Melobasis melanura, Kerremans

Levey, Brian, 2023, A revision of the Australian species of the genus Melobasis Laporte & Gory 1837 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Part 3 (Revision of the azureipennis, cupricollis, iridicolor and melanura species groups), Zootaxa 5302 (1), pp. 1-100 : 28-33

M. melanura Kerremans

(Figs 8, 24, 47, 48, 70, 71)

Melobasis melanura Kerremans 1898:121 ; 1903:158; Carter 1923:74; 1929:285; Obenberger 1930:432; Bellamy 2002:156; 2008:1326.

Type locality: Australia .

Type specimens examined. Lectotype ♀ ( BMNH) Australie Chevrolat/ Collection Chevrolat/ melanura Kerr. Type/ Kerremans 1903 –59. Paralectotype? ♁ ( IRSNB) M. melanura Kerr. Coll. R. I. Sc. N. B. Australie Chevrolat/ Melobasis melanura Kerr. Australie Type cf: Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. 1909, 42:121 TYPE [I am not sure if this male specimen can be considered a Paralectotype. The original description says the apex of the last ventrite has a semicircular indentation, which would not be descriptive of the male but would describe the female. This is why I have selected the female in ( BMNH) as the Lectotype].

Other specimens examined. Queensland: Clermont; Edungalba; Fanning River, 19.45.1S 146.27.1E; Footprint Scrub, 19.41.8S 146.26.2E; Mourangee Stn., Edungalba; Nairana N.P., 21.575S 146.918E; Rochford Scrub, 20.07.0S 146.37.8E; Sellheim; Stone Dam, 16 km N. of Edungalba Creek; Taroom; Wycarba. Specimens in AMSA, ANIC, BLC, BMNH, GHNC, MPC, MVMA, NMPC, QMA, SAMA, TMSHC, WAMA.

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 6.1–9.1 mm; upperside and underside predominantly dark brownish or blackish bronze, upperside often with greenish reflections especially on the internal half of the elytra; hypomeron and mesanepisternum greenish bronze, abdominal ventrites usually with extensive bluish green and reddish violet reflections; underside sparsely to very sparsely clothed with short silvery pubescence in central parts, laterally moderately densely clothed with long silvery pubescence.

Head (Fig. 24): ♁ contiguously punctate with very small strong punctures, the rims of the punctures shiny, densely clothed with long silvery pubescence which partly conceals the punctation; ♀ very densely to contiguously punctate with slightly larger, weaker punctures, the pubescence less dense; clypeal excision a broad shallow V shape, often with a slight notch at the centre, the clypeal peaks scarcely developed, often rounded, the clypeal angles not, or very slightly indicated; vertex flat, about half width of head across eyes when viewed from above; eyes very strongly convex.

Antenna: not sexually dimorphic; segments 3–10 expanded, segment 3 or 4 subtriangularly expanded, segments 4 or 5–10 with expansion quadrate, slightly petiolate at base.

Pronotum: 1.53–1.59× as wide at base as long in midline; anterior margin moderately strongly bisinuate with a broad well developed median lobe, with a well developed entire beaded margin; posterior margin weakly bisinuate; widest near basal quarter to basal third; lateral margins almost parallel in basal quarter, often with a slight sinuation just behind the widest point, weakly curvilinearly converging from widest point towards apical angles, before almost rectilinearly converging to apical angles; basal angles right-angled; slightly narrower to as wide at base as elytra at base; lateral carina sharp well defined, slightly to strongly sinuate near base, about three-quarters complete; punctation in central half contiguous, or nearly contiguous, consisting of small transversely ovate to ellipsoidal punctures, mostly arranged in regular transverse series, rarely with a very narrow incomplete impunctate median line; punctation in lateral half, contiguous, the punctures mostly ovate or round; spaces between punctures weakly to moderately strongly microreticulate; with moderately long silvery pubescence close to the lateral margin and usually more extensively near the anterior angle.

Scutellum: as long as wide to slightly transverse, shield shaped, about one-seventeenth to one-sixteenth width of elytra at base; moderately strongly microreticulate.

Elytra: 2.23–2.39× as long as wide at base; basal margin weakly bisinuate, slightly widening from base over the humeral callosities thence very slightly widening to midlength, before narrowing to the rounded apices; lateral margins in apical half and apices serrate, with rather widely spaced acute serrations; sutural margins slightly raised in apical half; subsutural depression sparsely to moderately densely punctured with very small round and pin-prick punctures; punctation lateral to subsutural depression in inner half consisting of small mostly round punctures partly arranged in regular longitudinal series, without costae but alternate interstriae sometimes slightly costate; punctation in lateral half very dense to contiguous consisting of slightly larger transversely ovate and ellipsoidal punctures, partly arranged in transverse series; moderately strongly microreticulate between the punctures.

Hypomeron: contiguously punctate with medium sized, very shallow, round and ovate punctures, densely clothed with long silvery pubescence which partly conceals the punctation.

Prosternum: with a moderately wide bead at the anterior margin; the anterior margin at about the same level as the area behind; with moderately dense long silvery pubescence confined to the lateral half; prosternal process strongly widening distally, less wide than long at its widest point, sparsely punctate with small round punctures, glabrous, or with very sparse, very short, scattered, silvery pubescence.

Mesanepisternum: contiguously punctate, with some moderately large very shallow round and ovate setae bearing punctures in anterior half, very densely punctate with variably shaped and very small punctures over the rest of the surface.

Central part of metaventrite and inner third of metacoxae, very sparsely punctate with tiny round punctures, glabrous; punctation of lateral parts composed of moderately large to large, contiguous round and lunate punctures, densely clothed with long silvery pubescence; abdominal ventrites very sparsely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence at centre, densely clothed with long silvery pubescence laterally; punctation sparse to moderately dense at centre, composed of very small elongate lunate punctures, laterally with much larger, contiguous lunate punctures.

Apical ventrite (Figs 47, 48): lunate punctures coalescing to form well defined grooves parallel to the lateral margin; excision in ♁ broad, W shaped, with a broad flange, produced at the centre as a triangular lobe, with well developed, moderately long, parallel lateral spines (Fig. 47); ♀ moderately broad, U shaped with a well developed flange and moderately long, divergent lateral spines (Fig. 48).

Fore tibia: ♁ moderately strongly curved, with a setal brush in apical fifth on the anterior face; ♀ slightly less curved.

Mid tibia: ♁ moderately strongly curved, moderately swollen, with a wide, shallow, setae filled depression in apical half, on the ventral face; ♀ slightly curved, without a depression.

Aedeagus (Figs 70, 71): parameres with long straight spine like setae, in addition to the usual long fine setae; apex of median lobe truncate.

Ovipositor: not examined.

Comments. This species is most similar to M. cuspidata sp. n. (see comments under that species).

Bionomics. Adults collected on Bauhinia regrowth and branches, and Brigalow ( Acacia harpophylla ). Adults collected from October to January. Larval host unknown.