Torresita cuprifera, (Laporte & Gory), 2012

Levey, Brian, 2012, 3464, Zootaxa 3464, pp. 1-107 : 54-56

M. cuprifera (Laporte & Gory) stat. rev. (not synonym of propinqua (Laporte & Gory) 1837 ).

(Figs. 127, 185)

Buprestis (Melobasis) cuprifera Laporte & Gory, 1837:119 (preocc. Buprestis cuprifera Kirby 1818 , but name conserved: see ICZN. 2002); Saunders 1871:44; Kerremans 1892:104; 1903:158; Carter 1923:71, 80; 1929:284; Obenberger 1930:429; Turner & Hawkswood 1996:84; Bellamy 2001:25; 2002:160; 2008:1330.

Type locality: Australia (Nouvelle-Hollande) .

Melobasis metallifera Saunders 1868:16 ; Gemminger & Harold 1869:1383; Saunders 1871:44; Masters1886:74; Kerremans 1892:105; 1903:158 (syn. of propinqua ); Carter 1923:71; 1929:285; Obenberger 1930:432; Bellamy 2002:156; 2008:1326

Type locality: Western Australia, S. R. [presumably Swan River ] .

Melobasis goryi Saunders 1871:44 stat. rev. (not synonym of propinqua (Laporte & Gory) 1837 ); Kerremans 1885:136; 1892:104; 1903:158; Carter 1923:80; 1929:284; Obenberger 1930:429; Bellamy 2002:161; 2008:1330.

Buprestis metallifera Hope 1836:8 (nom. nud.; unavailable name); Saunders 1868:16; Gemminger & Harold 1869:1383; Obenberger 1956:135.

There has been confusion regarding the correct name and identity of this species as pointed out by Carter, 1923:71. Carter treated B. (M.) cuprifera Laporte & Gory as a synonym of M. propinqua Laporte & Gory. Examination of the Holotypes of propinqua , metallifera and cuprifera has shown that the latter two belong to one species and propinqua is the species from eastern Australia that Carter incorrectly called cuprifera . B. (M.) cuprifera Laporte & Gory is a junior primary homonym of Buprestis cuprifera Kirby 1818 . This is the reason why Saunders 1871 substituted the name goryi for cuprifera . However the name B. (M.) cuprifera Laporte & Gory has subsequently become available for use (see ICZN. 2002). Bellamy (2002 & 2008) follows Carter in treating cuprifera as a synonym of propinqua .

Type specimens examined. Buprestis (Melobasis) cuprifera Holotype ♂ ( MNHN), Type Gory / TYPE/ Melobasis cuprifera C. et G. Type.

Buprestis metallifera Holotype ♂, ( OUMNH), S.R./ metallifera Hope S.R. / Type Col: 933 Buprestis metallifera Hope.

Other specimens examined: Western Australia: Albany; Applecross; Bayswater; Bejoording; Beverly; Bickley; 14 km S. of Bindoon; 53 m peg on Brockton Highway; Bullsbrook; Bunbury; Bushmead; Canning Bridge; Cannington; Capel River, Chidlow; Cottesloe; Darlington; Esperance; Fremantle; Gnangara; 1 km E. of Gosnalls; Hamel; Jandakot; Jarrahdale; Jerramungup; 6 mls N.E. of Kalamunda; Kalgan River; Kelmscott; Lake Bryde; Lake King; Lake Grace; Mandurah; Margaret River; Mt. Dale; Mt. Madden; Mouth of Moore River (northside); Mundaring; Naval Base; Nornalup; Northampton; Perth; Pinjarra; 12.4 km S. of Pumphrey's Bridge; Raventhorpe; Red Hill; Stirling Range; Tammin; Tone Bridge; Watheroo; Watning; Wembley; Wilga; Woolooloo; Yarloop; S. Australia: Adelaide [undoubtedly wrongly labelled]; New South Wales: Armidale; Sydney [undoubtedly wrongly labelled]; material in AMSA, ANIC, ASC, BPBM, BMNH, GBC, HUM, IRSNB, KECC, MVMA, SAMA, MMSA, NMWC, UQIC, WADA, WAMA.

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 6.0– 13.1 mm; head, pronotum and elytra green golden-green, coppery or brown-bronze; underside green, coppery or brown-bronze; underside moderately densely clothed with moderately long to short opaque white pubescence.

Head: densely punctured with rather deep, fairly small round to ovate punctures; moderately densely clothed with moderately long opaque white pubescence; unpunctured areas weakly to strongly microreticulate; clypeal excision very shallow, U-shaped, with a rather broad complete unpunctured strongly microreticulate border; clypeal peaks acute to right angled; vertex flat, sometimes weakly broadly depressed at centre in lower third; slightly more than half the width of head across eyes when viewed from above; eyes weakly to very strongly convex.

Antenna: serrate from segment 4–10, the segments becoming progressively smaller and slightly less elongate, the expanded part of the segments are usually more or less triangular, some times the expanded part of the more apical segments is subquadrate.

Pronotum: 1.45–1.58 times as wide at base as long in midline; anterior margin strongly bisinuate with a well developed broad median lobe, the unpunctured anterior border broad and well defined at the centre, separated by a well defined groove from the rest of the pronotum; posterior margin weakly biarcuate to bisinuate; widest at or slightly in front of mid-length; lateral margins parallel sided or slightly convergent close to the posterior angles, thence weakly divergent to the widest point, before strongly curvilinearly converging to the anterior angles; as wide as or slightly narrower at base than elytra at base; lateral carina almost straight or slightly sinuate, half to twothirds complete; punctation in central half moderately dense to dense, consisting mostly of small round punctures, punctation in lateral half consisting of larger, stronger, very dense to contiguous round punctures; weakly to moderately strongly microreticulate between the punctures and sometimes with minute pin-prick punctures as well; sometimes with an incomplete unpunctured median line; with fairly short opaque white pubescence confined to the vicinity of the lateral carina.

Scutellum: approximately quadrate, more or less shield-shaped; about one-fifteenth width of elytra at base; weakly to moderately strongly microreticulate.

Elytra: basal margin weakly biarcuate to bisinuate; slightly widening over the humeral callosities, thence almost parallel sided to somewhat beyond the mid-length, before narrowing to the moderately broadly rounded apices; lateral margins only very weakly serrate close to the weakly serrate apices; sutural margins weakly raised in the apical quarter to half; moderately densely punctured with small round punctures near the suture becoming progressively larger and denser laterally, often contiguous close to the lateral margin; punctures near the subsutural depression often partly arranged in punctured striae, the associated interstriae less regularly punctured and sometimes slightly costate; weakly to moderately strongly microreticulate.

Proepisternum: contiguously punctured with large shallow ovate setae-bearing punctures, partly obscured by long opaque white setae.

Prosternum: with a narrow, sometimes poorly defined bead at the anterior margin, at the same level as the area behind; prosternal process slightly widening posteriorly, moderately densely to densely punctured with small to moderately large round punctures, usually with a line of partly coalescent punctures close to the lateral margin; sparsely to moderately densely clothed with fairly long opaque white pubescence.

Mesoepisternum: weakly to strongly microreticulate and with scattered small very weak punctures, and sometimes also with a few large shallow setae-bearing punctures present (Fig. 42).

Apical sternite: with small lunate punctures, mostly well separated, but sometimes touching to form short transverse series; ♂ excision shallow about 2-4 times as wide as deep, ♀ excision narrower about twice as wide as deep, the distal margin of the flange straight and the lateral spines very short, shorter than the depth of the flange in both sexes.

Tarsal claws: not abruptly widened or toothed at base.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 185): parameres scarcely widening from base, almost parallel sided in basal two-thirds.

Ovipositor: elongate as in Fig. 11.

Comments. This species is very variable in colour and size. Brown-bronze specimens are likely to be misidentified as the closely related M. uniformis Carter , but can be distinguished by the slightly less coarse pubescence of the underside and slight differences in the shape of the aedeagus. In the field green and coppery specimens may be difficult to distinguish from M. propinqua depressa ssp. n. and probably M. simulata sp. n., and females of some colour variations of the very variable M. g. gloriosa (Laporte & Gory) .

Bionomics. Adults collected between August and January (mainly October–November). Adults recorded on Acacia sp. (Fabaceae) , Jacksonia spp. (Fabaceae) , Myoporum insulare R. Br. (Myoporaceae) , Teatree ( Myrtaceae ). Larval hosts unknown.