Caledonica longicollis Fauvel, 1903

Kudrna, Arnošt, 2016, Revision of the genusCaledonica (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 56 (2), pp. 567-628 : 575-587

Caledonica longicollis Fauvel, 1903

( Figs 4–8 )

Caledonica longicollis Fauvel, 1903: 213 (key), 214 (original description). HORN (1910): 180 (noted), 181 (catalogue); HORN (1926): 105 (catalogue); HORN (1936): 6 (catalogue); DEUVE (1981): 180 (key), 182 (redescription);

WIESNER (1992): 76 (catalogue); DEUVE (2015): 72 (noted).

Type locality. ‘Kanala’.

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: ♀, ‘Coll. R. I. Sc. N. B., Nouvelle Calédonie, Kanala, rec Bougier, ex. coll. Fauvel’ [pink/white, printed/handwritten]; ‘Caledonia longicollis, Fvl. , cf.: Rev.Ent., 1903, 22:214 Holotype’ [white/ red, handwritten/printed] ( IRSNB).

Additional material examined (44 specimens). NEW CALEDONIA: PROVINCE NORD: 15 km SE of Pouebo , 1.–5.ii.2012, 20°28′S, 164°39′E, 400–500 m, 1 ♀, A. Kudrna jr. lgt. ( AKCB) ; Antenna Forest , 2 km S of Touho, 20°47′S, 165°14′E, 450 m, 7.–10.ii.2012, 1 J, A. Kudrna jr. lgt. ( AKCB) . PROVINCE SUD: near Bouirou, cca 20 km

N of Bourail , 27.xii.2004 – 2.i.2005, 27 JJ 11 ♀♀, A. Kudrna jr. lgt ( AKCB; 1 J 1 ♀ in NMPC; 1 J 1 ♀ in BMNH) .

Redescription. Body small (more robust in female), length 8.45–10.00 mm, width 2.60–3.00 mm in male ( Fig. 4 ); in female length 9.30–10.70 (holotype: 10.50) mm, width 2.80–3.40 (holotype: 3.25) mm ( Fig. 6 ).

Head with large eyes, slightly narrower than elytra, dorsally metallic dark bronze to cupreous, frons, supraantennal plates and clypeus in male shiny green to shiny cupreous; frons indistinctly to moderately convex in male, more distinctly in female, separated from clypeus by distinct suture, irregularly longitudinally striate, striae occasionally nearly effaced in middle; vertex variable in shape, usually with posterior and anterior impression, vermicularly to irregularly striate; orbital plates longitudinally parallel-striate with two setae on each side; occipital area rather finely and densely irregularly wavy to vermicular-rugulose, rugae becoming more regularly transversally parallel on lateral areas; genae glabrous, metallic green to cupreous with metallic lustre, parallel-striate; clypeus dark testaceous, coriaceous, in male with strong green lustre, in female predominantly with strong cupreous reflections.

Labrum with four setae, in both sexes with acute anterolateral teeth, testaceous except for often darkened margins of teeth and in female usually also darkened lateral margins; male labrum ( Fig. 5 ) shorter than wide, 0.80–1.05 mm long, 1.15–1.30 mm wide, median lobe short with distinct or rarely reduced anterior teeth and missing or very weakly indicated blunt median tooth; female labrum ( Fig. 7 ) slightly shorter than wide, 1.25–1.50 mm long, 1.25–1.45 mm wide, with prominent, sharply tridentate median lobe of acute teeth which are bent downwards, so their acute shape is not obvious in dorsal view.

Mandibles subsymmetrical, brownish-testaceous with paler basolateral area, often with smaller black patch in lateromedian area and darkened margins of teeth; each mandible with three teeth and basal molar; third tooth in right mandible slightly smaller than third in left mandible and second tooth in left mandible indistinctly smaller than second in right mandible.

Labial and maxillary palpi in male testaceous, with darkened apices of terminal palpomeres; in female testaceous, terminal palpomeres black, penultimate palpomeres of maxillary palpi usually darkened.

Antennae longer and paler in male, extending to nearly two thirds of elytral length, in female half elytral length; in both sexes scape testaceous, usually with somewhat darkened apical area that may be more extended, in male pedicel and antennomeres III and IV black except for often testaceous ventral areas and apex, in female black with apex less distinctly pale; antennomeres V–X testaceous in male, dark testaceous to black in female, terminal antennomere black.

Thorax. All portions glabrous. Pronotum in male 1.55–1.80 mm long, 1.65–1.90 mm wide (on average 1.06 times wider than long); in female 1.60–1.80 mm long, 1.70–2.05 mm wide (on average 1.10 times wider than long); anterior and posterior sulci well pronounced, median line developed, lateral margins of disc moderately convex, notopleural sutures simple, lacking elevated costae; pronotal surface metallic cupreous to dark bronze, lateral margins, anterior and posterior lobe usually with green reflections (more markedly so in male); finely and densely irregularly or more regularly transversely striate, anterior and posterior lobe irregularly wavy to vermicular-rugulose; proepisterna and mesepisterna dark testaceous to green with metallic green reflections, testaceous areas more extended in female, metepisterna mostly metallic green, all lateral sterna shallowly, rarely more deeply and irregularly striated, mesepisterna in some females nearly smooth, female mesepisternal coupling sulcus in form of deep, rather large pit placed in dorsal mesepisternal third; metepisterna with fovea-like impression at posterior suture; prosternum, mesosternum and metasternum metallic green, prosternum and mesosternum occasionally with limited testaceous portions, metasternum often with predominant testaceous to dark-testaceous interior area, metasternum with less distinct impression placed at dorsolateral corner.

Elytra elongate, length 5.35–6.45 mm in male, 5.80–7.00 mm in female, lateral margins moderately dilated in middle, anteapical angles rounded towards apices which are rounded, scarcely emarginate towards short sutural spines; juxtahumeral impressions moderate, basodiscal convexity moderate to indistinct, apical impressions indistinct; each elytron lacking or with only indicated discal longitudinal costa which is occasionally visible in dorsal view in form of lustrous line within matt darker areas, sublateral costa entirely absent; elytral surface anteriorly densely and deeply punctate, juxtahumeral impression with several punctures mostly on posterior area; punctures towards apex becoming smaller and shallower and nearly effaced on apical area, sparse setigerous punctures with rather long, white hairlike setae are distributed on anterior area; elytral coloration metallic cupreous to dark bronze; elytral maculation ochre-white, in both sexes consisting of three maculae: elongate humeral macula regularly expanding towards scutellum in male while in female only rarely reaching it, median macula which is usually wide, oblong and transverse, reaching to or beyond halfway point of elytra, and sublateral-anteapical macula which is irregularly circular, rather variable in size.

Abdomen. Ventrites glabrous, metallic green to blue combined with orange areas.

Legs. Coxae and trochanters testaceous; femora testaceous, except for darkened apices of meso- and more distinctly of metafemora, profemora usually with only indistinctly darkened apices but occasionally with black stripe along posterior margin; protibiae slightly darker in female, black except for testaceous basal area, meso- and metatibiae predominantly testaceous with darkened apical area (more markedly so in metatibiae) and usually with black stripe along interior margin; tarsi in female testaceous to black, metatarsi often darker, protarsi in male testaceous except for darkened apex of terminal tarsomere, meso- and metatarsi testaceous usually with darkened apices, first tarsomere in metatarsi often entirely black; claws testaceous.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 8 ) 2.50–2.60 mm long and 0.45–0.50 mm wide; elongate with notably narrow basal half and voluminous apical half, conically attenuated towards wide, rounded apex. Differential diagnosis. Resembling C. myrmidon and C. luiggiorum sp. nov. in small body size, but differs in narrower and more finely and densely striate pronotal surface and humeral macula which is regularly expanding towards scutellum. From C. luiggiorum sp. nov. it is also distinguishable by shape of elytral maculae with less rounded and less distinct median macula and smaller anteapical macula. In contrast to well developed elytral costae in C. myrmidon , discal costa in C. longicollis is only adumbrated or entirely missing, and sublateral costa is entirely absent.

Biology and distribution. Caledonica longicollis is a very rare species, for a hundred years known only from the female holotype. It appears to be a strictly forest species. At the end of the year 2004, a population was discovered in a humid primary forest near Bouirou, localized in a small area of young trees with narrow trunks often densely covered with mosses. Adults were observed sitting on the trunks even during continual heavy rains, sometimes with raindrops trickling from their bodies and heads. In the mountains 15 km SE of Pouebo, a single female was caught deep inside a primary forest. In the vicinity of Touho, a single male was found in forest remnants. It occurred there sympatrically with C. rubicondosa , C. bavayi and C. mniszechii .

Figures

Figs 1–8. 1–3 – Caledonica pulchella (Montrouzier, 1860): 1 – habitus,♀, holotype, 11.2 mm (MNHN); 2 – labrum, ibid.; 3 – labels. 4–8 – C. longicollis Fauvel, 1903: 4 – habitus,J, Touho, 9 mm (AKCB); 5 – frontal view, ibid.; 6 – habitus, ♀, N Bourail, 9.5 mm (AKCB); 7 – frontal view, ibid.; 8 – aedeagus, Bourail (AKCB). Scale bars = 1 mm.