Pacifica, 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 : 96-98

Pacifica gen. nov.

Type species. Pygatyphella salomonis (Olivier)

Diagnosis. Ballantyne and Lambkin (2009) distinguished a group of five species within Pygatyphella (Ballantyne) as “ Pygatyphella B” and this difference is formalised here with the erection of Pacifica gen. nov., which differs from Pygatyphella (Ballantyne) as follows: four species with dorsal colouration of orange pronotum (sometimes with median dark mark), and dark brown elytra which may be pale margined; Pac. russellia is pale dorsally; pronotum never with angulate convergence along lateral margins, or small depression present just anterior to corner; with irregularities at rounded obtuse posterolateral corners, not projecting strongly if at all beyond median posterior margin; no interstitial lines well-defined; elytral margins convex-sided; posterior area of V7 never reaching into LO (LO not medially emarginated); apex of MPP rounded or squarely or obliquely truncate; MPP with dorsal longitudinal ridge; dorsal surface of the posterior area of the MPP faced with cuticle that is not attached to the ventral surface of V7 and ends just behind the area of muscle attachment posterior to the LO; the anterior margin of this cuticle is emarginate and continues along the ventral surface of the MPP as a ridge (e.g. Ballantyne & Lambkin 2009 Figs 342–349, especially Fig. 358); ventral surface of T8 usually with a curved, slightly off– centre ridge close to posterior margin; T8 outlines in Pac. limbatipennis, limbatifusca and salomonis characterised ( Ballantyne & Lambkin 2009 Figs 438–442); T8 with pale partly membranous ventral projections from the bases of the anterolateral prolongations; aedeagal sheath sternite posterior to the lateral tergite articulations subparallelsided in basal 1/3 to 1/2; aedeagus L/W<3; LL/ML wide; ML never asymmetrical, always with lateral teeth; anterior margin of LL never asymmetrically produced.

Male. Pronotum: dorsal surface without irregularities in posterolateral areas and longitudinal groove in lateral areas; punctation dense; wider across posterior area than rest (C>A, B); pronotal width greater than humeral width; anterolateral corners rounded obtuse; lateral margins in anterior half divergent posteriorly; lateral margins in posterior half diverge then converge with rounded convergence; indentation at mid-point absent; without sinuousity in either horizontal or vertical plane; indentation in lateral margin near posterolateral corner absent; irregularities at corner present; posterolateral corners rounded obtuse, projecting as far as, or beyond median posterior margin, separated from it by shallow emargination.

Hypomera: closed; median area not elevated vertically; anterior area not flat to side of head; posterior area widely and strongly flattened and strongly adpressed; pronotal width/ GHW 1.6.

Elytron: punctation dense, not linear, not as large as that of pronotum, nor widely and evenly spaced; apices not deflexed; epipleuron and sutural ridge extend beyond mid-point, do not extend as a ridge around apex and neither is expanded in apical half; 0 interstitial lines; viewed from beneath with specimen horizontal epipleuron at elytral base narrow, covering humerus, and viewed from above arises anterior to posterior margin of the MS; epipleuron developed as lateral ridge along most of length; sutural margins approximate along most of length in closed elytra; lateral margins parallel-sided or convex.

Head: moderately depressed between eyes; moderately exposed in front of pronotum, not capable of complete retraction within prothoracic cavity; eyes moderately separated beneath at level of posterior margin of mouthpart complex; eyes above labrum close; frons-vertex junction rounded, not well-defined; without median elevation; posterolateral eye excavation not strongly developed and not visible in resting head position; antennal sockets on head between eyes, separated by less than ASW; clypeolabral suture present, flexible, not in front of anterior eye margin when viewed with labrum horizontal; outer edges of labrum reach inner edges of closed mandibles. Mouthparts functional; apical labial palpomere non–lunate, strongly flattened, in the shape of a wide triangle, inner edge dentate, with 3 or more ‘teeth’. Antennae 11 segmented; length>GHW to twice GHW; no segments flattened, shortened, or expanded; pedicel not produced; FS1 not shorter than pedicel; FS always at least 2 X as long as wide.

Legs: inner tarsal claw not split; without MFC; no femora or tibiae swollen or curved; no basitarsi expanded or excavated.

Abdomen: without cuticular remnants in association with aedeagal sheath; no ventrites with curved posterior margins nor extending anteriorly into emarginated posterior margin of anterior segment; LO in V7 entire, occupying half of V7, entire LO reaching to sides or not, not reaching to posterior margin; neither anterior nor posterior margin of entire LO in V7 medially emarginated; posterior half of V7 arched with transverse muscle impressions usually visible in this area; posterolateral corners not produced, rounded; LO present in V6, occupying almost all V6. MPP present, symmetrical, apex symmetrical or not, and rounded, squarely truncate, or obliquely truncate; MPP with a narrow to wide and elongate dorsal ridge slightly to left of the median line; L=W, not strongly inclined dorsally; not engulfed by the apex of T8; V7 without median carina, median longitudinal trough, anteromedian depression on face of LO, PLP, incurving lobes or pointed projections, median ‘dimple’, or reflexed lobes. T7 without prolonged posterolateral corners. T8 strongly sclerotised, not subparallel-sided, margins converge gently towards posterior end; symmetrical, W=L or L>W of visible posterior portion, which does not narrow abruptly; without prolonged posterolateral corners, median posterior emargination, median posterior projections, not inclined ventrally nor engulfing the posterior margin of V7 nor the MPP; T8 not extending conspicuously beyond posterior margin of V7 horizontally; T8 ventral surface without flanges, lateral depressed troughs; median longitudinal trough absent; median posterior ridge present, usually curved, may be straight ( plagiata ); concealed anterolateral arms of T8 present, not laterally emarginated before their origins, narrow, usually as long as visible posterior portion and expanded dorsoventrally; apices without bifurcation of inner margin; bases with ventrally directed pieces present.

Aedeagal sheath: never> 4 times as long as wide; without paraprocts; asymmetrical in posterior area with sheath sternite subparallel-sided for a third its length past articulation with sheath tergite, and then emarginated on right side; sternite not angulate on L or R sides; posterior margin entire, rounded, not emarginated on either side; anterior half of sternite broad, apically rounded; tergite without lateral arms extending widely anteriorly beside sheath sternite; tergite not subdivided, without projecting pieces along posterior margin of T9; anterior margin of tergite without transverse band.

Aedeagus: L/W <3/1; LL without lateral appendages, visible from beneath beside ML; LL/ML wide to moderate; LL of equal length, slightly shorter than ML; LL diverging along inner margins, and separated there by> half their length; LL base width not = LL apex width which is subequal to or narrower than that of ML; LL apices not expanded horizontally; dorsal base of LL symmetrical, not excavated, median margin broadly rounded; LL without lateral hairy appendages; inner margins without slender leaf-like projection; ML symmetrical, with paired lateral teeth.

Female. Macropterous and assumed capable of flight. Pronotum shaped as for male; punctation moderate to dense; pronotum> humeral width; irregularities near posterolateral corner present. Elytral punctation neither as large as that of pronotum nor evenly spaced, punctation dense. Head not strongly reduced but can be retracted within prothoracic cavity, and antennae on head between eyes. Elytra with no interstitial lines; elytral carina absent. No legs or parts thereof swollen and /or curved. LO in V6 only, without any elevations or depressions or ridges on V7.

Larva not associated.

List of species of Pacifica gen. nov.

- limbatifusca (Ballantyne) comb. nov.

- limbatipennis (Pic) comb. nov.

- plagiata (Blanchard) comb. nov.

- russellia (Ballantyne) comb. nov.

- salomonis (Olivier) comb. nov.

Key to species of Pacifica gen. nov.

1. Dorsal surface pale brownish yellow ( Ballantyne & Lambkin 2009 Figs 405, 406)........ russellia (Ballantyne) comb. nov. Elytra always very dark brown, sometimes with paler margins ( Ballantyne & Lambkin 2009 Figs 329–337, 340, 397, 417, 418–420)............................................................................................ 2

2. Elytra dark brown, no paler margins...................................................................... 3 Elytra always with paler margins (either lateral, apical or sutural or a combination of these).......................... 4

3. Pronotum orange with no dark markings ( Ballantyne & Lambkin 2009 Figs 417, 418)....... salomonis (Olivier) comb. nov. Pronotum orange with darker median markings ( Ballantyne & Lambkin 2009 Fig. 397)..... plagiata (Blanchard) comb. nov.

4. Pronotum pale with no median darker marking...................................... limbatipennis (Pic) comb. nov. Pronotum orange with median darker markings ( Ballantyne & Lambkin 2009 Figs 329, 338)................................................................................................. limbatifusca (Ballantyne) comb. nov.