Sclerotia
Creators: name: Ballantyne, Lesley A.
name: Lambkin, Christine L.
name: Luan, Xin
name: Boontop, Yuvarin
name: Nak-Eiam, Sorasak
name: Pimpasalee, Suttisan
name: Silalom, Sommyot
name: Thancharoen, Anchana
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Lampyridae
Sclerotia

description: Sclerotia fui sp. nov.
(Figs 27, 28, 97−110)
Types. Holotype. Male. CHINA. Hubei Province, Wuhan City, Xianjian Village, 23.vii.2008 sweeping, X.H. Fu (NHMHAU). Paratypes: 5 males, 5 females, same data as for holotype; Wuhan City, 20.v.2005 X.H. Fu 8 -10 p.m., 24 males, 9 females, 2 larvae (ANIC); 25 males, 16 females, Hubei Province, Xiaogan City, Maan Village, Huanglong Lake, sweeping, 18.vii.2011, X.H. Fu; 45 males, 1 female, Hubei Province, Honghu City, Qipan Village, sweeping, 30.vii. 2013, X.H. Fu; 1 male, 1 female, Shanghai City, Qingpu District, Jinze County, Cenbu Village, sweeping, 08.ix.2012, X.H. Fu. (NHMHAU).
Diagnosis. With pale brownish dorsal colouration and faint indications of black tipped elytral apices, aedeagal sheath pattern and aedeagus very similar to that of Scl. aquatilis from which it is most obviously distinguished by the dorsal colouration. The molecular phylogeny (Fig. 3) suggested Sclerotia fui sp. nov. is distinct from Scl. aquatilis comb. nov.
Male. 8.1–9.4 mm long, width/length 0.4. Colour: pronotum orange yellow, irregular retraction of fat body material in certain areas makes these areas appear darker; MS and MN yellow; elytra very light brown with small dark brown area at apex in dry pinned specimens, semitransparent with dark hind wing visible in ethanol preserved specimens (Fig. 93); lateral margin paler yellow, semitransparent; sutural margin appearing paler as fat body material is irregularly scattered along the length, and this margin may not be white all along its length. Head dark brown, reddish brown above antennae and narrowly very pale brown immediately above antennae; antennae dark brown with anterior face of scape paler brown; labrum yellow; apices of palpi dark brown; ventral surface of body, and all legs yellow except for: dark brown tibiae and tarsi 1, tarsi 2 and posterior face of tibiae 2, tarsi 3, and pale brown posterior face of tibiae 3; posterior 1/3 of V 5 dark brown; dorsal abdomen pale yellow.
Pronotum: W/L 1.7–2.1; L/BL 0.14–0.18; W/GHW 1.3–1.6. Elytron: 0.8−0.9 as long as total body length. Head: SIW/GHW 0.19; apical labial palpomeres with>3 teeth. Abdomen: LO in V7 with wide and relatively shallow emargination.
Aedeagal sheath sclerites (Figs 103−107): Very similar to Scl. aquatilis; ventral sclerite roughly triangular in outline with rounded distal end (Fig. 107); margins not thickened; anterolateral corners acute; right sclerite (Fig. 103) with transverse projection apically acute and reaching across most of the entire portion of T8; right sclerite (Fig. 103) with three projections to the right, the posterior one apically acute, the median slender apically rounded and inclining dorsolaterally, and the third, longest projection, inclining ventrolaterally with a rounded hollow apex and arising in an emargination between the other two; left sclerite (Figs 104−106) with three arms, all apically rounded, with anterior arm expanded, rounded and hollow.
Aedeagal sheath (Figs 101, 102): sternite with oblique bar, and slightly off centred small median posterior emargination (Fig. 102); median anterior margin of sheath tergite emarginated (Fig. 101).
Aedeagus (Figs 108−110): L/ W 2.1 −2.3. LL of unequal length (left slightly shorter than right); apices of LL rounded with inner apical margins toothed. Length basal piece/total length aedeagus 0.4−0.5.
Female. (Figs 99, 100) 8.2–9.4 mm long, 3.3–3.6 mm wide; width/length 0.4.
Etymology. This species named for Xin Hua Fu who first observed and studied this backswimmer firefly in mainland China.
Remarks. This species has been misidentified as Luciola substriata in several publications. Fu et al. (2005a) reported on the biology of an aquatic firefly from Hubei Province which they identified as Luciola substriata Gorham, a first record of the species from mainland China. Fu et al. (2005b) reported on the swimming behavior of the aquatic larvae of the firefly Luciola substriata. Their identification was based on Obha’s comparison of specimens with those already recorded from Taiwan by Jeng et al. (2003). Fu et al. (2009) described the larval respiration system in a species they identified as Luciola substriata. Ballantyne & Lambkin (2009, 2013) and Ballantyne et al. (2015) scored this species as ‘ substriata Fu’. Fu (2014: 33) illustrated this species including larvae as Luciola substriata.
description: Published as part of Ballantyne, Lesley A., Lambkin, Christine L., Luan, Xin, Boontop, Yuvarin, Nak-Eiam, Sorasak, Pimpasalee, Suttisan, Silalom, Sommyot & Thancharoen, Anchana, 2016, Further studies on south eastern Asian Luciolinae: 1. Sclerotia Ballantyne, a new genus of fireflies with back swimming larvae 2. Triangulara Pimpasalee, a new genus from Thailand (Coleoptera: Lampyridae), pp. 201-249 in Zootaxa 4170 (2) on pages 231-233, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4170.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/257995