Pygoluciola wittmeri (Ballantyne)

Lambkin, L. A. Ballantyne C., 2006, A Phylogenetic Reassessment Of The Rare S. E. Asian Firefly Genus Pygoluciola Wittmer (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 54 (1), pp. 21-48 : 33-34

Pygoluciola wittmeri (Ballantyne)

( Figs. 5, 8-9 , 18, 22, 26-29, 31, 33, 36 , 38-40 )

Luciola (Pygoluciola) wittmeri Ballantyne, 1968: 121 ; Ballantyne & Lambkin, 2001: 371 [Holotype male, ‘British North Borneo’ (BBM)].

Diagnosis. – Male distinguished from P. kinabalua see above; female with posterior margin of V7 shallowly emarginate and posterolateral corners apically rounded and moderately broad; ventral surface of V7, 8 smooth; anterior prolongation of V8 longer than posterior (wider) portion, and lateral margins well sclerotised in posterior half.

Material examined. – One male, two females, Malaysia, Sabah, 5.48°N 116.26°E, Mahua, by the Mahua River , 1045 m, coll. Mahadimenakbar bin Mohamed Dawood, 19 Mar.2004, between 2045 – 2200 hrs. Malaysian time (Borneensis) .

Redescription. – Male. 10.1 mm long. Pronotum pale creamy yellow and semitransparent, marked faintly in pale brown in posteromedian areas; pubescence pale; underlying fat body clustered closely under cuticle in all areas except two anteromedian areas and narrowly across most of the anterior margin; MS, MN pale creamy yellow, fat body dense under MN and restricted to posterior half of MS; elytra pale brown semitransparent; both suture and lateral margins are semitransparent until apex, which is very narrowly darker brown (when elytron is viewed separate to underlying hind wing); elytral punctures very dark brown, interstitial lines pale brown and margined by a single row on each side of dark punctures; head between eyes, antennae and palpi dark brown except for pale under half of FS 7 – 9 and inner half of apical segment of maxillary palpi; labrum brown, semitransparent; ventral surface of pro and mesothorax light brown, of metathorax very dark brown in median area with metepisterna and metepimera paler brown; legs 1, 2 with pale creamy yellow coxae, trochanters and femora, except for brown inner margins of coxae and trochanters, and brown apical 2 / 3 of femora; tibiae and tarsi of all legs dark brown; legs 3 with ventral surface of coxae very dark brown except for narrow pale basolateral areas; trochanters and femora pale yellow; tibiae very light brown; tarsi dark brown, not as dark as tarsi 1, 2; V2 light brown with dusky cream lateral areas; V3 with median brown area more extensive than that of 2, and small anterolateral paler areas which are outlined posteriorly in dark brown; V4 moderately brown except for paler anterolateral areas; V5 similar, more darkly marked; V6 wholly occupied with light organ; V7 pale semitransparent in areas not occupied by light organ, with underlying fat body visible especially in posterolateral areas, and a small very dark median triangular mark just behind posterior margin of light organ; MPP pale, semitransparent, fat body clustered in anterior 2 / 3; dorsal surface of tergites 2 – 6 brown, darkening progressively towards tip of abdomen; dorsally reflexed margins of ventrites pale; tergites 7 and 8 pale, 8 with a fine dark median line.

Pronotum ( Fig. 5 ) 1.6 mm long, 2.8 mm wide, width/length = 2; 1 / 7 as long as whole body; anterior margin rounded, slightly indented in median line, not projecting beyond anterolateral corners and separated from them by slight emarginations; anterolateral corners pointed, acute; lateral margins divergent posteriorly with no convergences; posterolateral corners rounded acute, not projecting beyond median posterior margin and separated from it by shallow emarginations; dorsal surface smooth, mainly flat; slight irregularities of the surface on either side of the median area in posterior half of dorsal surface.

Elytron 8.6 mm long; lateral margins subparallel for half their length, converging posteriorly in posterior 3 / 8.

Head shallowly depressed between eyes; GHW 1.7 mm; SIW 0.35mm;ASD> ASW but not 2 X ASW; antennal length approximately twice GHW, with FS 1-6 subequal in length, about 4 times as long as wide, and FS 7-9 subequal in length but slightly shorter than 1 - 6; apical segment of labial palpi with 4 slender evenly spaced projections on both palpi.

Legs with no segments swollen or curved; width of hind femora at widest area 0.4 mm.

Abdomen ( Figs. 18, 22, 26, 27 ) with V2 with faint median ‘carina’ between bases of coxae 3. Light organs: entire in V6; entire in V 7, with a shallow anteromedian emargination (not visible in this specimen unless abdomen is manipulated); not posteromedially emarginated. Ventrite 7: with small anterolateral depressions but no obvious signs of strong D-V muscle blocks; MPP much longer than wide, apically widely emarginate and curving dorsally where in the single male examined the emargination engulfs the end of the alimentary canal; lateral arms of emarginate apex apically rounded, about as wide at base as at apex; median posterior margin of tergite 7 rounded and projecting backwards over the anterior margin of tergite 8; apex of tergite 8 narrowly and shallowly medianly emarginate.

Aedeagus ( Figs. 8, 9 ) in the aedeagal sheath protrudes behind the posterior margin of the LO in V 7 in the median line and the rectum is engulfed by the emarginate MPP. Aedeagus with ML a little shorter than LL, which are widely divergent along their dorsal, inner margins and closely approximate but not contiguous at their apices.

Description. – Female. 11.5 - 12.0 mm long; body 5.5 mm wide across widest point of closed elytra; macropterous, and observed in flight; dorsal colouration as for male except for extensive median dark brown markings on pronotum; ventral colouration as for male except for brown anterior ventrites which are marked in posterolateral areas with small irregular pale brown markings, pale light organ in V6, and V7 and 8 shiny light brown; abdominal tergites light brown.

Pronotum 2.0 mm long; 4 mm wide; pronotum 1 / 6 as long as total body; median anterior margin smoothly rounded, projecting a little beyond the rounded, obtuse anterolateral angles which are not produced; lateral margins diverge posteriorly; median sulcus prominent, dark, and depressed in its posterior half; dorsal surface narrowly depressed along posterior margin; pronotal surface smooth lacking any irregular tubercles; posterior area of median sulcus bearing a cluster of long white posteriorly directed hairs; a line of hairs extends along posterior margin [hairs only visible when specimen dried]; punctures small mainly separated by their width.

Elytra 10.5 - 11 mm long; elytra slightly convex sided lateral margins diverge along anterior half, subparallel for next 2 / 8 then converge in posterior 3 / 8.

Head completely concealed beneath pronotum at rest; GHW 2.0 mm, SIW 0.7mm; ASD <ASW; head barely depressed between eyes; mouthparts well developed, functional; apical segments of maxillary and labial palpi shaped as for male, except the apical segments of the labial palpi have three elongate slender projections on their longer inner margin in one female, and four on left and three on right in second female (the male has four on both).

Abdomen ( Figs. 28, 29, 31, 33 ) with posterior margin of V7 evenly and shallowly emarginate, posterolateral corners apically acute and moderately broad, projecting posteriorly beyond the median posterior margin of V7 by a little more than their width; ventral surface lacking any troughs, elevations or ridges; anterior half of V8 acutely narrowed, and linearly prolonged beneath V7, prolonged portion longer than wider posterior portion of V8, lateral margins of anterior prolongation well sclerotised in posterior half; dorsal surface of tergite 7 laterally flattened, median area evenly and linearly rounded; tergites 7, 8 and V 7, 8 more heavily sclerotised than preceding segments.

Genitalia ( Fig. 36 ) similar to P. guigliae , lacking any median sclerotisation between coxites, valvifers long slender and diverging in anterior half.

Reproductive system as described for P. guigliae ; two females were dissected, in both the two structures arising anterior to the bursa are well developed, thick walled and equal in size, and assumed to be a gland and a spermatheca.

Remarks. – The width between the high points on V8 of the female could accommodate the apex of the male MPP between them. In this alcohol preserved male the MPP and tergite 8 apex are widely divergent, and the aedeagus, still partly contained in the aedeagal sheath, protrudes towards the tip of tergite 8. In the (pinned) holotype the apex of tergite 8 is contained between the apical emargination of the MPP. Because of its disposition in this specimen, there seems no reason to expect the aedeagus to be extracted laterally, despite the downturned apex of tergite 8 and upturned apex of V 7.

Figures

Figure 38. (A). The strict consensus of the 2992 MPT for 49 taxa of the Luciolinae found with phylogenetic analysis of 115 characters, excluding 10 colour and mimicry characters. (B). The majority rule consensus of the 2992 MPT for the Luciolinae, showing above the branch the percentage of MPT retaining that node. 153 of the MPT were compatible with the majority rule consensus.

Figure 39. Semistrict consensus of 195 successively weighted trees. Percentage of successively weighted trees with this resolution shown above the branch. None of the MPT was compatible with the semistrict consensus successively weighted trees.

Figure 40. Preferred MPT from 153 filtered MPT compatible with the majority rule consensus of the 2992 MPT, Part 1, without Atyphella clade. Unambiguous character and state changes were mapped using MacClade. Colour and mimicry characters, not used in the phylogenetic analysis, are enclosed in boxes. Bremer support values shown above nodes.

Figs. 1-17. Features of male Pygoluciola. 1, 6, 13-17: P. guigliae; 2: ‘Mt Missim’ male; 3, 7: P. kinabalua holotype male; 4, 10-12: P. stylifer holotype male; 5, 8-9: P. wittmeri. 1-5: dorsal, male pronota (left side shows colour pattern, right side sculpturing; solid line indicates extent of irregular tubercles, dotted lines retraction of fat body): 6,7: dorsal, whole body; aedeagi (8; 10 ventral; 9, 12 dorsal; 11, left lateral); 13: maxillary palp, ventral surface; 14: labial palp, ventral surface; 15-17: aedeagal sheath, dorsal, ventral, and lateral. These figures share scale lines: 1-5; 6-7; 8-14; 15-17. Figure legend: A, anus; BP, basal piece; EO, ejaculatory orifice; LL, lateral lobe; ML, median lobe; TS, tergite aedeagal sheath; VS, ventrite aedeagal sheath.

Figs. 18-36. Features of female Pygoluciola: Figs. 18-27; Features of female Pygoluciola: Figs. 28-36. 18, 22, 26, 27-29, 31, 33, 36 (P. wittmeri); 19, 21, 27, 30, 32, 34, 35 (P. guigliae); 20, 23-25 (P. stylifer holotype male). 18, 19, 23, 28, 30, ventral terminal abdominal segments [29 stippled outline in V 7 = fat body, in 30 = lateral elevations of V7]; 20, 22, 29, dorsal, terminal abdominal segments; 21, vertical face of apex of MPP of ventrite 7, dorsal face uppermost; 24, posterior face apex of tergite 8; 25, 26, lateral terminal abdominal segments, ventrites uppermost [26 anus, stippled, protrudes through MPP of V7]; 27, dorsal face abdominal tergite 8; 31, 32, dorsal surface abdominal ventrite 7 [right side only; stippling = dorsally reflexed cuticle; in 32 dotted oval = position of elevation]; 33, 34, ventral face, abdominal ventrite 8; 35, 36, ventral female genitalia. These figures share scale lines: 18, 20, 22, 23, 28-30; 19, 25-27; 31-34; 35-36.