Euryglossula purpurea, Batley, 2016

Batley, Michael, 2016, New Species of Euryglossula Michener (Apoidea: Colletidae), Records of the Australian Museum 68 (6), pp. 245-261 : 252

Euryglossula purpurea n. sp.

Figs 15, 29, 33

Type specimens. HOLOTYPE ♂, 7 km NW Barkly Roadhouse , Northern Territory (19.681°S 135.849°E), 14 May 2008, M. Batley, ex Corymbia terminalis in AM ( K361603 ).P ARATYPES (16♀♀, 4♂♂, all deposited in AM). Queensland: 1♀, 10 km E Camooweal (19.920°S 138.202°E), 20 Aug 2007, M. Batley, ex Corymbia terminalis (K361679). Northern Territory: 1♀, same data as holotype (K361604); 3♀♀, 2♂♂, 4 km NE Barkly Roadhouse (19.680°S 135.848°E), 7 May 2008, M. Batley ex Corymbia terminalis (K470073–077); 7♀♀, 2♂♂, 6 km NE Barkly Roadhouse (19.669°S 135.857°E), 7 Aug 2012, M. Batley ex Corymbia terminalis (K345804–811, K470066); 3♀♀, Elliott (17.562°S 133.558°E), 13 May 2008, M. Batley, ex Corymbia terminalis (K361568–570); 1♀, Avon Downs (20.026°S 137.489°E), 20 Aug 2007, M. Batley, ex Corymbia terminalis (K361653).

Diagnosis. Female with frons and scutum dark with a metallic sheen, clypeus yellow but supraclypeal area brown. Distinguished from E. chalcosoma by colour of paraocular areas and translucent tergal margins and from E. aeneoceps by colour of supraclypeal area. Male face yellow to bottom of fovea, scutellum yellow, anterior margins of several terga narrowly yellow. No other species has this combination of characters.

Description. Female.—Head width 1.0 mm, body length 3.4 mm. Relative measurements: HW 50, HL 40, UID 29, LID 28, FVL 13, CW 25, CL 9, FL 25. Head black with coppery purple sheen and following areas yellow: clypeus, lower gena, paraocular area, labrum and mandibles.Antenna yellow ventrally, brown dorsally.Yellow areas are sometimes reduced to yellow suffusions. Frons strongly tessellate with close, weak punctures. Mesosoma black with coppery purple sheen, except pronotal tubercle, spot on tegula, alar sclerites and legs yellow. Coxae are often brown basally. Sculpture of scutum similar to frons. Metasoma black dorsally with apicolateral margins of terga translucent, sometimes preceded by a narrow yellow line; T6 yellow on apical half; sterna brown with variable degrees of irregular yellow marking.

Male.—Head width 1.0 mm, body length 3.0 mm. Relative measurements: HW 50, HL 39, UID 29, LID 26, FVL 9, CW 22, CL 8, FL 32. Head yellow except vertex, occiput and frons medially to middle of fovea black, flagellum dark brown dorsally. Frons strongly tessellate with dense punctures. Mesosoma dorsally black with coppery sheen, with the following yellow: pronotum, lateral margins of scutum, axillae, metanotum, tegula and alar sclerites. Mesosoma ventrally yellow. Sculpture of scutum similar to frons. Metanotum variably banded dark brown and yellow, T1 with small yellow marks laterally, T2–5 basally yellow, apically dark brown in variable proportions, sterna yellow. Fringe on S5 long but not very dense.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the colour of the metallic sheen on the frons and scutum.

Additional material examined (18♀♀, 15♂♂, all in QM). Western Australia: 9♀♀, 6♂♂, Napier Range , 29 May 1981, D.P.A. Sands, on Eucalyptus sp. ; 9♀♀, 9♂♂, 170 km E of Broome, 21 May 1981, D.P.A. Sands, on Eucalyptus sp .