Melobasis caudata, Carter, 1923

Levey, Brian, 2012, 3464, Zootaxa 3464, pp. 1-107 : 32-34

M. caudata Carter

( Figs. 9, 114, 178)

Melobasis caudata Carter 1923:80 , 96; 1929:284; Obenberger 1930:428; Bellamy 2002:147; 2008:1317. Type locality: Western Australia, Ankertell.

Type specimens examined. Lectotype ♂, (here designated), ( MVMA), Ankertell W.A. H.W. Brown / Melobasis caudata Carter Id. by H.J. Carter / Type H.J.C. / Type / LECTOTYPE Melobasis caudata Carter, B. Levey det.

Paralectotypes as follows: 1♀, ( MVMA), mounted on same card as Lectotype; 2 unsexed, ( MVMA), Ankertell, W.A., H.W. Brown; 4 unsexed, ( SAMA), Ankertell, W.A., H.W. Brown/ Melobasis caudata Carter, Id. by H.J. Carter, Cotypes/ Melobasis caudata Cart., W. Australia, Cotype; 1 unsexed, ( SAMA), Cue, W.A., H.W. Brown/ Melobasis caudata Carter, Id. by H.J. Carter, Cotype/ Melobasis caudata Cart., W. Australia, Cotype.

Other material examined. Western Australia: Ankertell; Cue; Marloo Stn., Wurarga; Meekatharra–Billiluna Pool, Canning Stock Route, Well 8; Milly Milly Stn. Specimens examined from AMSA, ANIC, SAMA, WAMA.

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 9.0– 13.2 mm; head and pronotum greenish-, blackish- or brownishbronze, sometimes pronotum and upper part of vertex at centre with a blue green reflection; elytra greenish- or yellowish-copper, with the epipleura from just distal of the humeral callosity to the apex, the lateral margins in apical half, the apices, the sutural margins and sometimes the subsutural depression in the apical two-thirds blackish-lilac or violet; sometimes the lilac or violet colour of the subsutural depression is produced obliquely towards the base away from the suture; the humeral callosity and surrounding area is also sometimes marked with blackish-lilac or blue; underside greenish- or brownish-bronze with coppery or reddish-purple reflections; lateral parts of underside moderately densely clothed with fairly long silvery pubescence.

Head: moderately densely punctured with fairly small mostly elliptical punctures which coalesce to form linear series orientated dorso-ventrally on the lower half of the vertex and the frontoclypeus; moderately densely clothed with long silvery pubescence; unpunctured areas shiny to strongly microreticulate; clypeal excision shallow, Ushaped to moderately deep V-shaped, with an unpunctured weakly to strongly microreticulate border which is sometimes only developed at centre; clypeal peaks acute to right angled; vertex flat, three-fifths to two-thirds the width of head across eyes when viewed from above; eyes weakly to moderately strongly convex.

Antenna: serrate from segment 4–10, the segments becoming progressively smaller and slightly less elongate, in ♂ the expanded part of the segments is quadrate, in ♀ the expanded part of segments 4 is more or less triangular, segments 5–10 more or less quadrate.

Pronotum: 1.52–1.63 times as wide at base as long in midline; anterior margin bisinuate, with a shallowly produced broad median lobe, which is sometimes scarcely produced and then the margin is almost straight at the centre; anterior beaded margin narrow sometimes missing at the centre; posterior margin bisinuate; widest behind mid-length; lateral margins usually slightly divergent from posterior angles to widest point, sometimes as wide at posterior angles as at mid-length, and margins sinuate slightly in front of posterior angles; moderately strongly curvilinearly convergent from widest point to the anterior angles; as wide as or very slightly narrower at base than elytra at base; lateral carina slightly sinuate, about two-thirds to three-quarters complete; punctation sparse to moderately dense in central fifth, consisting of small round punctures, which become progressively larger and denser towards the lateral margin; usually with at least a partly developed unpunctured midline; shiny or with weak reticulate microsculpture; sparsely to moderately densely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence which is confined to the lateral half of the pronotum.

Scutellum: approximately quadrate to slightly elongate; shiny or weakly microsculptured; about one-ninth to one-twelfth width of elytra at base.

Elytra: 2.29–2.69 times as long as wide at the base; basal margin strongly biarcuate to biangulate; very slightly widening from base over the humeral callosities, thence parallel sided to mid-length, before narrowing to the broadly rounded apices; lateral margins from somewhat beyond mid-length and apices with fairly strong acute serrations; sutural margin strongly raised in apical half; each elytron with a slightly developed, to well developed costa next to the subsutural depression, sometimes with indications of one or two less well defined costae lateral to the first costa; subsutural depression sparsely punctured with very small round punctures; punctation lateral to the first costate interval consisting of larger denser punctures which become progressively denser, larger and more ovate towards the lateral margin, where they form short transverse series; moderately strongly microreticulate.

Proepisternum: very densely punctured with moderately large, shallow lunate punctures, partly obscured by moderately long silvery pubescence.

Prosternum: with a narrow bead at the anterior margin; the area behind the anterior margin sometimes swollen on either side, with the central area just anterior to the prosternal process relatively depressed; prosternal process strongly widening behind the fore coxae, very sparsely to sparsely punctured with small round or pin-prick punctures, without a groove or line of coalescent punctures near the lateral margin; glabrous, or with very sparse very short inconspicuous pubescence.

Mesoepisternum: very densely to contiguously punctured, with moderately large, shallow, lunate punctures; partly obscured by long silvery pubescence.

Apical sternite ( Fig. 9): with lunate punctures near the lateral margin coalescent, forming grooves parallel to the lateral margin; excision about three to five times as wide as deep; the lateral spines moderately developed; distal margin of flange straight.

Tarsal claws: slightly widened at base, but without a basal tooth.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 178).

Ovipositor: short, about as long as wide.

Comments. This species is most likely to be mistaken for specimens of M. septemplagiata Carter which can be almost identical in colour and habitus, however in M. septemplagiata the prosternal process has a well defined groove or line of coalescent puncture close to the lateral margin which is absent in M. caudata and the prosternal process is only slightly gradually widening apically, not strongly rather abruptly widening apically as it is in M. caudata .

Bionomics. Adults have been collected in July. Larval hosts unknown.