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
Asymmetricata ovalis
(Hope)
(
Figs 7
, 110, 111)
Lampyris ovalis
Hope
, in Gray, 1831:26.
Luciola ovalis
(Hope)
.
McDermott, 1964:44
;
1966:111
Partim.
?
Luciola ovalis
(Hope)
.
McDermott, 1962:24
,
Fig. 21
.
Nec
Luciola ovalis
(Hope)
.
Gorham, 1880:99
, 103 (=
L. circumdata
Motsch
); 1895:303.
Olivier, 1891:595–604
.
Holotype
.
Male. ‘Nepaul’ (
NHML
).
Material examined
.
INDIA
:
27.04N
,
88.28E
,
Western Bengal
,
Kalimpong
,
Bombasti area
,
vii–viii.1992
,
R. Kumar
male, female (
ANIC
)
.
Diagnosis.
Most obviously distinguished from the similarly coloured
A. circumdata
by the bipartite LO.
Male redescription.
11.9 mm
long; 5.0 mm wide; W/L 0.4. Colour: Pronotum, MS, MN, sutural, apical and lateral margins of elytra orange, rest of elytra dark brown except for slightly lighter brown interstitial line 2; irregular retraction of fat body under pronotum may confuse interpretation of colour; head, antennae and palpi dark brown; ventral surface of thorax, and legs orange except for dark brown tibiae, tarsi; V2–5 very dark brown, LO white except for slightly yellow area between LO halves; MPP yellow; T 7, 8 yellow, semitransparent, rest mottled mid-brown. Pronotum:
2.1 mm
long,
4.2 mm
wide; W/L 2.0; area between anterior and posterior hypomeron slightly angulate. Elytra: convex-sided,
9.8 mm
long, 4 interstitial lines visible, inner two approach suture, outer two not as well–defined. Head GHW
2.4 mm
; SIW
0.3 mm
; SIW/ GHW 1/8; ASD less than ASW, sockets close not contiguous; frons-vertex junction rounded, frons about 1 x ASW high. Abdomen: (
Figs 7
, 110–111) LO bipartite; apex of MPP narrowing slightly and rounded.
Female.
(
Fig. 8
) Macropterous.
11.8 mm
long; coloured as for male except for creamy white (LO) V6 and yellowish, semitransparent V7, 8. Pronotal outline as for male. Head of winged female form. V7 depressed transversely across median area (may be post–mortem effect) and posterior margin mainly straight except for broad shallow median emargination; V8 with shallow median emargination; T8 with rounded posterior margin.
Remarks.
Hope’s (1831)
five word description indicated dorsal colouration consistent with that described here for both
Asymmetricata
species.
The
type
series of
L. ovalis
was examined by LB in 1993, the LO in V7 confirmed as bipartite and length of specimens slightly shorter (
9–10 mm
. long). It has not been possible to reexamine the
type
series for this study. If we accept that males of
L. circumdata
have an entire LO in V7 then
Gorham (1880)
incorrectly synonymised
ovalis
with
circumdata
. He also incorrectly attributed V7 (with median longitudinal ‘cleft’) to the segment in front, and thought the area posterior to the LO, including the prolonged MPP, was another segment. He recorded the species from
India
.
Gorham (1895)
indicated an even wider range (NW
India
to
Burma
and Sumatra) and confirmed his original identification. Since Olivier (1890–91) also synonymised
ovalis
and
circumdata
it is probable that this reference to
ovalis
is actually to
circumdata
.
McDermott (1962:24
,
Fig. 21
) briefly described and figured male terminal abdomen of
L. ovalis
with clearly bipartite LO in V7, but did not indicate any asymmetry of tergite 8.
McDermott (1964)
described the last ventral segment in
L
.
ovalis
as ‘cleft’ and was probably referring to the bipartite LO.
Clearly this preliminary treatment with few specimens highlights the need for further investigation to confirm these identifications, and to clarify whether the LO is so variable that it exists in a range from entire with median cleft through to totally bipartite.