Melobasis adamsi, Levey, 2023

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 : 60-63

M. adamsi sp. n.

( Figs 118 , 131 , 149, 150 , 172, 173 )

Type locality: Queensland, Edungalba .

Type specimens examined. Holotype ♁ ( ANIC) Queensland: Edungalba. Jan. 1945 & 1946. Brigalow. E.E. Adams / HOLOTYPE Melobasis adamsi sp. n. B. Levey 2018. Paratypes as follows: 1♁, 3♀ ( ANIC, BLC, NMWC) same data as holotype. 1♀ ( BLC) Edungalba C.Q. 28.12.1969 / E.E. Adams. 1♀ ( CLBC) Edungalba XII. 1972 .

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 8.9–11.9 mm; ♁ head in central half olive green, yellow green in lower quarter, becoming coppery at the frontoclypeal margin, upper quarter greenish black to black; ♀ greenish bronze in upper three-quarters becoming brighter green to dull copper in lower quarter; pronotum bronze-green with reddish purple and coppery reflections, ♁ narrowly bright copper along the lateral margin in basal quarter; scutellum dull copper; elytra deep dull purple with the following dull green markings: basal margin, humeral callosity, broad elongate vitta extending from basal angle along the lateral margin, becoming narrower in apical third where it does not reach the lateral margin; suture in basal quarter narrowly golden, sometimes extending as far as midlength of elytra; underside reddish purple to reddish violet, with coppery reflections in ♁; laterally moderately densely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence, central part of the prosternum, prosternal process, mesosternum, central parts of metaventrite and abdominal ventrites glabrous.

Head ( Fig. 131 ): very densely (♀) to contiguously punctate (♁) with small strong, mostly round punctures; moderately densely clothed with long silvery pubescence; spaces between the punctures shiny or weakly microreticulate; clypeal excision rather narrow, shallow, arcuate, with a narrow reticulate impunctate border; clypeal peaks very obtusely angled, forming broad lobes lateral to the clypeal excision; clypeal angles slightly indicated; vertex flat, slightly less than half width of head across eyes when viewed from above; eyes very strongly convex.

Antenna: not obviously sexually dimorphic; segments 4–10 expanded, the expansion quadrate, about 2–2.5x as long as wide, slightly petiolate at base; segments in ♁ slightly more elongate and expanded part slightly more quadrate than in ♀.

Pronotum: 1.50–1.70× as wide at base as long in midline; anterior margin weakly bisinuate with a very weakly developed median lobe, with a well developed entire beaded margin; posterior margin strongly biarcuate; widest near basal third; lateral margins weakly slightly curvilinearly diverging from basal angles to widest point, before curvilinearly converging to apical angles; basal angles obtuse; as wide at base as elytra at base; lateral carina sharp very well defined, slightly curved, about two-thirds to three-quarters complete; punctation in central half very dense to contiguous, consisting of transversely elliptical punctures forming transverse slightly sinuate series; punctation in lateral half dense to very dense, the punctures transversely oval next to the central half, becoming round towards the lateral margin; spaces between punctures weakly microreticulate; glabrous or very sparsely clothed with long silvery pubescence close to the lateral margin.

Scutellum: slightly elongate to quadrate, shield shaped, about one-eighteenth to one twenty-second width of elytra at base; strongly microreticulate.

Elytra: 2.14–2.32× as long as wide at base; basal margin strongly biangulate, moderately strongly widening from base over the humeral callosities thence parallel sided to slightly beyond midlength, before narrowing to the rather broadly rounded apices; lateral margins in apical half, and apices serrate, with acute serrations, the serrations much smaller at the elytral apices; sutural margins very slightly raised in apical half; each elytron with at most only very slight indications of two costae at the midlength; punctation rather uniform, the punctures small, round, and dense near the suture, becoming progressively larger, more ovate and very dense in central third, laterally, becoming transversely elliptical, contiguous, and forming transverse series; moderately strongly microreticulate between the punctures.

Hypomeron: contiguously punctate with medium sized, very shallow, very elongate elliptical punctures, the bottom of the punctures strongly microreticulate, with inconspicuous, long, silvery pubescence.

Prosternum: with a narrow bead at the anterior margin; the anterior margin at the same level as the area behind; prosternal process strongly widening distally, almost as wide as long at its widest point, densely punctate, with strong round punctures, glabrous.

Mesanepisternum: strongly microreticulate, sometimes with some small inconspicuous punctures.

Central part of metaventrite, inner part of metacoxa glabrous, sparsely punctate with small weak mostly pin-prick punctures; lateral parts punctate with mostly coalescent punctures forming rugae; abdominal ventrites glabrous and sparsely to moderately densely, weakly punctate, with small mostly lunate punctures in central-third, laterally with coalescent punctures, with moderately long silvery pubescence.

Apical ventrite ( Figs 149, 150 ): lunate punctures coalescing to form grooves parallel to the lateral margin; excision in ♁ broad, slightly W shaped, with a narrow flange produced at the centre as a transversely oblong lobe, with well developed, moderately long, parallel lateral spines ( Fig. 149 ); ♀ narrow, deep U-shaped, the narrow flange produced at the centre as a small acutely triangular lobe, the lateral spines well developed parallel ( Fig. 150 ).

Fore tibia: ♁ slightly curved, with a setal brush at the apex on the anterior face; ♀ the same, but tibia slightly less curved.

Mid tibia: ♁ moderately strongly curved with a series of closely placed teeth on the ventral face, in the apical half; ♀ straight, without teeth.

Aedeagus ( Figs 172, 173 ): parameres symmetrical; apical setae bearing part with numerous moderately large, spine-like setae, in addition to the usual long fine setae; median lobe asymmetrical at tip.

Ovipositor: not examined.

Comments. The transversely sub-oblong lobe of the ♁ apical ventrite and the distinctive aedeagus will distinguish this species from the most closely similar species.

Etymology. This species is named for the late Ernie Adams, who kindly gave me many specimens of Melobasis collected by him around Edungalba.

Bionomics. Adults collected on Brigalow ( Acacia harpophylla ) in December & January. Larval host unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 115–118. dorsal habitus: 115. M.suturalis Thomson (J Hay Point, Mackay, Q. SAMA); 116. M. dentata sp. n. (holotype ♁); 117. M. tricolor sp. n. (♀ paratype Broome, W.A. MVMA); 118. M. adamsi sp. n. (holotype ♁). Scale bars = 5.0 mm.

FIGURES 130–135. head: 130. M. tricolor sp. n. (♀ paratype Broome, W.A. MVMA); 131. M. adamsi sp. n. (holotype ♁); 132. M. edungalbensis sp. n. (♀ paratype Edungalba, Q. BLC); 133. M. aureovittata sp. n. (J paratype Marmor, Q. WAMA); 134. M. macqueeni sp. n. (J paratype Milmerran, Q. QMA); 135. M. iridicolor Carter (J Groote Eylandt, N.T. BMNH). Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 143–150. apical ventrite: 143. M.suturalis Thomson (J Hay Point, Mackay, Q. SAMA); 144. M.suturalis Thomson (♀ Cairns, Q. SAMA); 145. M. dentata sp. n. (holotype J); 146. M. dentata sp. n. (♀ paratype Glencoe, Q. BLC); 147. M. tricolor sp. n. (J paratype Broome, W.A. MVMA); 148. M. tricolor sp. n. (♀ paratype Broome, W.A. BLC); 149. M. adamsi sp. n. (holotype J); 150. M. adamsi sp. n. (♀ Edungalba, Q. BLC). Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 170–173. aedeagus & apex of parameres: 170–171. M. tricolor sp. n. (holotype); 172–173. M. adamsi sp. n. (holotype). Scale bars of aedeagus = 1.0 mm; scale bars for apex of parameres = 0.5 mm.