Pseudholophylla soror Britton, 1978

Hutchinson, Paul M. & Allsopp, Peter G., 2021, Australian Melolonthini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae): a sixth species of Pseudholophylla Blackburn, 1911, and notes on the other known species, Zootaxa 5082 (1), pp. 30-40 : 37-38

Pseudholophylla soror Britton, 1978

( Figs. 12 , 17 )

Pseudholophylla soror Britton, 1978: 35 , Figs. 106–108, 275B.

Type series. Holotype ♂, by original designation. WESTERN AUSTRALIA. Cossack [20.58°S, 117.00°E]; in ANIC [examined, register number 25-039402-154].

Additional material examined. WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 1♂, 47 km NNE of Whim Creek Hotel SITE DRE05, ethylene glycol pitfalls W.A.: 20°28’49.5”S 118°02’25.6”E, 15 November 2003 - 12 May 2004 CALM PILBARA SURVEY | Pseudholophylla sorror [sic] Britton det. T.A. Weir 2007 ; 1♂, 40 km N of Nanutarra Road-house on NW Coastal Hwy 22°10’47”S, 115°31’49”E 25 March 2012 T.F. Houston 1399-3a & E.G. Cunningham | T.F.H. 1399-3a Ex flouro-light / pitfall trap 7pm-5am on crest of red sand dune ; 1♂, Barrow Island , ii.1977, H. Heatwole & W.H. Butler; all three in WAM .

Remarks. The holotype has a body length of about 18 mm ( Britton 1978), whilst two of the additional specimens measure 21 mm (40 km N of Nanutarra) and 17 mm (47 km NNE of Whim Creek). The Barrow Island specimen is distorted.

Diagnosis of males. Body 17–21 mm long. Head piceous, pronotum with disc piceous, laterally dark red, scutellum reddish brown, elytra and abdomen yellowish brown. Lamella of antennomere 4 as long as lamella of antennomere 5, antennomere 3 slightly elongate. Maxillary palp with apical palpomere tapered with an elliptical concavity on the upper surface. Pronotum with greatest width 1.7x mid length; anterior and posterior angles obtuse and rounded, anterior margin defined by a groove except indistinct across middle, posterior margin well defined. Parameres ( Fig. 12 ) without a transverse apical process, dorsal margin slightly sinuate concavely and ventral margin slightly concave in lateral view, apices sharply curved in ventral view.

Distribution ( Fig. 17 ). Near-coastal northwestern Western Australia; all four sites have a Köppen-Geiger climate of Bwh (hot desert). The Whim Creek specimen was collected as part of the surveys reported by Guthrie et al. (2010).

Figures

FIGURE 17. Known distributions of Pseudholophylla species across northern Australia. Upper map shows distribution relative to topography; lower map shows Köppen-Geiger classifications for comparison with climates. Pseudholophylla furfuracea (Burmeister, 1855) is recorded only from “Australia”.

FIGURES 8–13. Pseudholophylla aedeagi. Each set with lateral view left, dorsal view top right, ventral view bottom right. 8, Pseudholophylla castaneipennis (Macleay, 1888); 9, P. cavifrons (Lea, 1919); 10, P. furfuracea (Burmeister, 1855); 11, P. lepidoptera (Blackburn, 1912); 12, P. soror Britton, 1978; 13, P. hurai Hutchinson & Allsopp, new species, holotype male. Figs. 8–12 reproduced from Britton (1978) (CSIRO, used with permission).