Luciola picea Gorham, 1882

Jusoh, Wan F. A. & Ballantyne, Lesley, 2024, A catalogue and redescription of type specimens of fireflies (Coleoptera, Lampyridae, Luciolinae) deposited in Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Contributions to Entomology 74 (1), pp. 63-80 : 63-80

Luciola picea Gorham, 1882

Fig. 7 A – D

Luciola picea Gorham, 1882: 104–105; 1887: 71. Olivier 1900: 236; 1902: 84. Ballantyne et al. 2019: 104. McDermott 1966: 111.

Lectotype and paralectotypes.

4 ♂ (herein designated).

Type locality.

“ Palembang bovenland ”.

Material examined

(4 ♂ specimens). Lectotype (herein designated): INDONESIA ● ♂; (1) “ Luciola / picea, Gorh: ”; (2) “ Sum. Exp. / Palembang / bovenland / 5 of 6.78 ”; (5) “ RMNH. INS / 968354 ” (Fig. 7 A . Paralectotypes: ♂; (1) “ Luciola / picea, Gorh: ”; (2) “ Sum. Exp. / Lebong / 5 / 78 ”; (3) “ Lebong / 5 / 78 ”; (4) “ RMNH / Leiden / ex Indo-Austr. / collection ”; (5) “ RMNH. INS / 968353 ” (Fig. 7 B ). ♂; (1) “ Luciola / picea, Gorh: ”; (2) “ Sum. Exp. / Palembang bovenland / 5 of 6.78 ”; (3) “ Palemb. / Bovenl. / 5 of 6 / 78 ”; (4) “ RMNH Leiden / ex Indo-Austr. / collection ”; (5) “ RMNH. INS. / 968358 ” (Fig. 7 C ). ♀; (1) “ Luciola / picea, Gorh: / [n. sp] ”; (2) “ H. pg / 9.79 ”; (3) “ RMNH / Leiden / ex Indo-Austr. / collection ”; (4) RMNH. INS / 968359 ” (Fig. 7 D ).

Taxonomic remarks

We can confirm only that this species does not conform to Luciola s. str. in features of the aedeagus (see Fig. 7 C ; LL without leaf like lobes on their inner ventral margin and expanded apices; ML not elongate curved with preapical ventral point). There is no described genus which will accommodate this species and we follow the indication by Yiu (2017) who designated a category species inquirenda for specimens with similar aedeagal morphology ( Ballantyne et al. 2019). The present taxonomic categories in Ballantyne et al. (2019) do not accommodate these specimens. Further investigation is necessary, including the collection and analysis of specimens from various geographic locations and the use of phylogenetic analysis to better understand the classification of this species. We believe that these additional steps will provide us with a more comprehensive understanding of the species’ identity and its place within the broader taxonomic framework of Luciolinae .

Notes

In Gorham’s original description, he mentioned the specimens are all males from four localities, suggesting that there could be at least another male syntype ( Gorham 1882). In 1887, he cited 24 specimens – all males – from four localities with the majority of these specimens collected from “ Highlands of Palembang ” or “ Palembangsche Bovenladen ”. However, it is unclear whether these were the same specimens used in the original description or if they were additional specimens collected during the Sumatra Expedition. We herein designated a lectotype for Luciola picea and listed paralectotypes to reduce the potential for confusion in future revision of this species.

Figures

Figure 7. Luciola picea Gorham, 1882 lectotype male (A) and paralectotypes (B – D). A – D. Specimen labels, with A. Dorsal habitus above, and ventral abdominal apex below; C. With ventral aedeagus to right. All images are to scale, except specimen labels.