Melobasis aurocincta, Carter

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 : 68-69

M. aurocincta Carter

( Figs 112 , 125 , 138, 139 , 162, 163 )

Melobasis aurocincta Carter 1930:179 ; 1939:300; Bellamy 2002:146; 2008:1315.

Type locality: Queensland? [Locality given as Nov. Holl. Occid.—certainly incorrectly labelled]

Type specimens examined. Holotype ( BMNH) [specimen is probably a ♀] Type / Holotype ♁/ 37804/ Nov. Holl. Occid./ de Boulay/ Fry Coll. 1905.100/ Melobasis aurocincta Det. H.J. Carter.

Other specimens examined: Queensland: 1♁ ( BLC) C. Queensland, ½ mile N.W. Mourangee [Mourangee Station near Edungalba ], 14.11.73, on Brigalow leaves, E.E. Adams; 1♀ ( TMSHC) Mourangee Stn., Qld. T.M.S. Hanlon, 28 Oct. 2000, Acacia harpophylla regrowth. 1♁ ( TMSHC) 45 km S.S.E. Jericho ex. Acacia sp. coll. 28.8.1999, emerged March 2001. 5 unsexed ( MPC) Mourangee Stn. 25 Oct. 2000. M. Powell & S. Barker. On Brigalow slash pile .

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 8.9–9.7mm; head greenish to blackish bronze in apical two-thirds to three-quarters, basal quarter to third violet; pronotum copper-bronze to blackish bronze with violet reflections; scutellum blackish bronze; elytra blackish lilac with the following golden to reddish copper markings: suture in basal fifth (sometimes poorly indicated); basal elytral angle (sometimes poorly indicated), an elongate vitta near the lateral margin, extending from the basal angle to the apical sixth of elytra; underside blackish bronze laterally, centrally reddish purple; 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. 125 ): very densely to contiguously punctate with small strong ovate punctures; moderately densely clothed with long silvery pubescence; spaces between the punctures shiny or very weakly microreticulate; clypeal excision very shallow U-shaped, with a narrow reticulate impunctate border; clypeal peaks developed, slightly acute; clypeal angles slightly indicated; vertex flat, slightly less than half width of head across eyes when viewed from above; eyes very strongly convex.

Antenna: slightly sexually dimorphic; ♁ segment 3 very slightly triangularly expanded, segments 4–10 with the expansion quadrate; ♀ segment 3 not expanded, segment 4 subquadrate, segments 5–10 with expansion quadrate, segments shorter than in ♁.

Pronotum: 1.46–1.60× 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 slightly acute; slightly narrower at base than elytra at base; lateral carina sharp very well defined, almost straight, about two-thirds to three-quarters complete; punctation in central half very dense to contiguous, consisting of transversely ovate and 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; sparsely clothed with long silvery pubescence near lateral margin, glabrous elsewhere.

Scutellum: elongate, shield shaped, about one twenty-third to one twenty-fifth width of elytra at base; strongly microreticulate.

Elytra: 2.43–2.44× as long as wide at base; basal margin strongly biangulate, slightly to moderately strongly widening from base over the humeral callosities thence parallel sided to midlength, before narrowing to the rather broadly rounded apices; lateral margins from just behind the humeral callosities and apices serrate, with acute serrations, the serrations becoming coarser towards the elytral apices; sutural margins very slightly raised in apical half; each elytron with indications of two costae, extending from basal quarter to apical sixth; subsutural depression sparsely punctate with very small round punctures, area between the costae sparsely punctate with slightly larger round punctures, remainder of elytra densely to very densely punctate, with larger, stronger, transversely ovate punctures, the punctures forming short transverse series close to the lateral margin; moderately strongly microreticulate between the punctures.

Hypomeron: contiguously punctate with medium sized, very shallow, round and ovate punctures, with moderately dense, long, silvery pubescence.

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

Mesanepisternum: strongly microreticulate, sometimes with small variably shaped punctures in exterior half.

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, largely obscured by long dense silvery pubescence; abdominal ventrites glabrous and sparsely to moderately, weakly punctate, with small mostly lunate punctures in central- third, laterally with coalescent punctures forming elongate grooves more or less parallel to the lateral margins, partly obscured by long silvery pubescence.

Apical ventrite ( Figs 138, 139 ): lunate punctures coalescing to form grooves parallel to the lateral margin; excision in ♁ broad, W shaped, with a narrow bisinuate flange produced at the centre as a triangular lobe, with well developed, long, slightly divergent lateral spines ( Fig. 138 ); ♀ narrow, deep U-shaped, slightly produced at the centre, the lateral spines well developed parallel ( Fig. 139 ).

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

Mid tibia: ♁ moderately strongly curved without serrations or a setae filled depression on the ventral face; ♀ the same, but tibia slightly less curved.

Aedeagus ( Figs 162, 163 ): parameres gradually, moderately strongly narrowing before the apical setae bearing part; apical setae bearing part with numerous moderately large, straight, spine-like setae, in addition to the usual long fine setae; median lobe broken at tip in the only known ♁.

Ovipositor: elongate, about five times as long as wide at apex.

Comments. The elytral markings of this species are unique amongst the known species.

Bionomics. Adults collected on leaves of Brigalow ( Acacia harpophylla ) in October and November. Larval host Acacia sp.

Figures

FIGURES 111–114. dorsal habitus: 111. M. confundo sp. n. (holotype ♀); 112. M. aurocincta Carter (♀ Mourangee Station, Q. TMSHC); 113. M. imitator sp. n. (♀ paratype Port Peron, W.A. SAMA); 114. M. breviantennatus sp. n. (holotype ♀). Scale bars = 5.0 mm.

FIGURES 123–129. 123 dorsal habitus M. rufoviolacea sp. n. (holotype ♁). Scale bar = 5.0 mm. 124–129 head: 124. M. confundo sp. n. (holotype ♀); 125. M. aurocincta Carter (J 1.5 mls N.W. of Mourangee, Q. BLC); 126. M. imitator sp. n. (J Cape Naturaliste, W.A. TMSHC); 127. M. breviantennatus sp. n. (holotype ♀); 128. M. suturalis Thomson (J Hay Point, Mackay, Q. SAMA); 129. M. dentata sp. n. (holotype ♁). Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 136–142. 136 head M. rufoviolacea sp. n. (holotype ♁). 137–142 apical ventrite: 137. M. confundo sp. n. (holotype ♀); 138. M. aurocincta Carter (J 1.5 mls N.W. of Mourangee, Q. BLC); 139. M. aurocincta Carter (♀ Mourangee Station, Q. TMSHC); 140. M. imitator sp. n. (J Cape Naturaliste, W.A. TMSHC); 141. M. imitator sp. n. (♀ paratype Port Peron, W.A. SAMA); 142. M. breviantennatus sp. n. (holotype ♀). Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 159–165. 159. apical ventrite M. rufoviolacea sp. n. (holotype J) Scale bar = 1.0 mm. 160–161 prosternal process: Scale bars = 1.0 mm. 160. M. confundo sp. n. (holotype ♀); 161. M. rufoviolacea sp. n. (holotype ♁). 162–165 aedeagus & apex of parameres: 162–163. M. aurocincta Carter (J 1.5 mls N.W. of Mourangee, Q. BLC); 164–165. M. imitator sp. n. (Cape Naturaliste, W.A. TMSHC). Scale bars of aedeagus = 1.0 mm; scale bars for apex of parameres = 0.5 mm.