Melobasina apicalis Kerremans, 1900

Bílý, Svatopluk, Kubáň, Vítězslav & Volkovitsh, Mark G., 2009, A study on the tribe Poecilonotini, with a revision of the subtribe Nesotrinchina subtrib. nov. and the description of a new genus and species from Papua New Guinea (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Chrysochroinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (2), pp. 729-767 : 752

Melobasina apicalis Kerremans, 1900

( Figs. 59–65 , 123, 128 )

Melobasina apicalis Kerremans, 1900b: 69 . Type locality: Papua New Guinea, Louisiade Archipelago, Tagula Island (‘Ile Tugela’).

Melobasina apicalis: KERREMANS (1903) : 144 (list of species; distribution: ‘Ile Tugela’), pl. 2, Fig. 2 ; OBENBERGER (1930): 420 (catalogue; distribution: ‘Ins. Tugela’); BELLAMY (2002): 62 (catalogue); BELLAMY (2008): 625 (catalogue; distribution:Australasian: ‘Tugela Island’).

Nosotrinchus [sic!] Ignitus Théry, 1937: 647 , syn. nov. Type locality: Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Bougainville province, Bougainville Island, Buin.

Nesotrinchus ignitus: BELLAMY (1987) : 101 (note).

Melobasina ignita: BELLAMY (2008) : 625 (catalogue; new combination; distribution:Australasian: Solomon Islands – mistake).

Misidentification. Melobasina apicalis Kerremans sensu BELLAMY (2003) : 120, Fig. 185. The specimen is in fact a syntype of Nesotrinchus simondsi .

Type material examined. Melobasina apicalis : LECTOTYPE (designated here): ♀ ( BMNH), PAPUA NEW GUINEA: LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO: ‘Tugela [= Tagula Island], Sol[omon]. Is. ([C. M.] Wodford [leg.]) [p] / apicalis Kerr. Type. [h] / Type [p] [red-framed round label] / Melobasina Kerrem. [h] / M. apicalis Kerr. I. Tugela [h] / Kerremans. 1903–59. [p]’. Since the number of syntypes is unknown, we designate here the female specimen from BMHN as the lectotype to avoid any confusion in the future.

Melobasina ignita : HOLOTYPE (by monotypy): ♀ ( NHMB, coll. G. Frey), PAPUA NEW GUINEA: BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Bougainville Island: ‘Buin Ile Salomon [h] / Nosotrinchus ignitus Thery [h] Type [p, red] / keine Type aber Paratype 1956 det. Kamp [h]’.

Additional material examined. SOLOMON ISLANDS: GUADALCANAL ISLAND: ‘Wanderers Bay 84. 3 [h] / Solomon Islands, W Guadalcanal Isl., Wanderer Bay coast [h, Kubáň’ s writing] / Melobasina fossicollis Kerr. det from descr. [h] B.Levey det. 196 [p] 8 [h]’ (2 ♀♀, BMNH).

Remarks. BELLAMY (2008) formally transferred ‘ Nesotrinchus ignitus ’ to the genus Melobasina . We have studied the types of M. ignita and M. apicalis and two females from Guadalcanal and failed to find any substantial differences and we consider them conspecific, M. ignita ( Fig. 65 ) being a junior subjective synonym of M. apicalis ( Fig. 59 ). HOŁYŃSKI (1993: 27) most probably studied specimens from Guadalcanal deposited in BMNH and determined by B. Levey as ‘ Melobasina fossicollis Kerr. ’ (see above).

Distribution. Papua New Guinea ( Bismarck Archipelago: Bougainville Island; Louisiade Archipelago: Tagula Island), Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal Island).

Figures

Figs. 59–70. 59–64 – Melobasina apicalis Kerremans, 1900, lectotype, female, 13.5 mm, Tagula Island (except 60 – female, 11.5 mm, Guadalcanal Island).65 – M.ignita (Théry, 1937) (synonym of M.apicalis), holotype, female, 12.5 mm, Bougainville Island. 66–70 – M. suturalis (Deyrolle, 1864), female (NMPC), 13.0 mm, Halmahera Island. 59–60, 65–66 – habitus, dorsal view; 61, 67 – habitus, lateral view; 62, 68 – head, frontal view; 63, 69 – prosternal process; 64, 70 – anal ventrite.

Figs. 121–130. 121, 127 – Nesotrinchus australicus (Kerremans, 1903): paralectotype of a synonym N. simondsi Obenberger, 1924, female, Fiji, NMPC. 122, 129 – Ulaikoilia jelineki Bílý & Kubáň, gen. nov., sp. nov., holotype, Papua New Guinea. 123 – Melobasina apicalis Kerremans, 1900, female, Guadalcanal Island. 124 – Lamprodila (Ovalisia) auricollis (Deyrolle, 1864), female, Halmahera Island. 125 – Cardiaspis pisciformis Théry, 1904, female (NMPC), India.126 – Haplotrinchus pyrochlorus (Fairmaire, 1877), syntype, female (NMPC),Fiji.128 – Melobasina ignita (Théry, 1937) (synonym of M. apicalis), holotype, female, Bougainville Island. 130 – Haplotrinchus philippinensis Obenberger, 1928, syntype, female, Philippines, Luzon. 121–126 – right wing, dorsal view; 127–130 – abdomen, dorsal view; T7 = visible tergite 7; T8 = visible tergite 8.

Figs. 1–18. 1, 3–6 – Pseudhyperantha jucunda Saunders, 1869, male, 17.0 mm, Borneo. 2 – P. bloetei Théry, 1935, female, Sumatra. 7–13 – Cardiaspis pisciformis Théry, 1904, India (7–9, 11, 13 – female, NMPC, 17.0 mm; 10, 12 – male,NMPC).14–18 – Haplotrinchus philippinensis Obenberger, 1928,syntype, female,15.5 mm, Philippines, Luzon. 1, 7, 14 – habitus, dorsal view; 2 – ovipositor, dorsal view; 3, 8, 15 – habitus, lateral view; 4, 9, 16 – head, frontal view; 5, 10–11, 17 – prosternal process; 6, 12–13, 18 – anal ventrite.