Medeopteryx effulgens (Ballantyne) Ballantyne & Lambkin, 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 : 87-88

Medeopteryx effulgens (Ballantyne) comb. nov.

[ Figs 144 , 157 , 164 ]

Pteroptyx effulgens Ballantyne, 1987a: 141 .

Pteroptyx cribellata Olivier misidentification. Hanson et al. (1971), Hanson (1978), Buck et al. (1981a, 1981b).

Holotype. Male. NEW GUINEA: 152.00E, 4.00S, New Britain , Gazelle Pen., 8.2 mi S Rabaul ( ANIC).

Other specimens examined. Unless otherwise indicated specimens are in BPBM. Listings extend Ballantyne (1987a). NEW GUINEA, New Britain : Bismarck Archipelago : 152.0E, 4.20S, Vudal , SW of Keravat, 13.xii.1959, T. Maa, male. Gazelle Peninsula , 140m, 21–27.x.1962, malaise trap, JS, male; Gazelle Peninsula , Baipinrs : St Pauls , 350m, 4.ix.1955, light trap. JLG, male. 152.20E, 4.20S, Keravat , Lowl Agr. Exp. Sta., 3.vi.1965, 3 males, 2 females; 21.vii.1965, 2 males G. S. Dun; 15.vi.1954, J. Szent-Ivany, female, resting on cacao (Dept. Agriculture, Port Moresby ). Keravat , 10.ii.1966, G Monteith, 13 males, 2 females (Tubes 231, 221, 223 UQIC); 60 m, ix.11.1955, JLG, 2 males, 31.viii.1955, male. Vunabakan, 180m, 10 km east of Keravat , 16–20.xi.1959, T. Maa, 6 males, female. Gazelle Peninsula, Malmalwan–Vunakanau, v.4.1956, light trap, 4 males, v–11–13–1956, male, JLG. 150.0E, 5.0S, Willaumez Peninsula, Volupai, 100m, iv.16.1956, light trap. JLG, male. Vunakanau, 350m, x.10.1957, 2 males, v.4.1956, JLG 2 males. 151– 152.0E, 5.0– 6.0S, Jacquinot Bay, Wunung Plantation, iv.30.1956, JLG, male. 152E, 2– 5.0S, New Ireland: Lakuramau Plantation, east coast, 1.viii.1955, feeding on cacao foliage (adult was probably resting), J. Szent-Ivany, male (Dept. Agriculture, Port Moresby) .

Diagnosis. 6.8–7.5mm long; orange yellow pronotum, MS and MP; head between eyes yellow; deflexed elytral apex pointed; LO entire in V7; abdomen with dimple and hump; distinguished from all but M. fulminea and M. amilae by the possession of pointed elytral apices, and from fulminea and amilae by the orange head, and apparent restriction of effulgens to New Britain ( Ballantyne 1987a Fig. 8 ).

Female. 5.7–6.9 mm long. Colour: as for male except V5 sometimes paler brown than preceding ventrites, pale light orgn in V6, and the yellow semitransparent terminal two ventrites; basal abdominal tergites brown, T7, 8 paler brownish yellow than preceding ones. Abdomen ( Fig. 157 ): posterior margin of V6 not excavated, posterolateral corners rounded; V7 broadly, moderately deeply and evenly excavated along posterior margin, with posterolateral corners acutely angled and pointed; V8 not indented in median line. Bursa ( Fig. 164 ).

Remarks. Ballantyne (1987a) included only specimens with associated flashing data in the type series, and indicated that assignment of specimens without flashing data was tentative only. Because effulgens and fulminea are very similar, determination of the colour patterns (especially those of head, MS and the terminal tergites) is important. Ballantyne (1987a) encountered difficulty determining colour patterns in alcohol preserved specimens, which were apparently dead before being preserved. This difficulty is sometimes overcome by drying specimens before examination.

M. effulgens has an orange head with a dark triangular area on the vertex, and occur in New Britain. However Ballantyne (1987a) recorded one mating pair with an orange-headed male and black-headed female. No conclusions should be drawn from distributional records of specimens other than those of the type series. Type specimens of effulgens and fulminea are not sympatric, with effulgens restricted to New Britain while fulminea occurs on the New Guinea mainland. Although very similar morphologically, their light production is different.

Ballantyne and McLean's (1970) composite Pteroptyx cribellata included certain specimens with orange head; their Groups 1A, p. 244 and 1D, p. 244 were recorded from both New Guinea and New Britain, and the New Guinean specimens are tentative inclusions here.

In New Britain M. effulgens is sympatric with an orange-headed Australoluciola pharusaurea sp. nov. Lloyd (1973a) recorded 2 collecting sites "SW of Simpson Harbor, on Burma Road......The swarm trees were cocoas and palms at the roadside. Males flashed single, short flashes at a period of about 1.2 sec., frequently in bouts of about 6 flashes". Lloyd (1973a) described the "simple flashes" of both M. effulgens and M. fulminea and he listed them on p. 268 as species 15 and 16, and figured the flashes of the latter.

The species recorded as Pteroptyx cribellata in Hanson et al. (1971), Hanson (1978), Buck et al. (1981a, 1981b) from New Britain is M. effulgens .

Figures

FIGURE 8. Majority rule tree for larvae analysis. Tree shows the consensus of 4 MPTs of length 2245 from phylogenetic analysis of all characters for the 42 taxa scored for larval characters. New genera, new species, and still undescribed species in red. Showing the % of MPT over 50 %, above branches.

FIGURES 139–146. Medeopteryx spp. Males (ANIC). 139–142 M. corusca. 143 M. cribellata. 144 M. effulgens. 145 M. fulminea. 146 M. flagrans. 139, 140 abdomen, ventral (139, anterior margin of V4 arrowed) and dorsal; 141 apices of elytra ventral; 142 tergite 8 ventrolateral, flange arrowed; 143–146 terminal abdomen and elytral apices, ventral. These figures share scale lines: 139, 140.

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.