ....................... A. baduria (Ballantyne)

3 ʹ. Elytra orange yellow with small dark area at apex (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 39 – 44) .......... A. japenensis (Ballantyne)

4. Pronotum entirely dark, or with dark markings around margins or in center ........... 5

4 ʹ. Pronotum pale colored with no dark markings .......................................... 8

5. Pronotum entirely dark; rest of dorsal body and entire ventral surface except for LOs dark brown (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 66, 67, 71, 72, 74) ....................... 6

5 ʹ. Pronotum with dark markings around margins or in center; venter may have paler markings .......................................... 7

6. Medium-sized (6.2 – 6.6 mm long) (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 66 – 71) ................ .................... A. fuscamagna (Ballantyne)

6 ʹ. Small (3.5 – 4.0 mm long) (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, Figs. 67 – 74) ................... ................... A. fuscaparva (Ballantyne)

7. Pronotum orange with orange margins and extensive medial dark markings; elytra dark brown; ventral surface of body with pale areas including LOs (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 18 – 21, 25) .............. .............................. A. aspera (Olivier)

7 ʹ. Pronotum orange with dark markings around margins; venter (apart from LOs) dark brown (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 9 – 17) .................. A. anthracina (Olivier) var.

8. Venter entirely dark brown except posterior margin of abdominal V5 may be pale or apices of profemora may be paler; head between eyes dark brown; T7 and 8 dark brown .............................................. 9

8 ʹ. Venter always with some pale markings, i.e. parts of head, thorax, and/or portions of legs and/or basal segments of abdomen pale, head between eyes yellow or brown; T7 and 8 pale ........................................... 10

9. Large 9.9 – 10.0 mm long; known only from three males from Sea Falls , Torricelli Mountains, Papua New Guinea (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 75 – 82) .............. ....................... A. maxima (Ballantyne)

9 ʹ. Smaller (<8 mm); known from southeastern New Guinea..... A. anthracina (Olivier)

10. New Britain; head between eyes yellow; elytral punctures small, uniform (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 83 – 91) .............. ................ A. pharusaurea (Ballantyne)

10 ʹ. Mainland New Guinea; head between eyes dark brown to black; punctures along some areas of elytra large and irregular ............. ......................... A. foveicollis (Olivier)

11 Venter yellow; elytra dark brown to black with no paler margins ........................ 12

11 ʹ. Venter always with extensive darker markings; elytra dark brown to black often with paler margins at sides or across base.... 13

12. Found in mangroves along the east coast of Queensland as far south as Bundaberg; venter yellow except for white LOs; MPP short, apically rounded; (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 26 – 34) ................... ........................ A. australis (Fabricius)

12 ʹ. Open forest dweller in northern Thailand; venter pale yellow with dark markings on the ventral aspect of the metathorax; V4 with a small, white, medial patch of fat body visible and posterior half of V5 white; MPP broadly truncate apically ( Fig. 2 ) ........................ .................. A. thailandica Sriboonlert, Swatdipong, and Sartsanga , new species

13. Elytra dark brown with no pale margins .... ................................ A. nigra (Olivier)

13 ʹ. Elytra dark brown with paler margins .... 14

14. Elytra brown basally and apically, lateral margins widely pale; most of venter pale; aedeagus with LL very narrow at their apices and widely separated dorsally (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013) .............................. .................... A. orapallida (Ballantyne)

14 ʹ. Elytra brown, always with some orange markings, either across base and/or sutural ridge and/or lateral margin; most of venter very dark brown; aedeagus with LL closely approaching dorsally (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013, figs. 45 – 55) ................... ...................... A. flavicollis (MacLeay)

Figures

Fig. 2. Australoluciola thailandica, holotype male (KU-2016-08-23). A) Dorsal habitus, B) Ventral habitus, C) Pronotum, D) Abdomen (V5–7), paratype male (KU-2016-08-24), E) Aedeagus and sheath within T8, dorsal view, F) Aedeagal sheath with aedeagus still contained, dorsal view, G) T8, ventral view, H) Head and part of thorax, ventral view, I) Aedeagal sheath, dorsal view, J) Aedeagal sheath, lateral view, K) Aedeagal sheath, ventral view, L) Left elytron, dorsal view, M) Aedeagus, dorsal view, N) Aedeagus, right lateral view, O) Aedeagus, right ventral view, P) Abdominal tergites.

Fig. 1. Type locality of Australoluciola thailandica. A) Map of Thailand indicating type locality in Tak province near the Myanmar border (acquired from commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thailand_Topography.png), B) Habitat.