Pseudotaenia superba ( Saunders, 1872 )

Bellamy, C. L., 2006, Studies on the Australian Chalcophorini: a new genus for Chalcophora subfasciata Carter, 1916 and a review of the Pseudotaenia Kerremans, 1903 generic-group (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Zootaxa 1206 (1), pp. 23-46 : 36

Pseudotaenia superba ( Saunders, 1872)

(Figure 8)

Chalcotaenia superba Saunders 1872: 246 .

Chalcophora superba: Kerremans 1885: 127 ; Masters 1886: 70; Kerremans 1892: 43.

Pseudotaenia superba: Kerremans 1903: 81 ; 1909: 88; Obenberger 1926: 146; Carter 1929: 300; Bellamy 2002: 57.

Pseudotaenia laeta: Carnaby 1987: 24 (misidentification).

Type locality. “ Nicol Bay , W. Australia.”

Specimens examined. The ♀ holotype ( BMNH) .

Distribution. Australia, Western Australia, Pilbara region.

Biology/Bionomy. Carnaby (1987) recorded this species (as P. laeta sic!) found dead along the Ashburton River underneath the river gums in March along with P. gigas and ‘ Chalcotaenia ’ australasiae. Michael Powell (pers. comm.) believes this species uses a local, as yet undetermined species of Acacia as the larval host.

Remarks. The published type locality of Nickol Bay (as ‘Nicol’) [ PIL], W.A. indicates that this species is geographically well­separated from those species to which it is closest morphologically, e.g. P.frenchi and P. gigas .