Caledonica fleutiauxi Deuve, 1981

Kudrna, Arnošt, 2016, Revision of the genusCaledonica (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 56 (2), pp. 567-628 : 617-619

Caledonica fleutiauxi Deuve, 1981

( Figs 41–45 )

Caledonica fleutiauxi Deuve, 1981: 182 (key), 186 (original description). WIESNER (1992): 76 (catalogue); DEUVE (2015): 83 (noted).

Type locality. ‘Nouvelle Calédonie, Prony’.

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘ Cal. mediolineata Luc. , var. macula media abbreviata’ [handwritten]; ‘N. Cocléd., H. Deyr[olle].’ [handwritten]; ‘Type’ [red, printed]; ‘Muséum Paris, Coll. Fleutiaux’ [pink, handwritten/ printed] ( MNHN). PARATYPES: 1 ♀, ‘Muséum Paris, 1952, Coll. R. Oberthür’ [printed]; ‘Paratype’ [red, printed] ( MNHN); 1♀, ‘Prony’ [handwritten]; ‘ex Musaeo Gambey, 1892’ [printed]; ‘Muséum Paris, 1952, Coll. R. Oberthür’ [printed]; ‘Paratype’ [red, printed] ( MNHN).

Redescription. Body medium sized (more robust in female), in male (holotype) length 13.90 mm, width 4.50 mm ( Fig. 41 ); in female ( Fig. 43 ) length 14.00– 15.20 mm, width 4.90–5.10 mm.

Head with large eyes, slightly narrower than elytra, dorsally dark olivaceous to black with metallic reflections; lateral areas of frons and supraantennal plates in male shiny green, this green area passing into narrow belt of metallic red and golden; frons moderately convex, separated from clypeus by distinct suture, surface irregularly rugulose, rugae often more regularly longitudinally parallel in lateral areas; vertex slightly convex, with moderate posterior impression, irregularly longitudinally rugulose; orbital plates distinctly longitudinally parallel-striate, with two setae on each side; occipital area irregularly wavy to vermicular rugulose; genae glabrous, finely parallel-striate with green reflections; clypeus dark-testaceous with strong metallic reflections, green to blue-green in male and mostly cupreous to blackish in female, surface coriaceous.

Labrum with four setae and acute anterolateral teeth in both sexes; male labrum ( Fig. 42 ) testaceous except for darkened lateral margins (more markedly so in basal third of the labrum), shorter than wide, 1.40 mm long, 1.75 mm wide, median lobe convex in middle (indicated median tooth) between small anterior teeth, moderately surpassing acute anterolateral teeth, female labrum ( Fig. 44 ) longer, testaceous except for distinctly darkened lateral margins, as long as wide, length 1.90–2.05 mm, width 1.95–2.05 mm, with prominent, tridentate median lobe of acute teeth which are bent downwards.

Mandibles of all existing specimens are firmly closed, therefore their exact shape is not obvious, only their dark testaceous terminal teeth and yellowish margin of basal half are visible (see note in Material and methods).

Labial and maxillary palpi in male testaceous with darkened apices of terminal palpomeres; palpi in female entirely black except for paler ventral (setose) side of penultimate (longest) palpomere of labial palpi.

Antennae. In male scape testaceous with darkened apex, antennomeres II–IV testaceous with black areas, V–IX testaceous; in female scape dark testaceous to black with paler basal area, pedicel dark testaceous, antennomeres III–IV black with slightly paler apical areas, antennomeres V–VII testaceous (antennomeres VIII–XI in both existing specimens missing).

Thorax. All portions glabrous. Pronotum in male 2.35 mm long, 3.40 mm wide; in female 2.40–2.50 mm long, 3.60–3.80 mm wide; anterior and posterior sulci well pronounced, anterior lobe approximately as wide as the posterior; lateral margins of disc convex with elevated notopleural sutures obvious in dorsal view in form of short but distinct, flat lateral ribs; pronotal surface lustrous, dark olivaceous to black, with shiny, green and cupreous ribs and lateral areas of disc, mostly irregularly vermicular-rugulose, rugae becoming more regular and transverse-wavy along moderately distinct median line and on extended areas of lateral ribs; lateral sterna dark testaceous with predominant green, in female also dark cupreous metallic reflections, in male finely striate, in female proepisterna and mesepisterna nearly smooth, metepisterna very shallowly striate; female mesepisternal coupling sulci in form of a deep pit placed in the mesepisternal central area; metepisterna with deep fovea-like impression at posterior suture; pro-, meso-, and metasternum metallic, green to blue, metasternum with distinct furrow placed at dorsolateral corner.

Elytra elongate, length 9.30 mm in male, 9.10–9.80 mm in female, anteapical angles and apices rounded, slightly to indistinctly emarginate towards short sutural spine; juxtahumeral impressions and basodiscal convexity moderate, apical impressions indistinct; each elytron between basodiscal convexity and apical impression with two distinct longitudinal (discal and sublateral) costae; interspaces between costae and suture impressed; elytral surface anteriorly densely and deeply punctate (juxtahumeral impression with several deep punctures); punctures on lateral areas of basodiscal convexity with wide interspaces forming elevated irregular chains, punctures towards apex becoming smaller and shallower, apical area shallowly, but distinctly punctured, punctures on flat interspaces between the costae and also between suture are nearly effaced; sparse setigerous punctures with rather long white hairlike setae are distributed on anterior area; elytral coloration dark olivaceous to black with lustre; interspaces between costae and also along the suture iridescent silvery-bronze, changing to dull depending on angle of illumination; elytral maculation ivory, in both sexes consisting of three maculae: humeral macula with very narrow protrusion (band) running along the lateral margin posteriad, partly visible in dorsal view, median macula in form of transverse wide band with irregular margins, rather short, only reaching discal costa, and of small, irregularly circular anteapical macula.

Abdomen. Ventrites glabrous, dark testaceous to black mostly with greenish lustre.

Legs. Coxae and trochanters testaceous; femora in male testaceous with darkened apices (more distinctly in meso- and metafemora); in female dark testaceous to black with paler basal area of meso- and metafemora; tibiae in male testaceous with somewhat darkened apices; in female notably darker; tarsi in both sexes dark testaceous to black; claws testaceous.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 45 ) comparatively long, only moderately ventrally directed and with indistinctly dorsally directed tip, 4.75 mm long and 0.80 mm wide.

Differential diagnosis. Resembling C. acentra and C. bavayi in medium body size, but easily distinguishable by larger median band with irregular margins and less developed humeral maculation. Moreover it has differently shaped aedeagus with less distinct tip.

Biology and distribution. For many years Caledonica fleutiauxi was only known from the three historical type specimens. Moreover, only one paratype was more accurately localized as the label bears ‘Prony’. Baie de Prony is situated in the southern tip of New Caledonia and is surrounded by coastal forests.

I made several visits to southern tip of Grande Terre, including two visits directly to Baie de Prony and its coastal forest. Unfortunately, I was not able to find C. fleutiauxi .

Recently DEUVE (2015) published a discovery of additional three females, collected by Mr. G. Monteith close to Baie de Prony, in forest of ‘Pic du Grand Kaori’.

Figures

Figs 36–45. 36–40 – Caledonica rubicondosa Deuve, 2006: 36 – habitus, J, Mt. Colnett, 12.2 mm (AKCB); 37 – frontal view, ibid.; 38 – habitus, ♀, Touho, 11.4 mm (QMBA); 39 – frontal view, ibid.; 40 – aedeagus, Mt. Colnett (AKCB). 41–45 – C. fleutiauxi Deuve, 1981: 41 – habitus, J, holotype, 13.9 mm (MNHN); 42 – labrum, ibid.; 43 – habitus,♀, paratype, no locality data, 14 mm (MNHN); 44 – labrum, ibid.; 45 – aedeagus, holotype (MNHN). Scale bars = 1 mm.