Caledonica viridicollis laevioricollis Deuve, 2006

Kudrna, Arnošt, 2016, Revision of the genusCaledonica (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 56 (2), pp. 567-628 : 599-601

Caledonica viridicollis laevioricollis Deuve, 2006

( Figs 31–35 )

Caledonica rivalieri laevioricollis Deuve, 2006: 4 (original description). Caledonica viridicollis laevioricollis: DEUVE (2015) : 69 (transferred to C. viridicollis ), 76 (figure), 77 (noted).

Type locality. ‘ New Caledonia, 20°24´Sx 164°31´E. 550 m., Mandjelia, lower creek’.

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘ New Caledonia 11488, 20°24´ Sx 164°31´E. 550m., Mandjelia, lower creek., 29Nov2003 - 31Jan2004., G.Monteith. Malaise. ’ [printed]; ‘ Queensland Museum loan, Date: March 2005, No. LE 05.09’ [bluish, printed]; ‘ Holotype’ [red, printed] ( QMBA, temporarily in MNHN) . PARATYPE: ♀, ‘ New Caledonia 11488, 20°24´ Sx 164°31´E. 550m., Mandjelia,lower creek., 29Nov2003 - 31Jan2004., G.Monteith.Malaise. ’ [printed] ; ‘ Queensland Museum loan, Date: March 2005, No. LE 05.09’ [bluish, printed] ; ‘Paratype’ [red, printed] ( QMBA, temporarily in MNHN).

Redescription. Body small, in male (holotype) length 11.50 mm, width 3.80 mm ( Fig. 31 ); in female ( Fig. 33 ) length 10.80 mm, width 3.75 mm.

Head with large eyes, slightly narrower than elytra, dorsally dark bronze with metallic cupreous reflections; frons moderately convex, separated from clypeus by rather distinct suture, irregularly vermicular-rugulose; vertex moderately convex (more distinctly in female), with posterior impression, longitudinally or irregularly striate; orbital plates distinctly longitudinally parallel-striate with two setae on each side; occipital area rather shallowly irregularly wavy to vermicular-rugulose; genae glabrous, green to cupreous with metallic reflections, parallel-striate; clypeus coriaceous, with strong green to cupreous metallic lustre.

Labrum in both sexes with four setae and acute anterolateral teeth, in male ( Fig. 32 ) testaceous except for indistinctly brownish margins, shorter than wide, 1.05 mm long, 1.60 mm wide, median lobe short and truncate between short anterior teeth, female labrum ( Fig. 34 ) longer, testaceous with brown lateral margins, only slightly wider than long, length 1.35 mm, width 1.45 mm, with prominent, tridentate median lobe of acute teeth which are bent downwards.

Mandibles subsymmetrical, ivory-yellow to testaceous except for dark testaceous teeth and their black margins; each mandible with three teeth and basal molar.

Labial and maxillary palpi in male testaceous with darkened apices of terminal palpomeres; palpi in female darker, labial palpi with penultimate (longest) palpomere testaceous with darkened apex and terminal palpomere black, maxillary palpi testaceous with terminal and penultimate palpomere black.

Antennae. In male scape testaceous, pedicel black with paler apical area, antennomeres III–IV dark testaceous with black stripe, V–IX testaceous, last two antennomeres black; in female scape testaceous with darkened belt, pedicel dark testaceous to black, antennomeres III–IV dark testaceous to black with paler apices, antennomeres V–XI testaceous.

Thorax. All parts glabrous. Pronotum in male 2.00 mm long, 2.75 mm wide; in female 1.75 mm long, 2.45 mm wide; anterior and posterior sulci well pronounced, anterior and posterior lobe approximately of the same width; disc with convex lateral margins, in male with elevated notopleural sutures obvious in dorsal view forming very narrow ribs which are gradually effaced towards anterior and posterior sulci, in female without elevated notopleural sutures; pronotal surface dark bronze with bronze to cupreous metallic reflections, surface rather shallowly irregularly wavy-striate, several more distinct transverse rugae present along median line; lateral sterna in male dark ochreous or green with green to cupreous metallic lustre, in female darker, with dark cupreous and also green metallic lustre, very shallowly wrinkled (mesepisterna in male wrinkled more distinctly) female mesepisternal coupling sulcus absent; metepisterna with distinct impression at posterior suture; ventral sterna green to cupreous (in female also dark cupreous) with metallic lustre, metasternum with small fovea-like impression at dorsolateral corner.

Elytra elongate, length 8.10 mm in male, 7.90 in female, with rounded anteapical angles, apices rounded, slightly emarginate towards short sutural spine; apical impressions indistinct, juxtahumeral impressions and basodiscal convexity moderate; each elytron between basodiscal convexity and apical impression with two longitudinal costae: discal costa markedly elevated forming distinct edge, and much less distinct sublateral costa; area between costae and suture impressed; elytral surface anteriorly densely and deeply punctate; punctures towards apex becoming smaller and shallower, punctures on apical area in male indistinct, female elytral apical area with more distinct punctures, punctures on flat interspaces between costae and also between suture are indistinct to nearly effaced in male, shallow but distinct in female; sparse setigerous punctures with white, rather long hairlike setae are distributed on anterior area; elytral coloration bronze to indistinctly cupreous with metallic lustre; interspaces between costae and also along suture notably iridescent silvery-bronze, iridescence changing to dull depending on angle of illumination; elytral maculation ivory, in both sexes consisting of three maculae: humeral macula rather long, transverse median band reaching discal costa, and anteapical macula which is irregularly circular in male, reniform in female.

Abdomen. Ventrites glabrous, dark ochreous to green with green (in female even blue or blackish) metallic reflections.

Legs. Coxae and trochanters testaceous, femora testaceous with darker apices of metafemora; tibiae in male testaceous with indistinctly darkened apices of metatibiae, in female testaceous with black apices; tarsi in male as follows: protarsi black, last two tarsomeres partly testaceous, mesotarsi testaceous with darkened apices, metatarsi black, tarsi in female black; claws testaceous in male, black with testaceous apical part in female.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 35 ) with short base, basal half straight, apical half moderately arcuately bent, constricted towards rounded rather short and wide apex which is dorsally slightly emarginate. Not measured.

Differential diagnosis. Resembling C. rivalieri and C. rivalieriana sp. nov., but with smoother pronotum and differently shaped aedeagus with dorsally slightly emarginate apex. Moreover, from C. rivalieriana sp. nov. it differs in absent coupling sulcus. From C. v. viridicollis it can be distinguished by almost smooth surface of pronotal disc with rugae nearly effaced.

Biology and distribution. The original description was based on one male and one female specimen from a forest locality in vicinity of Mandjelia in the northern part of New Caledonia. Remarks. Caledonica viridicollis laevioricollis was originally described as a subspecies of C. rivalieri . Recently, DEUVE (2015) placed this taxon as a subspecies of C. viridicollis , but due to lack of additional material, even this position is only provisional. This taxon may represent only a synonym of C. viridicollis (see also remarks under C. viridicollis and C. rubicondosa ). Moreover, in the same publication Deuve mentioned that the paratype probably belongs to another, yet undescribed species.

Figures

Figs 29–35. 29–30 – Caledonica viridicollis viridicollis Deuve, 1987: 29 – habitus,♀, holotype, 12.5 mm (MNHN); 30 – labrum, ibid. 31–35 – C. viridicollis laevioricollis Deuve, 2006: 31 – habitus, J, holotype, 11.5 mm (QMBA); 32 – frontal view, ibid.; 33 – habitus, ♀, paratype, 10.8 mm (QMBA); 34 – frontal view, ibid.; 35 – aedeagus (not measured), holotype (QMBA). Scale bars = 1 mm.