Aquatica Fu, Ballantyne et Lambkin 2010

Ho, - Z., 2019, The Luciolinae of S. E. Asia and the Australopacific region: a revisionary checklist (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) including description of three new genera and 13 new species, Zootaxa 4687 (1), pp. 1-174 : 43

Aquatica Fu, Ballantyne et Lambkin 2010

Figs 54, 55, 56

Aquatica Fu Ballantyne et Lambkin 2010: 1 , figs 2–49. Yiu 2012: 56–59; 2017: 87. Fu 2014: 69 − 82.

Type species. Aquatica wuhana Fu et al. 2010 .

Diagnosis. Known from China. Usually found near bodies of water, including rice paddies, as associated larvae are aquatic and bottom dwellers, having soft bodies and forked lateral gills and spiracles, along the sides of the body. Adults of Aquatica Fu et al. usually have dark brown to black elytra with orange yellow pronotum; several species have dark brown elytra narrowly pale margined, and may have a median dark mark on the pronotum; one species has pale yellowish brown dorsum. Larvae are presently indistinguishable from larvae of Luciola cruciata and L. owadai . Adult males of Aquatica are distinguished from these two species of Luciola by the nature of the elytral epipleuron and the outline of the aedeagal sheath sternite margins. When a horizontal specimen is viewed from beneath, the base of the epipleuron in the two Luciola species is not much expanded and the elytral humerus is clearly visible. In Aquatica species the epipleuron is sufficiently expanded at its base that in a similar orientation the humerus is not visible from beneath.

This genus belongs to a group of 18 Luciolinae genera where in the male aedeagus the LL are visible from beneath at the sides of the ML. It has the posterior portion of the male aedeagal sheath sternite emarginated on its right side in common with 10 other genera ( Atyphella , Aquilonia , Convexa , Emeia , Lloydiella , Missimia , Pacifica , Pygatyphella , Sclerotia and Triangulara ), from which it is distinguished by having posterior half of sternite irregularly emarginate along both sides, and each side toothed. It is distinguished from Abscondita by having the aedeagal LL separate along most of their dorsal length (those of Abscondita are fused); from Asymmetricata by the symmetrical T8 (that of Asymmetricata is emarginated on its right side); from Curtos in lacking the characteristic elytral punctation and raised humeral carina; and from Pygoluciola by the shape of the aedeagal sheath (that of Pygoluciola has a symmetrical sternite with a narrow anterior half which expands posteriorly and is not emarginated at either side). Females are macropterous and the bursa has narrowed paired plates in several species.

Remarks. Fu (2014: 49) identified as ‘ Luciola sp.’ specimens subsequently been identified as a new species of this genus and which will be described elsewhere (Fu, Oba, Ballantyne in prep.). Nak-eiam (2015) also identified this same species from Thailand but did not describe it. Yiu (2012) identified both Aq. leii and Aq. ficta from Hong Kong, and discussed the possibility that L. ficta could be a junior synonym of L. limbalis Fairmaire. He also indicated (2017) that two males and five females had been taken in Hong Kong. Fu & Meyer-Rochow (2012: 127) studied morphological adaptations of larval leii . Fu et al. (2007, 2009) addressed eversible defensive larval organs of several species of Aquatica . Fu (2014) illustrated the glowing light organs of male and female pupae of Aq. ficta (fig. 73) and Aq. leii (fig. 77).

Figures

FIGURES 50–56. Key to genera characters 8. 50, 51 Pygoluciola satoi; 52, 53 Emeia pseudosauteri; 54, 55, 56 Aquatica ficta. 50, 51 aedeagus dorsal (50: arrow indicates separation in basal area of lateral lobes), and ventral; 52, 56 dorsal habitus; 53, 55 ventral habitus;; 54 aedeagal sheath ventral semidiagrammatic (arrows indicate pointed projections along sides of sheath sternite).