Medeopteryx antennata (Olivier), 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 : 84-85

Medeopteryx antennata (Olivier) comb. nov.

[ Figs 154 , 160 ]

Luciola antennata Olivier, 1885: 365 . Pteroptyx antennata (Olivier) . Olivier, 1909a: 319. McDermott, 1966: 117. Ballantyne and McLean, 1970: 240. Ballantyne,

1987a: 127. Lloyd, 1973a: 994, 996, 998, 1001, 1003, 1005 (light production); 1973b: 268; 1978: 265 (light production);

1979, Fig. 7 . Pteroptyx antennatum Olivier, 1910b: 47 ; 1913b: 417. Ballantyne, 1987a: 127 (synonymy).

Lectotype. Male. NEW GUINEA: Fly River , designated by Ballantyne (1987a: 127) ( MCSN).

Other specimens examined. NEW GUINEA: 143.00E, 9.00S, Western Pr. , Ellangowan Island , Fly River, 11.xi.1922, A. McCulloch, male, 2 females ( AMSA). Madang District, Alexishafen, Sek Bridge, xi.4.1969, J. Buck (SEK 23), mating pair *.

Diagnosis. 7–9mm long; orange pronotum, dark brown MS and elytra; FS orange or dark brown; FS 7–9 shorter than other FS; elytral apex broadly rounded; LO entire in V7; MPP of V7 short, broad, apically truncate and projecting moderately beyond the posterolateral corners. Distinguished from M. similisantennata by the antennal colour, shape of the MPP and outline of the deflexed elytral apices ( Ballantyne 1987a Figs 3, 4 ).

Female (of mating pair) ( Figs 154 , 160 ). 8.0 mm long. Colour: as for male except for brown flagellar segments, abdominal ventrites pale brown, V5 paler across posterior margin, V6 entirely pale except for brown laterally reflexed margins and very narrowly brown posterior margin; V7 pale in anteromedian portion; abdominal tergites light brown except for tT7, 8 which are darker than rest. Abdomen ( Fig. 154 ): V6 posterior margin with posterolateral corners acute, broadly excavated across posterior margin with small pointed projection in median line; V8 not indented in median line. Bursa ( Fig. 160 ): two sets of separate plates with very small median oviduct sclerite.

Remarks. Olivier named this species for the distinctive orange FS, and brown scape and pedicel. A lectotype male and a female ( Ballantyne & McLean, 1970; Ballantyne, 1987a), and a further male and two females listed above, are the only specimens LB has seen with the pale coloured FS, consistent with the original description. All are from the type locality of the Fly River. All other specimens assigned have brown FS. Ballantyne and McLean (1970:240, Fig. 5 ) described 2 males with brownish orange FS (from Milne Bay area in Eastern Papua, and River Tor in Indonesia Papua), as Pteroptyx antennata , and another 4 males (as "Species A", page 266) which conformed to P. antennata except for the uniformly dark FS. Ballantyne (1987a) designated a lectotype male from a syntype series from the type locality and assigned a further 23 males to the species and included Ballantyne and McLean's Species A; all conformed to the description of antennata in Ballantyne and McLean (1970) (i.e. all lacked paler coloured FS), and many had flashing data associated ( Lloyd 1973a). When observed with the unaided eye the dark and shiny brown scape and pedicel, and dull lighter brown FS approach Olivier's original description.

Lloyd (1973a) described the two major flash patterns of the males and the ability of small groups of flying males to flash in "apparent synchrony." Lloyd (1973b) described and figured the "four modulation flicker"; Lloyd (1978) figured "one of two flicker patterns” and (1979) the flash pattern of Species F (assigned to antennata by Ballantyne (1987a).

Guérin-Méneville (1838) described Luciola ruficollis with black antennae, abdomen entirely yellow beneath and abdominal apex "trilobo''. Ballantyne (1987a) considered ruficollis may have been based on antennata like specimens. Luciola ruficollis is not presently identified in collections of New Guinean Luciola .

At Alexishafen Medeopteryx antennata is sympatric with, and similar to M. similisantennata , with which it apparently shares the same pattern of light production. The similarities in light patterns suggest a form of mimicry.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Majority rule tree for female analysis. Tree shows the consensus of 1349 MPTs of length 3892 from the analysis of all characters for the 88 taxa with female traits scored. New genera, new species, and still undescribed species in red. Showing the % of MPT over 50 %, above branches.

FIGURES 154–159. Medeopteryx spp. female abdomens ventral (not to scale) (ANIC). 154 M. antennata. 155 M. corusca (mating pair Catherine Mission). 156 M. cribellata (G381 mating pair). 157 M. effulgens (Kah New Ireland). 158 M. flagrans (G535). M. fulminea (Kar Kar Island).

FIGURES 160–167. Female Medeopteryx spp. bursa. 160 Medeopteryx antennata female of mating pair Sek Bridge (ANIC). 161, 162 M. corusca female of mating pair Kondiu (ANIC). 163 M. cribellata Kar Kar Island (ANIC). 164–167 M. similispupillae sp. nov. 164 bursa ventral; 165 reproductive system excluding ovaries lateral; 166 median oviduct plate ventral (anterior end to foot of page); 167 anterior plate lateral. Figure legends: 1 median oviduct plate; 2 posterior bursa plate; 3 anterior bursa plate; 4 spermatophore digesting gland.

FIGURES 3–5. Majority rule tree for the complete analysis of the Luciolinae. Analysis consisted of consensus of 169 MPTs with a length of 5609 from a data set of 143 taxa and 436 morphological characters in (see Table 3). Figure 3, part 1: nodes 1– 34; 4, part 2 Nodes 35–52; 5, part 3 nodes 55–76. Nodes (red). New genera, new species, and still undescribed species in red and bold, with identification numbers blue. Black values above branches show the % of MPTs over 50 %.