Safrina polita Carter 1921, new combination
Creators: name: Reid, C. A. M.
name: Beatson, M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Lucanidae
Safrina
Safrina polita

description: Safrina polita (Carter, 1921) new combination
(Figs 9, 18, 27, 36, 43, 45, 60, 69)
Rhyssonotus politus Carter, 1921: 301; Moore & Cassis 1992: 17; Mizunuma & Nagai 1994: 206, plate 3 fig. 34.2. Ryssonotus politus: Holloway 2007: 115.
Material examined. Types: PARATYPES (7): 4 Ƌ, 3♀, Barrington, J. Hopson, ex Carter coll. (AMS, BMNH, MMM, SAM).
Other material (51): New South Wales: ♀, no locality, J. Hopson (AMS); Ƌ, ♀, Barrington, i.1925, H. J. Carter (BMNH); 5 Ƌ, 4 ♀, Barrington Tops, H. J. Carter (ANIC, BMNH, DPIM, MMM, QMB); 2Ƌ, 2♀, Barrington Tops, J. Hopson (ANIC, SAM); Ƌ, Barrington Tops, C. Oke (MMM); Ƌ, ♀, Barrington Tops, 25.i.1922, Nicholson (ANIC, BMNH); 4 Ƌ, 1 ♀ Barrington Tops, i.1925, SU Zoo. Exp. (ANIC, MMM, MMS); Ƌ, Barrington Tops, H. J. Carter (MMM); Ƌ, Barrington Tops, 20. i.1 927, T. G. Campbell (AMS); 2 Ƌ, Barrington Tops, 5000', 17.i.1947, L. Hopson, R. Caven (AMS); ♀, Barrington Tops, 9–10.ii.1965, G. Monteith (QMB); ♀, Barrington Tops, 6.iii.1975, J. Sedlacek (RDK); Ƌ, Barrington Tops, 1550 m, 23.ii.1983, J. Doyen (ANIC); Ƌ, Barrington Tops State Forest, 76 km W Gloucester, under log in Nothofagus gully, 21.i.1981, G. Williams (BPM); ♀, Barrington Tops National Park, 2.iii.1993, R. de Keyzer, G. Clark (RDK); Ƌ, Barrington Tops National Park, 3.iii.1993, R. de Keyzer, G. Clark (RDK); 6 Ƌ, 3♀, Barrington Tops National Park, 27.i.1996, R. de Keyzer (RDK); ♀, Barrington Tops National Park, 27.i.1996, R. de Keyzer Nothofagus moorei (RDK); ♀, Barrington Tops National Park, 6.iii.1975, J Sedlacek (RDK); 2Ƌ, Beech Forest, Gloucester Falls picnic area, Barrington Tops National Park, 32º05'20''S 151º35'30''E, 27 i.1996, R. de Keyzer (RDK); ♀, Burraga Swamp, Barrington Tops National Park, 2.iii.1993, R. de Keyzer, G. Clark (RDK); 3Ƌ, ♀, Devils Hole, Barrington Tops National Park, 23.i. 2004, R. de Keyzer Nothofagus (RDK); Ƌ, ♀, Devils Hole, Barrington Tops National Park, 16.ii. 2003 in Nothofagus forest (RDK); 3Ƌ, 2♀, Devils Hole, Barrington Tops National Park, 31º55'S 151º29'E, 27.i.1996 (RDK); ♀, Devils Hole Camping area, Barrington Tops Reserve, 25.iii.2001, Nothofagus forest R. de Keyzer (RDK); 2♀ [1 fragmentary], Devils Hole Camping area, Barrington Tops Reserve, Nothofagus forest, under logs, 20–22.ii.2002, C. Reid (AMS); 1 mature larva, Mount Barrington, Barrington Tops, 27.x.2002, R. de Keyzer (AMS); Ƌ, 2♀, ditto, xii.2001, emerged xii.2002, S Hoy & A Polak (RDK); ♀, via Mount Barrington, Barrington Tops National Park, Nothofagus forest, 13.i.2002, R. de Keyzer (RDK); Ƌ, Chichester State Forest, 970 m, 4.ii– 9.iv.1993, M. Gray, G. Cassis (AMS); Ƌ, 2 ♀, Chichester State Forest, 940 m, 4.ii–9.iv.1993, M. Gray, G. Cassis (AMS); Ƌ, O'Grady's Hut, Williams River, 4600', 13.i.1947, L. Hopson (AMS); ♀, O'Grady's Hut, Williams River, 4600', 16.i.1947, L. Hopson (AMS); ♀, 2 km W Polblue Swamp, Barrington Tops National Park, Nothofagus moorei, 31º57'S 151º24'12''E 27.i.1996, R. de Keyzer (RDK); ♀, junction Quarry Road & Barrington Tops Forest Road, Barrington Tops National Park, 28.ii.2002, R. de Keyzer (RDK); ♀, Stewarts Brook State Forest, 4.ii– 9.iv.1993, M. Gray, G. Cassis (AMS).
Diagnosis. Male. Length 16−25 mm. Head dark brown to black, pronotum and elytra reddish brown with slight green reflection, legs dark red; elytra strongly rounded at sides; head with short laterally projecting genal lobes, edges straight (parallel-sided) or slightly biconcave; mandibles with prominent basal dorsal tooth, without pre-apical dorsal tooth; elytron relatively smooth, without ridges or striae.
Female. Length 17−22 mm. Colour as male; with or without (rarely) distinct tooth at base of outer mandibular carina; pronotal disc finely and sparsely punctured, punctures of basal third of median groove absent or separated by more than diameters, discal punctures not coalescent; lateral margins of pronotum irregularly crenulate, tubercles small, usually blunt; elytra usually smooth, sometimes irregularly wrinkled, shiny, but with dense minute microsculpture; first elytral interval convex, usually also 3rd at base, without oblique carina from shoulder to disc; explanate margin of elytra about width of base of metatibia, with or without deep lateral channels.
Description. Male. Length 16−25 mm. Head dark brown to black, pronotum and elytra reddish brown with slight green reflection, venter and legs reddish brown. Body elongate-ovate: pronotum broader than elytra, broadest close to base or mostly parallel sided or broadest anteriorly, sides of elytra rounded.
Head: head with short laterally projecting genal lobes (longer than broad), edges straight (head parallel sided) or slightly biconvex, posterior angles rarely more prominent than bluntly rounded anterior angles; transverse, width about 2.5x length; dorsum strongly punctured with smooth interspaces; anteromedian prominence strongly elevated, usually bituberculate; anterior margin roughly straight to shallowly concave; dorsally visible part of mandibles 1.4−1.7x longer than head, almost symmetrical; mandibles with prominent elongate dorsal tubercle, 1/3 from base of outer edge, without additional tubercles distal to this; mandibular preapical dorsal tubercle absent; ventral inner edge with 3−7 rounded teeth, usually larger at middle, often asymetrically partly fused, before upturned apex; base of inner face of mandible with large bilobed ventral tubercle and small dorsal tubercle; pregular swelling sharply convex, height ≥ longitudinal length, with 0−2 setose punctures on each face.
Thorax: pronotum contracted anteriorly from posterolateral angles, which may be laterally projecting, or almost parallel-sided in middle half or slightly expanded anteriorly; lateral margins not or feebly crenulate, usually with irregular fine nicks in margin; pronotal disc finely and sparsely punctured, with pair of foveolate depressions anterior to middle, sides more strongly and closely punctured in lateral depressions and angles but interspaces larger than puncture diameters; pronotal disc shiny, but minutely and evenly microreticulate; scutellum transversely half ovate, middle depressed, impunctate or with small punctures at middle; elytra rounded at sides, broadest 1/3−1/2 from base; elytron with interval 1 raised, usually also base of 3, without oblique ridge from humerus to disc; elytra without striae, generally smooth and shiny, but minutely microreticulate, with sparse small punctures and sometimes faint wrinkling or irregular grooves; elytral sides explanate, width about equal to width of base of metatibia, with or without transverse grooves or wrinkles; wing reduced, third elytron width, straplike and not reaching apical third of elytra; external margin of protibia with 2 large and 0−4 minor teeth; internal margin protibia with 1−3 prominent median teeth; metatibia with 1−3 small external teeth.
Abdomen: ventrite I dull, II −V relatively shiny, but all microreticulate; ventrite I strongly and closely punctured and rugulose, II −V closely and coarsely punctured, I −IV with short recumbent setae throughout, V with longer erect setae; apex of ventrite V truncate to shallowly concave. Genitalia: phallobase with scattered short setae on apical half, medially unsclerotised on dorsal surface, apex of venter with triangular less strongly sclerotised depression, dorsal surface weakly convex. Parameres with prominent close setae, apices blunt in lateral view; ventral sclerite of penis entire, apex with v-shaped notch; endophallus in repose tightly coiled with 2 small loops.
Female. As male, except: length 16−23 mm; head more strongly and rugosely punctured, obscuring tubercles on anteromedian prominence; dorsally visible part of mandibles about as long as head; mandibles with or without small, elongate, dorsal tubercle, 1/3 from base of outer edge, remainder of outer edge keeled, preapical dorsal tubercle absent; sides of pronotum more strongly punctured, lateral margins more conspicuously crenulate; elytral sculpture often slightly coarser; protibia internal margin with minute tooth or without teeth; apex ventrite V rounded.
Larva (based on 1 specimen, about 35 mm when crudely straightened, from Barrington Tops): inner edge of left mandible deeply excavated between apex and middle of mola; apex of antennomere 3 truncate or slightly produced, inner margin strongly concave; antennomere 4 length to width ratio about 2.7; mesocoxal stridulatory file evenly curved, with about 35 small granules; metatrochanteral stridulatory file with 21−22 transverse tubercles, reaching apex of trochanter, which is angulate; metafemur angularly produced at apex; metatibiotarsus elongate, length to width ratio about 3.3; raster with long apical setae, narrowly glabrous median strip, and elongate posteriorly directed setae on either side of midline.
Distribution and natural history. Safrina polita is confined to the wet closed forest of the high central plateau of Barrington Tops, central New South Wales, where it is fairly common. It occurs in cool temperate rainforest dominated by Nothofagus moorei on gullies and edges of the plateau, as distinct from the open woodland sites characteristic of sympatric S. grandis. Safrina polita has been collected under logs of Nothofagus moorei. Adults are active from January to March and larvae were present under Nothofagus logs in February.
description: Published as part of Reid, C. A. M. & Beatson, M., 2016, Revision of the stag beetle genus Ryssonotus MacLeay (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), with descriptions of a new genus and three new species, pp. 1-39 in Zootaxa 4150 (1) on pages 35-37, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4150.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/272084