Safrina laticeps ( Macleay, 1885 ) Macleay, 1885

Reid, C. A. M. & Beatson, M., 2016, Revision of the stag beetle genus Ryssonotus MacLeay (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), with descriptions of a new genus and three new species, Zootaxa 4150 (1), pp. 1-39 : 31-32

Safrina laticeps ( Macleay, 1885) new combination.

( Figs 6 , 15 , 23 , 32 , 51 , 57 , 63–67 , 70 )

Rhyssonotus laticeps Macleay, 1885: 201 ; Moore & Cassis 1992: 16.

Material examined. Type. HOLOTYPE: Ƌ, Australia [printed label and Masters' handwritten label], on permanent loan from Macleay Museum, University of Sydney (ANIC).

Other material (69): Queensland: 2 Ƌ, 2 ♀, Cooran Plateau , as larva, ex core dead standing Eucalyptus , 12.xii.90, em[erged] 21.iv.1991, M. De Baar ( MDB, QMB) ; Ƌ, Cooran Tableland, via Gympie , ex larva, xi.1996, G. B. Monteith ( QMB) ; 2Ƌ, ♀, Cooran Tableland, via Gympie , ex larva, 10.ii.2004, A Polak, collected as larva & reared adult emerged April 2004 ( ANIC) ; Ƌ, Mount Glorious , 24.iii.1968, G. J. Toop ( BPM) ; 2 ♀, Mount Glorious , as larva, 15.v.1981, B. P. Moore ( BPM) ; 16 Ƌ, 15 ♀, Mount Glorious , 630 m, ex core dead standing Eucalyptus trunk, 24.iii.1989, M. De Baar, A. Hiller ( BPM, MDB, QMB, RDK) ; 2Ƌ, 2♀, Mount Glorious , 630 m, ex core dead standing Eucalyptus trunk, 26.iii.1989, A. Hiller ( RDK) ; Ƌ, ♀, 20 km N Mount Glorious , 24.iii.1989, M. De Baar ( DPIM) ; Ƌ, Mount Tambourine , i.1893, C. J. Wild ( QMB) ; 3 ♀, Springbrook , 2.iii.1990, 20.iv.1991, 28.iv.1991, M. De Baar ( MDB) ; 4 Ƌ, 2 ♀, Upper Tallebudgera Creek , ex old bloodwood log, 10.iii.1997, D. J. Cook ( QMB) .

Diagnosis. Male: length 16−20 mm. Black or almost so, often with faint dark green reflection, legs reddish brown; prothorax almost parallel sided, elytra slightly rounded at sides; head with genal lobe greatly laterally projecting as a tapering trapezoid with long anterior edge and short posterior, the outer edge concave or notched; mandibles without pre-apical dorsal tooth, basal internal dorsal and ventral teeth separated or fused or ventral tooth small; basal half of elytron without ridges, with 5 striae.

Female: length 15−19 mm. Colour as male; with (rarely) or without distinct tooth at base of outer mandibular carina; pronotum relatively strongly and sparsely punctured, punctures of basal third of median groove separated by diameters or less, discal punctures not coalescent; lateral margins of pronotum distinctly to feebly crenulate; elytra weakly or strongly transversely wrinkled, dull with dense microsculpture; elytral intervals 1−5 convex at base, without carina from shoulder to disc; explanate margin of elytra narrow, approximately equal width of base of metatibia, without or with shallow lateral grooves.

Description. Male. Length 16−20 mm. Black or almost so, usually with faint dark green reflection, legs reddish brown. Body sub-parallel sided: pronotum generally broadest at middle third, often slightly broader than elytra, sides of elytra slightly rounded. Head conspicuously setose around median tubercles, with sparse setae elsewhere, pronotal disc glabrous.

Head: sides greatly laterally produced, as a tapering trapezoid with acute apex, long anterior edge and short posterior, the outer edge concave or notched, width of lobe 0.6−1.2x length at base; strongly transverse, width 3.5−4.0x length; dorsum strongly punctured with smooth interspaces; 2 separate anteromedian tubercles, on median prominence; anterior margin deeply concave; dorsally visible part of mandibles 1.5−2.0x longer than head, almost symmetrical; mandibles without dorsal tubercle, 1/3 from base of outer edge, externally keeled on middle third; mandibular preapical dorsal tubercle absent; ventral inner edge with 3−7 angulate or rounded teeth, usually similarly sized but often asymmetrically partly fused, before upturned apex; base of inner face of mandible with large separated dorsal and ventral tubercles, or these tubercles fused, or ventral much smaller; pregular swelling sharply convex, height ≥ longitudinal length, with 0−2 setose punctures on each face.

Thorax: pronotum usually almost parallel-sided in basal half, sometimes slightly contracted from posterolateral angles to apex, posterolateral angles not laterally projecting; lateral margins shallowly crenulate, or almost even with a few minute nicks; pronotal disc finely and sparsely punctured, with or rarely without, pair of foveolate depressions anterior to middle, sides more strongly and closely punctured, especially in lateral depressions and at posterolateral angles; pronotal disc shiny, but minutely and evenly microreticulate; scutellum transversely half ovate, sparsely to closely strongly punctured; elytra slightly rounded at sides, broadest 1/3−1/2 from base; basal half of elytron with intervals 1−5 convex, 3 and 5 usually slightly more so than others, without an oblique ridge from humerus to disc; elytra shiny, but finely microreticulate except extreme base; elytral disc striate, with 5 fine sparsely punctured grooves reaching apical half, intervals with or without shallow transverse grooves, remainder of elytra fairly smooth, but with scattered punctures, often in rows, and usually with irregular fine grooves; elytral sides explanate, width approximately equal width of base of metatibia, smooth or almost so; wing fully developed, apex sharply folded to within basal third of elytra; external margin of protibia with 2 large and 2 (or rarely 3) minor teeth, inner margin with 0−1 prominent teeth; metatibia with 1−2 small external teeth.

Abdomen: ventrites dull, microreticulate; ventrite I rugulose, finely and closely punctured on intercoxal process and sides, II −V closely but finely punctured, I −IV apparently glabrous (but with sparse and minute recumbent setae) except sides and intercoxal process, V with long erect setae on apical half; apex of ventrite V truncate to shallowly concave. Genitalia: phallobase glabrous, without setae, medially unsclerotised on dorsal surface, apex of venter with triangular less strongly sclerotised depression, dorsal surface convex; parameres with short but moderately close setae, apices blunt in lateral view; ventral sclerite of penis entire, apex with v-shaped notch; endophallus in repose with 1−2 short coils.

Female. As male, except: length 17−20 mm; head more strongly and rugosely punctured, anterior truncate; genal lobe laterally produced as a short asymmetric triangle or trapezoid, broadest at posterior then approximately convexly curved to anterior of head; dorsally visible part of mandibles about as long as head; mandibles with (rarely) or without small elongate dorsal tubercle, 1/3 from base of outer edge, remainder of outer edge keeled, preapical dorsal tubercle absent; sides of pronotum more strongly punctured, punctures often confluent, lateral margins evidently notched or bluntly crenulate, hind angles obtuse; internal margin protibia without teeth; apex ventrite V truncate to shallowly concave.

Larva (based on 1 specimen, about 25 mm when crudely straightened, from Cooran Plateau): inner edge of left mandible deeply excavated between apex and middle of mola; apex of antennomere 3 truncate, inner margin shallowly concave; antennomere 4 length to width ratio about 2.3; mesocoxal stridulatory file evenly curved, with about 35 small granules; metatrochanteral stridulatory file with about 16 transverse tubercles, not reaching apex of trochanter, which is rounded; metafemur angularly produced at apex; metatibiotarsus elongate, length to width ratio about 3; raster with long apical and lateral setae, narrowly glabrous median strip, and elongate posteriorly or slightly inwardly directed spines or short setae on either side of midline.

Distribution and natural history. Safrina laticeps is widespread in southern Queensland, from Mount Tambourine north to Cooran Plateau. This species occurs in dry eucalypt forest and is particularly active in late summer, from March to April. Adults have been found most frequently in hollow eucalypt logs or trunks, where they can be locally numerous. Larvae have been collected in a hollow Eucalyptus tree, in December and April (AMS; QMB).

Figures

FIGURE 70. Southeastern Australia, distributions of: · = S. dekeyzeri new species; - = S. grandis (Lea, 1915); = S. jaedoni new species; + = S. laticeps (MacLeay, 1885); 1 = S. parallela (Deyrolle, 1881).

FIGURES 1 − 9. Habitus, male: 1, Ryssonotus nebulosus (Kirby, 1819); 2, Safrina dekeyzeri new species; 3, S. grandis (Lea, 1915); 4, S. jaedoni new species; 5, S. jugularis (Westwood, 1863); 6, S. laticeps (MacLeay, 1885); 7, S. moorei new species; 8, S. parallela (Deyrolle, 1881); 9, S. polita (Carter, 1921).

FIGURES 10 − 18. Habitus, female: 10, Ryssonotus nebulosus (Kirby, 1819); 11, Safrina dekeyzeri new species; 12, S. grandis (Lea, 1915); 13, S. jaedoni new species; 14, S. jugularis (Westwood, 1863); 15, S. laticeps (MacLeay, 1885); 16, S. moorei new species; 17, S. parallela (Deyrolle, 1881); 18, S. polita (Carter, 1921).

FIGURES 19 − 27. Head, dorsal, male: 19, Ryssonotus nebulosus (Kirby, 1819); 20, Safrina dekeyzeri new species; 21, S. grandis (Lea, 1915); 22, S. jaedoni new species; 23, S. laticeps (MacLeay, 1885); 24, S. jugularis (Westwood, 1863); 25, S. moorei new species; 26, S. parallela (Deyrolle, 1881); 27, S. polita (Carter, 1921).

FIGURES 28 − 36. Head, dorsal, female: 28, Ryssonotus nebulosus (Kirby, 1819); 29, Safrina dekeyzeri new species; 30, S. grandis (Lea, 1915); 31, S. jaedoni new species; 32, S. laticeps (MacLeay, 1885); 33, S. jugularis (Westwood, 1863); 34, S. moorei new species; 35, S. parallela (Deyrolle, 1881); 36, S. polita (Carter, 1921).

FIGURES 50 − 51. Male genitalia, paraprocts, proctiger (left) and sternite IX (right): 50, Ryssonotus nebulosus (Kirby, 1819); 51, Safrina laticeps (MacLeay, 1885).

FIGURES 52 − 60. Aedeagus, dorsal, ventral and lateral: 52, Ryssonotus nebulosus (Kirby, 1819); 53, Safrina dekeyzeri new species; 54, S. grandis (Lea, 1915); 55, S. jaedoni new species; 56, S. jugularis (Westwood, 1863); 57, S. laticeps (Macleay, 1885); 58, S. moorei new species; 59, S. parallela (Deyrolle, 1881); 60, S. polita (Carter, 1921).

FIGURES 63 − 67. Larval morphology, Safrina laticeps (Macleay, 1885): 63, antenna; 64, left mandible; 65, mesocoxa; 66, metathoracic leg; 67, apex of venter.