Gilvainsula messoria ( Olivier, 1913 )

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 : 60

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.