Pygatyphella japenensis, Ballantyne & Lambkin, 2009

Ballantyne, Lesley A. & Lambkin, Christine, 2009, 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), Zootaxa 1997, pp. 1-188 : 85-86

Pygatyphella japenensis sp. n.

( Figs 278, 286–288, 296, 297, 307, 311)

Holotype. Male. INDONESIA IRIAN JAYA: 1.45S, 136.15E, Japen Island, SSE Sumberbaba, Dawai River , x.1962, N. Wilson, ( BPBM).

Paratypes (5). Same data as holotype, 2 males, 3 females .

Diagnosis. One of the ‘ obsoleta complex’; distinguished by the 90° angle of the posterolateral corners of the pronotum, the rounded apex of the MPP, the very short median trough on the ventral surface of T8, the asymmetrical ML which curves to the left horizontally, and the very short inner apical projections of the LL.

Male. 6.8–7.0 mm long; 2.8–3.0 mm wide; W/L 0.4. Colour ( Fig 278): Pronotum whitish yellow, semitransparent with underlying white fat body, narrow median hour-glass brown area does not reach to anterior margin and is wider across posterior area; MN pale yellowish, with median brown area; MS with median brown area that narrows anteriorly and just abuts the median anterior margin in 2/3, or covers almost all of MS in 1/3, other margins pale; elytra very pale brown, semitransparent, anterior brown marking either extending or not extending to suture or edge of MS in anterior 1/ 6 in 2/3, not reaching lateral margin, extending posteriorly along suture for 1/3 elytral length, and then narrowly along the suture just past half elytral length; extreme base of suture just behind MS very narrowly marked in brown, next 1/6 of suture pale in 2/3, or all of suture to past half length of elytron brown; apices of interstitial lines 1 and 2 narrowly brown marked (marking not extending to posterior margin); elytral lateral margins with brown marking just anterior to apex; head, antennae and palpi very dark brown; ventral aspect of thorax dingy yellow except for brown metasternum; legs yellow with brown tarsi; V3 pale at edges, brown across median half; V4 mostly brown, paler at edges; V5 very dark brown; basal ventrites dingy brown; LO yellow, posterior area of V7 semitransparent, pale yellow; T 7 and 8 yellow. Pronotum: 1.5 mm long; 2.5–2.6 mm wide; W/L 1.6; lateral margins with angulate convergence (on both sides of pronotum) in 2/3, one male with rounded and angulate convergence on either side; Posterolateral corners angulate, approximately 90°. Elytron: parallel-sided; 5.3–5.5 mm long; with 2 well–defined interstitial lines with line 2 is slightly larger than line 1 in 2/3. Head: can be partly retracted into prothoracic cavity and thus may only be narrowly visible from above; GHW 1.5–1.7 mm; SIW 0.15mm; SIW/ GHW 0.05–0.1; ASD<ASW (sockets are very close, almost but not quite contiguous). Abdomen, ventrites ( Fig. 307): LO entire in V7, reaching sides but not posterior margin; posterolateral ‘corners’ angulate; LO occupies less than half the area of V7. MPP well–defined, apex rounded. Tergites: T8 ( Fig. 311) about as long as wide (visible entire posterior portion), with median posterior margin slightly produced and narrowly rounded; ventral darkened portion short; with very short median longitudinal trough; anterolateral prolongations elongate, expanded in vertical plane, lacking ventrally directed flanges. Aedeagal sheath: sternite emarginated on its left side from the tergite articulation. Aedeagus ( Figs 286–288, 296, 297): L/W>3; LL/ML moderate; LL narrowly divergent along their length dorsally, slightly shorter than ML; outer preapical margin of LL produced and rounded, inner apical margin produced, short and narrow; base of LL asymmetrically produced to left; ML lacking teeth at about level of ejaculatory orifice, asymmetrical, curved to the left horizontally.

Female. Colour: As for male with these exceptions: pronotum yellowish brown, semitransparent with underlying cream fat body, narrow median hour-glass brown area does not reach to anterior margin and is narrower across posterior area in 1/3 and wider in 1/3; pronotum dingy pale brown with median markings scarcely discernable in 1/3; MS with narrow median brown area in 1/3, MS with broad dark brown area that almost covers all the area in 2/3, other margins pale; 1/3 with suture irregularly pale along 2/3 of its length within the otherwise brown basal area; bases of interstitial lines 1, 2 narrowly pale in 2/3. V4, 5 dark brown, V6 creamy white, V7, 8 yellowish semi-transparent; all of posterior margin of V7 shallowly emarginated with lateral areas showing depressed areas which probably represent torsion of D–V muscles in 1/3; lateral margins of T8 converge smoothly posteriorly and median posterior margin of both V8 and T8 are narrowly emarginated.

Larva. Not associated.

Etymology. The specific name is genitive case, (meaning ‘of japen’) latinised from the type locality.