Caledonica rivalieriana, Kudrna, 2016

Kudrna, Arnošt, 2016, Revision of the genusCaledonica (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 56 (2), pp. 567-628 : 593-595

Caledonica rivalieriana sp. nov.

( Figs 24–28 )

Type locality. New Caledonia, Province Sud, Forest of Plato de Dogny, near Sarramea.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘ New Caledonia, Pr. Sud, Forest of Plato de Dogny, near Sarramea , 24.- 27.12. 2004, A. Kudrna Jr. Lgt. ’ [white, printed] ( MNHN) . ALLOTYPE: ♀, ‘ New Caledonia, Pr. Sud, village Bouirou , cca 20 km N Bourail, 09.- 10.12.2008, 500 m., A. Kudrna jr. Lgt. ’ [white, printed] ( AKCB) . PARATYPES (34 specimens): 4 JJ, 9 ♀♀ ( AKCB): ‘ New Caledonia, Pr. Sud, near Bouirou , cca 20 km N Bourail, 27.12.2004 - 02.01.2005, A. Kudrna jr. Lgt. ’ [white, printed] ; 6 JJ, 3 ♀♀ ( AKCB), 1 J, 1 ♀ ( JWCW), 1 J, 1 ♀ ( JMCA), 1 J, 1 ♀ ( MNHN): ‘ New Caledonia, Pr. Sud, forest of Plato de Dogny, near Sarramea , 24.- 27.12.2004, A. Kudrna jr. Lgt. ’ [white, printed] ; 1 J ( AKCB): ‘ New Caledonia, Province Sud, environs of Sarramea , 05.-08.02. and 16.- 18.02.2009, A. Kudrna jr. Lgt. ’ [white, printed] ; 3 JJ, 2 ♀♀ ( AKCB): ‘ New Caledonia, Pr. Sud, 3 km NW Sarramea , S 21°37´, E 165°50´, 23.- 30.12.2011, 250- 550 m., A. Kudrna jr. Lgt. ’ [white, printed]. All type specimens provided with additional red printed label : ‘ Holotype [Allotype or Paratype, respectively], Caledonica rivalieriana sp. nov., A.Kudrna det., 2016’.

Description. Body small (more robust in female), length 11.10–12.30 (holotype: 12.00) mm, width 3.40–3.95 (holotype: 3.70) mm in male ( Fig. 24 ); in female ( Fig 26 ) length 10.90–13.10 mm, width 3.70–4.25 mm.

Head with large eyes, slightly narrower than elytra, dorsally dark black-bronze with cupreous greenish metallic reflections; in male frons, supraantennal plates and often also clypeus shiny green or blue-green (central area of frons usually shiny red-cupreous), frons moderately convex (more distinctly so in female), separated from clypeus by distinct suture, irregularly vermicular-rugulose; vertex moderately convex, with shallow to distinct posterior impression, longitudinally to irregularly striate; orbital plates distinctly longitudinally parallel-striate with two setae on each side; occipital area irregularly wavy to vermicular rugulose; genae glabrous, brownish to green, finely parallel-striate with strong green, blue-green or violet reflections; clypeus dark testaceous, coriaceous, with strong green metallic lustre.

Labrum with four setae in both sexes, male labrum ( Fig. 25 ) testaceous except for indistinct brownish margins of acute anterolateral teeth, shorter than wide, length 1.00– 1.10 mm, width 1.40–1.55 mm, median lobe short, with only indistinct anterior teeth and rarely and weakly indicated blunt median tooth; female labrum ( Fig. 27 ) longer, testaceous with acute anterolateral teeth, often with darkened lateral margins, only slightly shorter than wide, length 1.35–1.60 mm, width 1.45–1.80 mm, with prominent and sharply tridentate median lobe of acute teeth which are bent downwards, so their acute shape is not obvious in dorsal view.

Mandibles subsymmetrical, brownish-testaceous with paler basolateral part, often with black margins of teeth; each mandible with three teeth and basal molar; two inner teeth in left mandible approximately of same size, while third tooth in right mandible smaller than second.

Labial and maxillary palpi in male testaceous, occasionally with darkened apices of terminal palpomeres; palpi in female testaceous to dark testaceous, terminal palpomeres black (with paler apices in maxillary palpi), penultimate palpomeres of maxillary palpi brown to black.

Antennae markedly longer and paler in male, reaching two thirds of elytra, in female reaching elytral third; scape in male testaceous, indistinctly darkened apically, pedicel dark brown to black except for paler apex, antennomeres III–IV testaceous, usually with black areas, V–X testaceous, terminal antennomere darkened; in female scape testaceous, with darkened apices, pedicel and antennomeres III–IV black with paler apical areas, antennomeres V–XI dark brown to black, progressively darkened.

Thorax. All parts glabrous. Pronotum in male 1.95–2.10 mm long, 2.50–2.80 mm wide (on average 1.29 times wider than long); in female 1.95–2.25 mm long, 2.65–3.00 mm wide (on average 1.37 times wider than long), anterior and posterior sulci well pronounced, anterior lobe slightly wider than posterior one; disc with convex lateral margins and elevated notopleural sutures obvious in dorsal view in form of short, but distinctly wide, flat lateral ribs that are gradually effaced towards anterior and posterior sulci; pronotal surface dark green to bronze with cupreous reflections, partly shiny green on lateral margins of disc and on anterior and posterior lobe, irregularly wavy to vermicular-rugulose, rugae becoming more regularly transverse-wavy along developed median line, on lateral areas of disc and often also on anterior lobe; posterior lobe usually with only a few, mostly transverse rugae; proepisterna, mesepisterna and metepisterna shiny green to ochre-green with metallic reflections, in both sexes very shallowly striated to nearly smooth except for often coarsely striated male mesepisterna; female mesepisternal coupling sulci in form of a deep, rather large pit placed in ventral mesepisternal half, metepisterna with large impression at posterior suture; pro-, meso-, and metasternum lustrously green to brownish-testaceous; metasternum with deep fovea-like impression placed at dorsolateral corner.

Elytra elongate, length 7.65–8.30 mm in male, 7.75–8.60 mm in female, slightly narrowing towards rounded anteapical angles, apices rounded, slightly to distincty emarginate towards short sutural spine; juxtahumeral impressions indistinct to moderate, basodiscal convexity distinct, apical impressions indistinct; each elytron between basodiscal convexity and apical impression with two longitudinal costae: markedly elevated discal costa forming distinct edge, and sublateral costa in form of indistinct elevation; interspaces between costae and suture impressed; elytral surface anteriorly densely and deeply punctate (juxtahumeral impressions punctate only sporadically); punctures become smaller towards elytral apex and shallower and nearly effaced on apical area, punctures on flat interspaces among costae and suture are nearly effaced, occasionally larger punctures are adjacent to discal costa, and sparse setigerous punctures with rather long white hairlike setae are distributed on anterior area; elytral coloration dark bronze to bronze-greenish with metallic lustre; interspaces between costae and also along the suture notably iridescent silvery-bronze to silvery-cupreous, the iridescence changing to dull depending on angle of illumination; elytral maculation ochre-white, in both sexes consisting of three maculae: slightly elongate humeral macula, transverse and oblong median macula often reaching the discal costa (but never crossing it), and irregularly circular anteapical macula.

Abdomen. Ventrites glabrous, dark testaceous with green to blue-green metallic lustre.

Legs. Generally darker in female; coxae and trochanters testaceous, femora testaceous, in male usually with somewhat darkened apices, always and more distinctly so in metafemora, in female the blackish area is more largely expanded also on meso- and metafemora; tibiae testaceous except for black-darkened apices (more markedly in female) and black-darkened lateral areas of meso- and metatibiae; tarsi in female black except for rarely and indistinctly paler areas of protarsi, in male pro- and metatarsi black, often with paler base; mesotarsi testaceous, their apices and usually also last tarsomere dark brown to black; claws testaceous. Aedeagus ( Fig. 28 ) 3.20–3.50 mm long and 0.90–1.00 mm wide, lateral margins moderately arcuate, apex rounded and dorsally slightly emarginate.

Differential diagnosis. Distinguished from C. myrmidon by its larger body size (10.90–13.10 mm in C. rivalieriana sp. nov., 8.90–10.40 mm in C. myrmidon ), lateral margins of pronotal disc with short but distinct wide lateral ribs and entirely darkened terminal antennomere. Moreover, female mesepisternal coupling sulci are placed in ventral mesepisternal half. From C. rivalieri it differs in the following characters: on average larger body size (10.90–11.50 mm in C. rivalieri , 10.90–13.10 mm in C. rivalieriana sp. nov.), proportionally shorter male labrum, much paler testaceous male terminal palpomeres (occasionally with darkened apices) contrary to the entirely black terminal palpomeres of male of C. rivalieri , paler penultimate (longest) palpomeres of female labial palpi with testaceous glabrous side and elytral colour predominantly bronze instead of strongly iridescent cupreous in C. rivalieri . Moreover coupling sulci are present in C. rivalieriana sp. nov. and entirely absent in C. rivalieri .

Etymology. The epithet refers to the proximity of the new species to Caledonica rivalieri .

Biology and distribution. Caledonica rivalieriana sp. nov. is a rare species. Adults were always found in primary humid forests at altitudes above 500 m a.s.l. and never in large numbers, but only sparsely dispersed there.

Figures

Figs 19–28. 19–23 – Caledonica rivalieri Deuve, 1981: 19 – habitus, J, Plaine des Lacs, 11.2 mm (MNHN); 20 – frontal view, ibid.; 21 – habitus, ♀, paratype, 11.5 mm (MNHN); 22 – frontal view, ibid.; 23 – aedeagus, Plaine des Lacs (MNHN). 24–28 – C. rivalieriana sp. nov.: 24 – habitus, J, paratype, Sarramea, 11.5 mm (AKCB); 25 – frontal view, ibid.; 26 – habitus, ♀, allotype, 12.1 mm (AKCB); 27 – frontal view, ibid.; 28 – aedeagus, paratype, Bourail (AKCB). Scale bars = 1 mm.