Luciola niah Jusoh, 2019

Ho, - Z., 2019, The Luciolinae of S. E. Asia and the Australopacific region: a revisionary checklist (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) including description of three new genera and 13 new species, Zootaxa 4687 (1), pp. 1-174 : 96-97

Luciola niah Jusoh sp. nov.

Figs 284–291

Type. Holotype male. MALAYSIA. Sarawak Lambir Hill 24.ix.2010, 19.24, Nazeri Abghani ( SK 0017 | MYFI 018-14 ) ( FRIM) Figs 284, 285, 288–291.

Paratypes. MALAYSIA. Sarawak: Kapit, I Polunin, no date 2 males ( ANIC). Niah National Park forest track, M. Musbah and colleagues, 2.vii.2010, 2 males ( SK 0023 | GenBank: KY 572917.1, MF 948239.1; SK 0064). Long Aton, Ulu Baram, 2.ix.2011, Musa Musbah 2 males ( SK 0067 | GenBank: MF 063274.1; SK 0069 | GenBank: MF 063275.1) ( FRIM) .

Diagnosis. 4.8–6.1 mm long; one of only two Luciola s. str. having dorsal colouration of yellowish brown with black elytral apices; other Luciola s. str. species with pale yellowish or pale brown pronota have dark brown to black elytra. Distinguished from the other similarly coloured species, L. jengai sp. nov., most obviously by the abdominal colour in jengai , and which also does not have leaf like lobes on the inner margins of the LL.

Description of male. 4.8–6.1 mm long. Colour (Figs 284, 285): (Kapit males preserved in 70% ethanol differ in colour to remainder and are described here in brackets); pronotum yellowish with diffuse median darker markings (retraction of underlying fat body gives impression of darker markings); MN, MS and elytra yellowish brown with elytral apices black (elytra pale yellow with apices quite pale brown); elytra semitransparent and underlying hind wings may confuse interpretation of colour; head black, antennae and palpi dark brown (head reddish brown, antennae and palpi light brown); venter of thorax, basal abdominal ventrites and all abdominal tergites yellowish brown except for narrow dark posterior margin of V5 (all areas yellow except for thin dark marking on posterior margin of V5); legs yellowish brown with tibiae and tarsi dark brown (legs yellow, tarsi light brown); LO creamy white. Pronotum: slightly wider across middle (B> A, C); width a little less than humeral width; anterolateral corners angulate obtuse, posterolateral corners angulate. Elytron: subparallel sided. Head: minimal depression between eyes; GHW 11 X SIW; ASD much less than ASW (sockets are almost contiguous). Antennae: longer than GHW but not as long as 2 X GHW; segments elongate slender, scape longer than FS. Mouthparts: apical labial palpomere laterally flattened with inner edge dentate. Abdomen (Fig. 285): LO occupying entire area of V6, 7; V7 a little longer than wide, posterior margin rounded and no MPP; T8 with anterolateral arms elongate slender slightly longer than entire posterior portion which is rounded and without median emargination. Aedeagal sheath (Figs 288, 289): apical margin of sheath sternite narrowly prolonged and medianly slightly emarginated and hairy; median anterior margin of sheath tergite strongly prolonged and apically pointed.Aedeagus (Figs 290, 291): apices of LL narrow; LL longer than ML and widely divergent.

Female: Jusoh associated the female by DNA barcode (Process ID: MYFI179-14 | GenBank: KY572915.1). Macropterous and capable of flight. Coloured as for male except for white LO restricted to V6 (Figs 286, 287). Bursa with two wide plates on each side.

Etymology. The locality name Niah is used as a noun in apposition.

Remarks. Ballantyne et al. (2016 Table 6 ) listed 30 species with this colour pattern (dorsally pale yellowish or pale brown with or without dark elytral apices) that is common among S. Asian Luciolinae . Many of these species have been assigned to species incertae here. Of the remainder the only species recorded from Sarawak having similar colouration is L. maculipennis Olivier , where the description of the terminal abdominal ventrite suggests a prolongation that could be typical of a Pygoluciola sp.

We have presently little information about shape and numbers of bursa plates in this genus. Paired plates as seen here are characteristic of other non-related genera like Pteroptyx and Colophotia . Luciola italica does not have bursa plates. Jusoh et al. (2018) scored this species as “ Luciola WFA”.