Pseudholophylla Blackburn 1911
Creators: name: Hutchinson, Paul M.
name: Allsopp, Peter G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Melolonthidae
Pseudholophylla

description: Pseudholophylla Blackburn, 1911
Holophylla Burmeister, 1855: 426 (junior homonym of Holophylla Erichson, 1847). Type species: Holophylla furfuracea Burmeister, 1855, by monotypy.
Pseudholophylla Blackburn, 1911: 183 (replacement name for Holophylla Burmeister, 1855).
Paralepidiota Blackburn, 1911: 196; Britton 1978: 33 (synonym). Type species: Paralepidiota lepidoptera Blackburn, 1912, by subsequent monotypy (Blackburn 1912).
Diagnosis. Dorsal surface, pronotal hypomera, and anterior faces of profemora and protibiae bearing elliptical or elongate-pointed white scales; surface of clypeus, pronotum, and scutellum without long, backwardly directed setae; labrum deeply excavated anteriorly; antennae of males with antennomeres 4–10 or 5–10 lamellate; clypeus with anterior face moderately deep, greatest width 5.5–7.5 times mid depth, outline broadly rounded, usually slightly depressed in middle of anterior edge; upper surface of clypeus strongly concave; protarsal claws with a prominent tooth; anterior edge of metafemur not concave near base; lower spur of metatibiae narrow, thick and tapered, upper spur broadly expanded.
Key to males (females are largely unknown)
1 Each paramere with a transverse pre-apical process (Figs. 11, 13)............................................... 2
- Each paramere without a transverse pre-apical process (Figs. 8–10, 12).......................................... 3
2 Antenna with the lamella of antennomere 4 approximately two-fifths to half length of lamella of antennomere 5; scales on head, pronotum, elytra, metepisternum, abdominal ventrites, and legs elongate and acutely pointed; scales on anterior surface of profemora and pronotal hypomera very elongate to setae-like; sternum, metepisternum, metepimeron, and metacoxae densely clothed with long, pale setae; pygidium with sparse, evenly distributed white microsetae; body colour yellow brown, length approximately 27.4–30.0 mm (Figs. 1–7); parameres with apices rounded and recurved, as in Fig. 13; Northern Territory ....................................................... Pseudholophylla hurai Hutchinson & Allsopp, new species
- Antenna with antennomere 4 angulate but not lamellate, antennal club of 6 nearly equal lamellae; dorsal surface with sparse, elliptical white scales, abdominal ventrites with dense white scales; body colour reddish brown, length approximately 23 mm; parameres with apices elongate, as in Fig. 11; northeastern Queensland ...... Pseudholophylla lepidoptera (Blackburn, 1912)
3 Antenna with lamella of antennomere 4 approximately one-third as long as lamella of antennomere 5; terminal palpomere of maxillary palp with flat elliptical area on upper surface; aedeagus as in Fig. 8; northwestern Western Australia ........................................................................ Pseudholophylla castaneipennis (Macleay, 1888)
- Antenna with lamella of antennomere 4 more than half as long as lamella of antennomere 5; terminal palpomere of maxillary palp with an elliptical concavity of the upper surface; northern Australia .......................................... 4
4 Scales on frons and pronotum broadly elliptical, almost circular; antenna with lamella of antennomere 4 approximately twothirds as long as lamella of antennomere 5, pronotal hypomera and anterior face of profemora with a dense clothing of large white scales; body colour pale yellowish brown, length approximately 21 mm (Weir et al. 2019, Plate 64K; Allsopp 2020b, Figs. 60–62); parameres apical third very constricted in ventral view, as in Fig. 9; northeastern Queensland ................................................................................... Pseudholophylla cavifrons (Lea, 1919)
- Scales on frons and pronotum elongate and acutely pointed; antenna with lamella of antennomere 4 as long as lamella of antennomere 5; scales on pronotal hypomera and anterior face of profemora acutely pointed, almost seta-like; parameres with apices linear or tapering but not constricted in ventral view.......................................................... 5
5 Antenna with antennomere 3 broadly triangular; upper surface of clypeus very sparsely punctate; posterior margin of pronotum with a sparse fringe of fine, erect, pale setae; parameres as in Fig. 10; unknown distribution......................................................................................... Pseudholophylla furfuracea (Burmeister, 1855)
- Antenna with antennomere 3 elongate; upper surface of clypeus densely punctate; posterior margin of pronotum without fringe of erect setae; parameres as in Fig. 12; northwestern Western Australia ............. Pseudholophylla soror Britton, 1978
description: Published as part of Hutchinson, Paul M. & Allsopp, Peter G., 2021, Australian Melolonthini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae): a sixth species of Pseudholophylla Blackburn, 1911, and notes on the other known species, pp. 30-40 in Zootaxa 5082 (1) on pages 31-39, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5082.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/5783154