Australoluciola foveicollis (Olivier) Ballantyne & Lambkin, 2013

Ballantyne, Lesley A. & Lambkin, Christine L., 2013, Systematics and Phylogenetics of Indo-Pacific Luciolinae Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) and the Description of new Genera, Zootaxa 3653 (1), pp. 1-162 : 50-53

Australoluciola foveicollis (Olivier) comb. nov.

[ Figs 56–65 ]

Luciola foveicollis Olivier, 1909a:316 .

Luciola (Luciola) foveicollis Olivier. McDermott, 1966:104 .

Lectotype. Male. NEW GUINEA 09.25S 147.35E, Central Province : labelled 1. New Guinea S. E. Haveri, Loria, VII–XI, 1893; 2. Typus in red print; 3. handwritten label foveicollis E. Oliv. ; designated here ( MCSN).

Other specimens examined. NEW GUINEA: 8.30S, 151.06E Milne Bay Province Kiriwini, Trobriand Island iii– iv–v.1895 A S Meek male ( MNHN) . 08.55S, 148.10E, Mt Lamington 1300–1500 feet C T McNamara 10 males 4 females ( SAMA) . 09.25S 147.35E, Central Province , Haveri vii–ix (18)93, Loria, male bearing pink handwritten label “ L foveicollis Ern Oliv. ”( MNHN) Olivier Box 72. Paumomu Riv. Loria ix–xii (18) 92 male ( MNHN) . 9.30S, 150.40E Milne Bay prov. , Fergusson Is ix x xi xii (18)94 A S Meek female (Pic box 40 id by Pic), male (Olivier box 72) ( MNHN) . Mamai Plantation near Port Glasgow 60 m, 12.11.1965 male RS ( BPBM) .

Diagnosis. One of three New Guinean Australoluciola with orange pronotum, dark elytra and trisinuate posterior margin of V7. Distinguished by the larger irregularly shaped punctures across parts of the elytra; distinguished from Aus. anthracina most obviously by the pale T7, 8 (those of some anthracina are dark), and from Aus. pharusaurea , which has only been recorded on New Britain, by the dark head (that of pharusaurea is golden yellow between the eyes).

Male. 8.0– 9.2 mm long (lectotype 8.3mm). Colour ( Figs 56, 57 ): pronotum pale yellow-orange; pale semitransparent areas of pronotum reveal fat body beneath; MN pale yellow; MS yellowish, brown posteriorly in lectotype, or pale yellowish brown; elytra shiny, dark often reddish brown, with sutural ridge narrowly paler in lectotype, sutural ridge and lateral margins narrowly reddish brown in Paumomu and some Mt Lamington males; head, labrum, antennae and palpi medium to dark brown; ventral surface of prothorax yellow; coxae, trochanters and basal 1/3 femora 1, 2 yellow, remainder of legs 1, 2 brown; ventral surface of mesothorax yellowish, semitransparent; ventral surface of metathorax medium brown; coxae 3 light brown, trochanters and bases of femora pale, semitransparent, remainder of legs 3 medium to dark brown; basal abdominal ventrites medium brown, may be semitransparent; posterior margin of V5 narrowly pale; LOs in V6, 7 yellowish; T6–8 clear cream, semi-transparent; basal abdominal tergites medium brown, semi-transparent. Pronotum ( Fig. 58 ): 1.4–2.9 mm wide, 0.9–1.7 mm long; W/L = 1.5–1.7; densely clothed in short yellow hairs; surface dull; punctures contiguous; midanterior margin gently rounded, projecting only a little beyond broadly rounded anterolateral corners with lateral margins subparallel-sided (B=C) in lectotype and Trobriand male where anterolateral corners are angulate; lateral margins usually strongly divergent posteriorly with anterolateral corners acute, posterolateral corners usually acute, broadly rounded in Paumomu River male. Elytron ( Figs 59, 60 ): 3 slightly elevated interstitial lines visible; punctures over lateral surface broader than pronotal punctures and somewhat irregular in outline. Head: moderately excavated between the eyes; GHW 1.6 (lectotype)–2.0 mm; SIW 0.3 mm; ASW = ASD in lectotype, ASD <ASW in remainder; FS subequal in length. Abdomen ( Figs 61, 62 ): LOs occupying V6, 7 entirely except for narrow posterior margin of 7 and extending into MPP and PLP; MPP of V7 rounded, W>L and longer than PLP; posterior margin of T8 gently trisinuate with lateral margins diverging anteriorly ( Fig. 62 ); ventral face of T8 gently concave in median area, with lateral ridges slightly developed, and flanges absent. Aedeagus ( Figs 63–65 ): relatively short and wide anterior prolongtion of ML; lateral margins of LL straight, not expanded in apical ½, apices obliquely truncate; L/W=3.5.

Remarks. A lectotype male (first in a syntype series) was designated to overcome inconsistent descriptions of this species, which did not allow adequate categorisation of foveicollis . Olivier (1909a) recorded foveicollis from Haveri in Central province (Sogeri Plateau) on the mainland of New Guinea, and described unusual pronotal sculpturing. LB saw nothing distinctive on the lectotype and other Haveri specimens pronotum ( Fig. 58 ) except the midposterolateral depressed areas which Olivier did not highlight. However Medeopteryx sublustris has distinctive pronotal sculpturing ( Fig. 184 ), but resembles foveicollis in colouration only. The male of Aus. aspera has distinctive pronotal sculpturing, but differs from Aus. foveicollis in pronotal colouration ( Fig. 25 ). Olivier (1909a) described the "apparent" similarity of foveicollis to the female of aspera . Olivier (1913b) recorded the species from Haveri*, Paumomu River, Kiriwini*, Trobriand* and Fergusson* of which the last three are islands (the Trobriand Islands are now officially known as the Kiriwina Islands). Specimens from * have been relocated and are addressed here.

Figures

FIGURES 56–65. Australoluciola foveicollis male (56–60 Haveri, MNHN; 61–65 Mt Lamington SAMA). 56 dorsal; 57 ventral; 58 detail pronotum; 59, 60 lateral margins of elytron, posterior (59) and anterior half; 61, 62 abdomen ventral (61) and dorsal; 63–65 aedeagus right lateral (63), ventral (64) and dorsal. These figures share scale lines: 59, 60; 61, 62; 63–65.

FIGURES 177–184. Medeopteryx spp. Males. 177–182 M. similispupillae sp. nov. paratypes. 183 M. torricelliensis. 184 M. sublustris, diagrammatic representation of pronotal sculpturing. 177, 183 dorsal; 178, 179 abdomen, ventral (178) and dorsal; 180–182 aedeagus dorsal (180), left lateral (181) and ventral (182). These figures share scale lines: 180–182

FIGURES 18–25. Australoluciola aspera, type female (18), Wewak male NHML 19–25. 18, 19 dorsal; 20, 21 ventral (21 abdomen only); 22–24 aedeagus dorsal (22), right lateral (23) and ventral (lateral projections of LL arrowed in 24); 25 pronotum dorsal. These figures share scale lines: 19, 20; 22–24.