Bohumiljania tango, Reid & Beatson, 2011

Reid, C. A. M. & Beatson, M., 2011, Revision of the New Caledonian endemic genus Bohumiljania Monrós (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Spilopyrinae), Zootaxa 3000, pp. 1-43 : 15-16

Bohumiljania tango sp. nov.

( Figs 9, 17, 25, 43, 51, 63, 81, 115, 125, 133, 142, 155)

Material examined

Type : Holotype: female/ Plateau de Tango, 20:59S 165:06E, 340m, lower creek, mv light, 11971, 3.i.2005, G. Monteith ( MHNP).

Description [female only]

Length: female 12mm; body elongate parallel-sided, length c. 3x width, length c. 4x height, slightly elevated to elytral base in profile, with anteriorly convex pronotum. Body and appendages yellowish-brown to orange, except: elytra green with vaguely defined lateral orange stripe from humerus along side margin (including base of epipleuron) to before apex; antennomeres 7–11 dull red; head dorsal to antennal sockets, and extreme edges pronotum dark reddish-brown; apices mandibles, labrum, apical half last maxillary palpomere, anterior face of apical half hind femora, apex of hind tibia black or blackish-brown. Head and pronotal punctures each armed with recumbent short white setae. Head microreticulate, pronotum and elytra shining, without microreticulation.

Head: pubescent throughout, setae dense, short and recumbent, sparser on clypeus and above antennae; puncturation fine and dense (interspaces <puncture diameters), slightly sparser but larger along midline and clypeus; midline of head shallowly depressed, sides of frontoclypeal suture not deeply grooved; eyes large and laterally prominent, with small internal canthus, separated by c. 4.3x eye width (female); temples short, c. 0.1x length eye, not posteriorly truncate; gena c. 0.4x eye length (female), genal lobe ratio 1.2; antennae situated at anterior of head, in laterally directed sockets, c. 4x socket diameter apart, c. 0.6x body length (female); all antennomeres elongate: 2 shortest (c. 0.65x first), <1=3, <4, <6, <8, <5=9=10, <7, <11 (female); antennomere 7 (female) distinctly expanded; labrum not densely setose, with 2 pairs of prominent setae on disc and 3 pairs at apical margin; apical maxillary palpomere fusiform, with narrow tip, preapical as long as apical (female); mentum strongly transverse, width 3x median length, with prominent anterior angles; gula distinctly transversely grooved.

Thorax: pronotum pubescent throughout with dense recumbent setae, except basal 2/3 of midline, hypomeron densely setose throughout; pronotum with convex sides, broadest at middle, anterior truncate, base medially convex; pronotal width c. 1.3x length; anterior angles strongly laterally produced, c. 45°, posterior angles distinctly produced, c. 90°; anterior and posterior not margined except near angles; lateral margination strong and even; sides of disc feebly depressed in basal half, with slight swelling laterally; pronotal midline impunctate for basal 2/3, remainder of pronotum including hypomeron finely (but diameters variable) and densely (as head) punctured, especially on small oval median patch anterior to middle, punctures larger and sparser on sides of disc, coalescent and rugose at sides and on hypomeron; prosternum including process closely punctured and pubescent; prosternal process elongate, entirely medially grooved, almost parallel sides feebly expanded to strongly bilobed apex, angle between lobes V-shaped, c. 75°; scutellum impunctate, quadrate with rounded apex, flat; elytron glabrous (except sparse erect setae on apical 1/6), with oval depression between humerus and epipleuron; sculpture variable, punctures large and close (separated by 1–2 diameters) on basal 4/5, interspaces with scattered minute punctures and shallow transverse grooves, apical 1/5 irregularly shallowly wrinkled, with punctures sparser or obliterated; upper margin epipleuron reaching angle of humerus at base, absent at apex; mesoventrite median process gradually elevated to strongly bilobed apex, angle between lobes V-shaped, c. 90°; wing fully developed, with uncoloured medial fleck; metaventrite shining and glabrous medially, at sides densely pubescent, laterally strigose and finely punctured, apical lobe not margined, flat; metepisternum densely finely punctured and pubescent; 1 short spur on protibia, 2 on remainder; tarsi narrow, length first metatarsomere 2x width; length second metatarsomere 1.3x width.

Abdomen: ventrites I and II entirely fused; ventrites shallowly microreticulate, mostly smooth and shining at middle, with dense minute setae and punctures at sides, I–II with denser patches of fine punctures and V with longer more erect setae and larger punctures; ventrite I almost entirely laterally keeled, II keeled in basal 2/3, III with short keel in basal half, IV–V unkeeled; apex ventrite V truncate (female).

Genitalia: apex female sternite VIII truncate, basal apodeme large and transverse, apex strongly expanded; median sclerite thin; gonostylus ovoid, not fused to gonocoxite; spermatheca falcate, duct short and thick with small ovoid swelling before gland insertion; rectal kotpresse similar to B. xaracuu ( Fig. 148), with dense elongate ventral spinule patch and strips of dense spinules dorsally.

Notes

Etymology: named from the type locality, Plateau de Tango, a noun in apposition.

Bohumiljania tango is similar to B. mandjelia (q. v. supra ) and may possibly represent a variant of that species. We have separated them based on: shape of pronotal anterior and posterior angles, prosternal process sculpture, elytral sculpture (apical punctures, setae, area between humerus and epipleuron), lateral keeling of ventrites, swelling of spermathecal duct.

Bohumiljania tango is known from a single specimen collected at 340m, in the Plateau de Tango area, SE New Caledonia. The specimen was collected in January, at mv light.