Abscondita Ballantyne, Lambkin et Fu 2013
Creators: name: Ho, - Z.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Lampyridae
Abscondita

description: Abscondita Ballantyne Lambkin et Fu 2013
Figs 39, 40, 44−49, 96−138
Abscondita Ballantyne Lambkin et Fu 2013: 1, figs 1−29. Fu 2014: 92. Yiu 2017: 85.
Type species. Abs. terminalis (Olivier 1883).
Diagnosis. A S. E. Asian genus, usually pale yellow or brownish yellow, with black elytral apices; males have an entire LO in V7 occupying almost all of V7, the posterior margin of which is broadly rounded; females have short hooked bursa plates and larvae are terrestrial, with hardened external plates, and are generally similar to larvae of Sclerotia, which differ in being metapneustic. Abscondita belongs to a group of 18 Luciolinae genera (including Atyphella Olliff) in which males have aedeagal LL widely visible beside the ML; it differs from all other Luciolinae in that the aedeagus has well sclerotised LL fusing along almost all of their median dorsal length, with very short more membranous projections at the outer angles; LL bear elongate, cylindrical, hairy lobes just inside their outer lateral margins; LO entire, occupying almost all of the often very flat V7, which may have a barely developed and very short and wide MPP. The genus is most closely related to certain species of Pygoluciola Wittmer in which neither V7 and T8 median posterior margins are prolonged (Fu & Ballantyne 2008), and differs from those Pygoluciola most obviously by the very short lateral projections of the outer angles of the LL (in Pygoluciola these are greatly elongated, membranous and much longer than the ML); the LL in Pygoluciola spp. are without the elongate cylindrical lobes. Females are macropterous, some species seen in flight, and have hooked bursa plates. Larvae are apparently terrestrial, with tergal margins thickened and laterotergites not usually visible at sides of body when viewed from above; all tergal plates except the last with four short narrow and apically acute projections along the posterior margins; terminal tergum with sides subparallel; dorsal body plates heavily sclerotised, bearing a profusion of very short spines; no obvious exposed membranous areas visible dorsally; similar to larvae of Pygoluciola qingyu, distinguished in having a single mandibular tooth in all species except Abs. anceyi (both Abs. anceyi and P. qingyu have two), and a rough surface covered in short spines (that of qingyu is smooth) (Fu & Ballantyne 2008). (Repeated with some modification from Ballantyne et al. 2013). Widely distributed from China through Laos and Thailand to India.
Remarks. Most species of this genus exhibit the very widespread dorsal colour pattern of yellowish brown dorsum with or without black tipped elytral apices, which is very common in Luciolinae fireflies of S. E. Asia. Only Abs. cerata from Taiwan has black elytra. Certain species assigned to this genus by Ballantyne et al. (2013) were distinguished by considerable biological information including flashing patterns. Subsequent assignments made here are based on morphological similarities only. Luciola fissicollis Fairmaire from China is probably close to Abs. chinensis, and is discussed under that heading.
Wijekoon et al. (2016) identified specimens in the National Sri Lankan collection in Colombo as Abs. chinensis, Abs. perplexa and Abs. promelaena.
Not all species are addressed here. Abscondita cerata and Abs. promelaena have no new records and their descriptions can be found in Ballantyne et al. (2013).
description: Published as part of 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, pp. 1-174 in Zootaxa 4687 (1) on pages 25-27, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4687.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3508098