Melobasis hanloni, Levey, 2012

Levey, Brian, 2012, 3464, Zootaxa 3464, pp. 1-107 : 41-42

M. hanloni sp. n.

( Figs. 7, 115)

Type locality: Western Australia, 13 km N. of Galena .

Type specimens examined. Holotype ♀ ( WAMA) 13 km N. of Galena , W.A. 30 Aug. 2008, TMS Hanlon. On Acacia branchlets / HOLOTYPE ♀ Melobasis hanloni sp. n. B. Levey 2010. Paratypes as follows: Western Australia : 1♀ ( NMWC) 13 km N. of Galena, W.A. T.M.S. Hanlon , 1 September 2006, on Acacia leaves ; 1♀ ( TMSHC) 13 km N. of Galena , W.A. T.M.S. Hanlon, 31 August 2006, TMS Hanlon. On Acacia leaves ; 1♀ ( MPC) 13 km N. of Galena, W.A., August 31 2006, M. Powell & D. Knowles, Acacia sp. leaves ; 1♀ ( ASC), 13.5km N of Galena Bridge , WA, -27 43 12.30 114 40 17.00, 7. ix.2007, on outer stems of Acacia oldfieldi, A. Sundholm & D. Knowles .

Description based on female. Male unknown.

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 12.0– 13.4 mm; head dark bronze; pronotum dark bronze with a blackishgreen reflection; elytra blue-black with a violet reflection, with the following coppery or greenish-copper markings: a long sutural vitta in the basal half; a shorter humeral vitta extending about one-third the length of the elytra; a very oblique median fascia well separated from the suture and lateral margin, but almost joined to the humeral vitta; a large elongate pre-apical macula, sometimes almost joined to the median fascia; underside dark bronze; underside, except for central parts of prosternum, mesosternum, metasternum, prosternal process and centre of the two basal sternites rather densely clothed with fairly long silvery pubescence.

Head: upper quarter of vertex moderately densely punctured with small round punctures; remainder of head densely to very densely punctured with larger ovate punctures which partly form dorso-ventrally orientated linear series on the lower half of the vertex and the frontoclypeus; vertex with a variably developed unpunctured slightly raised carinate area in the midline; moderately densely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence; unpunctured areas shiny; clypeal excision shallow U-shaped, with a broad complete unpunctured very weakly microreticulate border; clypeal peaks slightly acute; vertex flat, slightly more than half the width of the head across the eyes when viewed from above; eyes strongly convex.

Antenna: serrate from segment 4–10, the segments becoming progressively smaller and slightly less elongate; the expanded part of segments 4 and 5 more or less triangular, that of 6–10 more or less oblong.

Pronotum: 1.50–1.63 times as wide at base as long in midline; anterior margin strongly bisinuate, with a well developed broad median lobe; posterior margin weakly bisinuate; almost as wide at posterior angles as at midlength; almost parallel sided in posterior quarter, thence very weakly widening to widest point, before weakly curvilinearly converging to the anterior angles; about as wide at base as elytra at base; lateral carina straight, about half complete; punctation in central fifth sparsely to moderately densely punctured with small round punctures, which become progressively larger and denser towards the lateral margin; with traces of an unpunctured median line; shiny; densely clothed with fairly long silvery pubescence in lateral quarter.

Scutellum: quadrate to slightly elongate, about one-fourteenth width of elytra at base.

Elytra: 2.41–2.56 times as long as wide at the base; basal margin very weakly bisinuate; slightly widening from the base over the humeral callosities thence slightly widening to mid-length, before narrowing to the rounded apices; lateral margins behind mid-length and apices with moderately coarse acute serrations; sutural margins slightly raised in apical half; with slight indications of a costate interval lateral to the subsutural depression, and some short lengths of seriate punctation next to the costate interval; punctation of subsutural depression and internal half of elytra consisting of sparse tiny round punctures; punctation of external half of elytra consisting of dense to very dense ovate punctures, which form short transverse series near the lateral margin; moderately strongly microreticulate.

Proeopisternum: densely to very densely punctured with fairly large round and ovate shallow punctures, partly obscured by dense long silvery pubescence.

Prosternum: with a narrow bead at the anterior margin, the anterior margin at the same level as the area behind; prosternal process slightly to moderately strongly widening distally, sparsely punctured with small punctures; with a groove formed of larger coalescent punctures near the lateral margin, extending along the entire length of the prosternal process; lateral margin of the prosternal process with sparse long silvery pubescence.

Mesoepisternum: sparsely to moderately densely punctured with lunate punctures, partly obscured by long silvery pubescence.

Apical sternite ( Fig. 7): lunate punctures partly coalescent, forming transverse series not longitudinal grooves; excision fairly deep, two or three times as wide as deep; flange completely filling the excision, lateral spines not developed; distal margin of flange straight.

Tarsal claws: slightly widened at base, but without a basal tooth.

Ovipositor: slightly wider than long.

Comments: This species is easily distinguished by the form of its elytral markings from all other species in the group. Its form is also relatively more elongate cylindrical than most other species in the formosa species-group.

Etymology. This species is named after Mark Hanlon, the collector of this and many of the other new Australian Melobasis species.

Bionomics. Adults collected from August–September from Acacia (Fabaceae) leaves. Larval hosts unknown.