Pyrophanes beccarii Olivier. Pic 1932
Creators: name: Ballantyne, Lesley
name: Lambkin, Christine L.
name: Boontop, Yuvarin
name: Jusoh, Wan F. A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Lampyridae
Pyrophanes
Pyrophanes beccarii

description: Pyrophanes beccarii Olivier
(Figs. 21−32)
Pyrophanes Beccarii Olivier, 1885: 369; 1902: 72; 1907: 56; 1910: 48; 1913a: 417.
Pyrophanes beccarii Olivier. Pic, 1932: 88. McDermott, 1966: 116. Ballantyne in Calder, 1998: 180. Ballantyne & Lambkin 2000: 71, Figs. 26, 27; 2013: 111.
Luciola complicata Lea, 1921: 66. McDermott, 1966: 102. Ballantyne in Calder, 1998: 180 (synonymy).
Type. Pyrophanes beccarii: Holotype Male. INDONESIA: Maluku Province, Aru Islands (as Isole Aru, Wokan), O. Beccari, 1873. (MCSN). Luciola complicata: Three syntypes, two males, female. AUSTRALIA: Queensland, Coen River Cape York Peninsula, W. D. Dodd. (SAMA).
Other specimens examined. INDONESIA: Jayapura (as Hollandia) 1945, B. Malkin 2 females, male (USNM). As Dutch New Guinea, Doramena, 18.iv.1945 St G Jewett jr, flying about crowns of coconut grass, male (USNM). Biak Island i.20.2009, N. Ohba 3 males (ANIC); Kampong Landbouw, 25m, 21.x.1957, palm, JL Gressitt, male (BPBM). Western Papua Province, Vogelkop (Doberai) Peninsula, Kebar val W of Mankowari 550m, 4–31.i.1962 S & L Quate, light trap male (USNM). NEW GUINEA: East Sepik province, Wewak, 220m, 15.x.1957, JL Gressitt male (USNM). Western province, Daru, mouth of Fly River, vii.1941 RG Wind male (CAS). Digul (Niew Guinea expedition, 190 figure obscured, near headquarters of River Digul), male (MNHN). AUSTRALIA: Cape York Peninsula: Claudie river, 28.i.1914 2 males (identified as Luciola platygaster by A. M. Lea); Claudie River J Kershaw 10 males, 13 females xi.1912 – ii.1913 (NMV).
Diagnosis. Pyrophanes beccarii is one of three species with dark brown elytra. It is distinguished from Py. appendiculata by the elytral colour (beccarii has very dark brown non-transparent elytra which may be narrowly paler margined along the basal lateral and sutural margins only; Py. appendiculata has lighter brown semitransparent elytra often with wide pale lateral and sutural borders). This species is distinguished from Py. semilimbata by the swollen and curved femora 3 and curved tibiae 3, that are neither curved nor swollen in Py. semilimbata).
Male redescription (see also Ballantyne & Lambkin 2000: 71 and Figs. 26 A−I for description and diagrams of holotype male). 5.7–6.8 mm long (Holotype 6. 5 mm) (specimens examined here are slightly shorter than those from N. Queensland listed in Ballantyne & Lambkin 2000: 71). Colour (Figs. 21−24): pronotum, MS and MN pale semitransparent yellow; elytra very dark brown, opaque, not paler margined in Py. beccarii holotype, Py. complicata syntypes, Doramena); Vogelkop male with lateral elytral margins semitransparent, not paler than rest but may appear so under microscope illumination; lateral margin very narrowly paler margined in anterior to (Hollandia Malkin); suture very narrowly yellow in basal 1/5 (Hollandia, Wewak); head, antennae and palpi very dark brown to almost black (head reddish brown (Vogelkop, Biak Island); ventral surface of prothorax yelloworange yellow; ventral surface of meso and metathorax brown in Py. beccarii holotype, yellow to orange yellow in others; legs 1, 2 yellow with dark brown tibiae and tarsi or legs 2 with only tarsi dark brown; legs 3 coxae may be brown on anterior face, remainder of legs 3 yellowish with only tarsi brown (Australia) or with last 3 tarsomeres brown (Vogelkop); basal abdominal ventrites yellowish often semitransparent; V5–7 whitish (LOs confined to V6, 7); PLP yellow (Hollandia coll. Malkin), both incurving lobes and tips of PLP very dark brown (Biak Island), dorsal surface of PLP brown in holotype; dorsal abdomen yellow. Pronotum (Fig. 24): W/L 1.5–1.6; L/EL 0.21– 0.24; L/BL 0.18–0.19; W/GHW 1.4–1.5. Head (Fig. 25): GHW/SIW 4.0. Antennae: scape elongate, clavate; FS 1 subequal in length to pedicel and produced laterally at apex; remaining FS elongate at least 2–3 X as long as wide, not laterally expanded. Legs (Fig. 22): MFC with maximum of 10 teeth; femora 3 swollen and slightly curved; tibiae 3 curved and expanding slightly at apex. Abdomen (Figs. 26−30): median area between LO halves in V7 may appear trough like with muscle impressions usually visible; PLP short and broad (L=W or W slightly wider than L); incurving lobes with base slightly expanded, and curving medially just posterior to apex of PLP and extending medially beyond pronounced pointed projections; MPP short, shallowly emarginate with posterolateral corners acute; ventral surface of T8 as figured (Figs. 27, 28); anterior area of lateral margins clearly differentiated and bearing spines and short flanges; posterior margin rounded at sides of median emargination; mid lateral area of posterior margin slightly angulate; median emargination deep and wide. Aedeagus (Figs. 31, 32): L/W approximately 3–4; b/a 0.8.
Female. Associated by label data only. Coloured as for male (Py. complicata syntype has dark brown non margined elytra) except for LO in V6 only and V7, 8 pale. Not further investigated. See also Ballantyne & Lambkin 2000: 71 for description of north Queensland females.
Remarks. Pyrophanes beccarii was erected by Olivier (1885) for a single male specimen from Île Arou(the type label reads Isole Aru) which is treated here as the holotype. It is not a common species in collections and the specimens assigned here range from the western area of the island of New Guinea to Wewak in the east. This is the only species of Pyrophanes recorded from Australia, where it occurs only in the far north of Cape York peninsula in Queensland. Ballantyne & Lambkin (2000: 71) examined 26 specimens from north Queensland, of which 15 were females.
Males are very similar in dorsal colouration to some Py. appendiculata and it is possible that Olivier misidentified some of his New Guinean material.
description: Published as part of Ballantyne, Lesley, Lambkin, Christine L., Boontop, Yuvarin & Jusoh, Wan F. A., 2015, Revisional studies on the Luciolinae fireflies of Asia (Coleoptera: Lampyridae): 1. The genus Pyrophanes Olivier with two new species. 2. Four new species of Pteroptyx Olivier and 3. A new genus Inflata Boontop, with redescription of Luciola indica (Motsch.) as Inflata indica comb. nov., pp. 1-84 in Zootaxa 3959 (1) on pages 22-25, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3959.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14951429