Systematics of Indo-Pacific fireflies with a redefinition of Australasian Atyphella Olliff, Madagascan Photuroluciola Pic, and description of seven new genera from the Luciolinae (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)
Author
Ballantyne, Lesley A.
Author
Lambkin, Christine
text
Zootaxa
2009
2009-02-04
1997
1
188
journal article
11755334
Gilvainsula messoria
(
Olivier, 1913
)
(
Figs 15, 16
,
192, 195, 196, 199–203
)
Atyphella messoria
Olivier, 1913:421
.
Luciola (Luciola) messoria
(Olivier)
.
McDermott, 1966:110
.
Holotype
.
Male.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
:
10.38S
,
152.44E
.
Specimen
labelled (
Fig. 195
) 1. (printed)
St Aignan
, (=
Misima Island
) VIII to XI.97 (
Meek
); 2. (
Handwritten
on pink paper) ‘
messoria Ern Oliv.
’ (
MNHN
).
Other specimen examined
. Male, same locality as type (
MNHN
).
Diagnosis.
Very similar to
G. similismessoria
, distinguished by the pale dorsal colouration.
Male redescription.
10.5–11.4 mm
long; 4.0 mm wide; W/L 0.35–0.4. Colour: (
Figs 15, 16
) Dorsally light brownish yellow; head between eyes, antennae and palpi brown; ventral surface of rest of body light brownish yellow except for dark brown tibiae and tarsi of all legs, brown posterior half of V5 (wider at edges and narrower in middle), pale creamy LO in V6, 7; tergites yellow semitransparent. Pronotum:
2.2–2.4 mm
long; 3.5–4.0 mm wide; W/L 1.6; pronotal width subequal to humeral width. Elytron: 8.3–9.0 mm long; interstitial lines not as well developed as suture in
type
male, lines 1, 2 as well–defined in second male especially in basal half. Head: GHW
2.2–2.3 mm
; SIW 0.4; SIW/GHW 0.16–0.18; ASD subequal to ASW. Apical segment of labial palpi with inner edge of right palp bisinuate with a fairly broad truncate basal area, of left palp with a shallow median incision about 1/3 length from tip. Aedeagal sheath (199, 200): median anterior margin of sheath sternite slightly prolonged, very dark coloured, and pointed in non
type
male.
Remarks
. This colouration, rarely seen in New
Guinea
and
Australia
, is widespread in Asia (Ballantyne obs; Jeng pers. comm.). The analysis distinguishes two species of
Gilvainsula
gen. n.
from coastal and island localities off the SE coast of
Papua New Guinea
based on their dorsal colouration. It is very possible they represent the two extremes of one population.