Mimastra soreli Baly, 1878

Bezděk, Jan, 2011, Revisional study on the genus Mimastra (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae). Part 3: Mimastra oblonga and M. tarsalis species groups, Zootaxa 2766, pp. 30-56 : 37-40

Mimastra soreli Baly, 1878 , status restored

( Figs 5, 16–17, 23, 31, 39, 47, 51–54)

Mimastra soreli Baly, 1878: 415 (original description); Allard, 1890: 83 (key); Winkler, 1930: 312 (catalogue); Gressitt &

Kimoto, 1963: 535 (key), 541; Ogloblin, 1936: 177 (key), 178, 400 (partim); Laboissière, 1940b: 7 (drawing of male protarsus); Kimoto, 1972: 144; Wilcox, 1973: 484 (catalogue); Medvedev, 2009: 265 (= cyanura ). Mimastra (Mimastra) Soreli : Weise, 1924: 125 (catalogue). Mimastra cyanura: Ogloblin, 1936: 178 (key), 179, 400 (partim); Jiang, 1992: 656; Yang, 1992: 569; Li & Yang, 2002: 302;

Yang, 1993: 339; Yang et al., 1997: 879; Zhang et al. 2005: 257 (partim?), Zhang et al. 2006: 205 (key, partim). Phyllobrotica lunata: Fairmaire, 1888: 43 (partim). See also M. latimana and M. oblonga .

Type locality. “ Valley of the Upper Yangtse Kiang; China; India ”. Due to the lectotype designation, the type locality is restricted to “Valley of the Upper Yangtse Kiang” .

Type material. Lectotype ♀ ( BMNH), designated here, labelled: “Type [white round label with red collar] // Valley of teh upper / Yang-tse-Kiang / W – China / Lieut. Col. Sorel. / 1200 miles from sea [pale blue label, h] // Mimastra / Soreli / Baly / Type. [w, h] // Baly coll. [w, p]”. Paralectotypes: 1 ♂ ( BMNH), labelled: 137 / China / Lewis [reverse of the label with the beetle] // Baly coll. [w, p] // Mimastra / Soreli / Baly / China [grey label, h]; 1 ♀ ( BMNH), labelled: 137 [reverse of the label with the beetle] // China [w, h] // Baly coll. [w, p]”. The specimens are provided with additional printed red label: “ LECTOTYPUS, [PARALECTOTYPUS, resp.] / Mimastra soreli / Baly, 1878, / des. J. Bezděk 2007 ”.

Additional material studied. 127 specimens — CHINA: SICHUAN : 1♀, Omei Shan , vi.1993, V. Beneš leg. ( JVJC) ; 2♂♂ 2♀♀, Wudu , 2.vi.1997, E. Kučera leg. ( MOPC) ; 5♂♂ 10♀♀, Kwanhsien [= Guan Xian], Exp. Stötzner, without additional data ( NMPC) ; 2♂♂ 1♀, “ Szechuen ”, without additional data ( USNM) ; 2♀♀, Ta-ningho , v.–vi.1904, without additional data ( USNM) ; 11♂♂ 9♀♀, Suifu , D. C. Graham leg. ( USNM) ; 1♂, Suifu , iv.1923, D. C. Graham leg. ( USNM) ; 9♂♂ 13♀♀, near Suifu , 15.iii.–15.iv.1929, D. C. Graham leg. ( USNM) ; 6♂♂ 13♀♀, Yachow [= Ya´an, Sichuan] & Tatsienlu [= Kangding, Sichuan], 7.–14.vii.1930, D. C. Graham leg. ( USNM) ; 1♂ 3♀♀, Kuanshien , 1930, D. C. Graham leg. ( USNM) ; 4♂♂, Wenchuan Shien , 30 miles NNW of Kuanshien, 1933, D. C. Graham leg. ( USNM) ; 1♂, Tatsienlu [= Kangding, Sichuan], 1.–14.viii.1930, D. C. Graham leg. ( USNM) ; 1♂ 1♀, Chungking [= Chongqing], 6.–27.v.1930, D. C. Graham leg. ( USNM) ; 1♂ 5♀♀, Chengtu , 1933, D. C. Graham leg. ( USNM) ; 2♂♂ 3♀♀, Yaan env., 26.v.2005, R. Sehnal & M. Trýzna leg. ( JBCB) ; 6♂♂, Emei Mt. , 10320´E 2930´N, 500–1200 m, 4.–18.v.1989, S. & J. Kolibáč leg. ( NHMB) ; 1♀, Emei Mt. , 600– 1050 m, 5.–19.v.1989, L. Bocák leg. ( NHMB) ; 6♂♂, Emei Mt. , 500–1000 m, 4.–20.v.1989, V. Kubáň leg. ( NHMB) ; 1♀, Ya´an , 28.v.1997, Beneš leg. ( AWCW) . GUIZHOU: 2♀♀, Kouy Yang Fou , without additional data ( NMPC) . PROVINCE?: 2♀♀, Tchao Pin-lo , without additional data ( NMPC) .

Description. Body length—males: 8.6–9.0 mm, females: 9.2–10.2 mm.

Male: Head yellow, base of vertex with metallic black irregular collar – laterally extended and sometimes touching eyes, narrow median stripe almost reaching frontal tubercles, anterior part of head usually with indistinct brownish spot in middle, apices of mandibles black. Antennomeres 1–5 yellow, rest gradually darkened. Pronotum completely yellow or with 7 more or less distinct dark spots: two narrow stripes along lateral margin and 5 discal spots forming shape of alphabet ‘M’ (two large spots laterally near posterior angles; three small indistinct spots in middle of disc and in front of pronotal base). Scutellum yellow. Elytra yellow with metallic blue spot usually covering apical third of elytra, very rarely divided by a yellow stripe or a metallic pattern prolonged anteriorly into two stripes ( Figs 51–54). Pro- and mesosternum yellow. Metasternum and abdomen black with blue metallic tint. Legs yellow, bases of coxae black, femora and tibiae with black stripe on outer margin, femora usually with completely dark apex. Tarsi brown to black.

Labrum transverse, with several long pale setae, anterior margin nearly straight. Anterior part of head semiopaque, finely microsculptured, glabrous, with several pale setae ventral to antennal sockets and in anterior part of clypeus. Interocular space 1.7 times as wide as transverse diameter of eye. Frontal tubercles subtriangular, finely microsculptured, distinctly elevated, separated from each other by a thin furrow. Interantennal space 0.8 times as wide as transverse diameter of antennal socket. Vertex shiny, impressed behind frontal tubercles. Antennae filiform, as long as body, length ratio of antennomeres 1–11 equals 34-12-26-42-41-40-38-38-32-31-37.

Pronotum transverse, 1.65–1.70 times as broad as long, widest at first quarter, slightly convergent posteriorly. Surface lustrous, covered with very fine punctures, glabrous, with two distinct transverse lateral depressions. Anterior margin slightly concave, posterior margin slightly rounded, sinuate, lateral margins nearly straight. All margins thinly bordered. Anterior angles moderately swollen, slightly produced anteriorly, posterior angles obtusely angulate. All angles with setigerous pore bearing one long pale seta. Scutellum triangular with rounded apex, shiny, glabrous.

Elytra shiny, slightly divergent posteriorly, covered with small dense confused punctures, glabrous (only with several pale hairs on apical slopes). Humeral calli well developed. Epipleura narrow, gradually disappearing before apex. Macropterous.

Ventral surface shiny, finely punctate, densely covered with pale hairs. Last ventrite impressed in middle, posterior margin almost straight with two feebly indicated incisions. First protarsomere flat, pear-shaped ( Fig. 31). Protibia moderately widened anteriorly ( Fig. 39). Basimetatarsomere as long as two following tarsomeres combined.

Median lobe of aedeagus relatively wide, gradually narrowed to apex, in lateral view distinctly regularly curved, ventrally with median groove in apical two third ( Fig. 23).

Female: First protarsomere not enlarged. Abdomen robust, convex, last ventrite with regularly rounded posterior margin. Spermathecal cornu with slightly rounded basal part, apical part abruptly bent, slightly narrower than nodulus, nodulus oval, proximal spermathecal duct shorter than nodulus (Fig. 47).

Differential diagnosis. Mimastra soreli is similar to other species with apical elytral spot: M. lunata , M. cyanura , M. anicka sp. nov., and spotted forms of M. oblonga . Mimastra lunata can be easily distinguished by the longitudinal, narrow elytral spot touching elytral margin only at apex ( Fig. 4) and in having the flat cavity of first protarsomere (in the inner lateral view) covering almost whole profile ( Fig. 30). Spotted forms of M. oblonga differ by the smaller, metallic green apical elytral spot covering at most apical quarter of elytra and in having slender protibia ( Fig. 36). Mimastra anicka sp. nov. has the first protarsomere arched, with large semicircular cavity, in inner lateral view covering almost whole profile ( Fig. 34), and median lobe of aedeagus bent near the middle ( Fig. 26). Mimastra cyanura differs by the clavate protibia ( Fig. 37) and the cavity on first protarsomere half heartshaped in profile ( Fig. 29). Moreover, the elytral spots of M. cyanura , M. anicka sp. nov., and M. oblonga are metallic green, while in M. soreli the spot is metallic blue.

The rare aberrations of M. soreli with metallic stripes on elytra ( Figs 53–54) also resembles M. guerryi , but the stripes never touch apical margins of elytra in M. guerryi while the metallic pattern always cover whole apical quarter of the elytra in M. soreli .

Distribution. China: Guizhou ( Fairmaire 1888, Li & Yang 2002, Yang, 1993), Hunan ( Yang 1992), Sichuan ( Jiang 1992, Yang et al. 1997) (most of the previous records were published under the names M. cyanura or M. lunata ).

Comments. Baly´s collection, deposited in BMNH, contains 6 specimens of M. soreli mentioned in the original description, which refer to two different species: 1 female with the label “Valley of the Upper Yangtse Kiang, leg. Sorel and 5 specimens (3 males and 2 females) labeled “ China, Lewis leg.. The material from India mentioned in the original description was not found in BMNH. All 5 specimens from China collected by Lewis are conspecific with M. oblonga , however, the three with completely yellow elytra must be excluded from the type series, because they were distinguished as “Var. A in the original description ( ICZN, 1999, Art. 72.4.1). The remainder have a metallic spot in the apical quarter of their elytra. The spot covers completely the apical quarter in the female from “Upper Yangtse Kiang, while the spots are drop-shaped in the male and female from China (Lewis leg.) (suture and lateral margins are yellow almost to the elytral apex). In the original description, Baly (1878) stated the coloration of elytra as “… tertia parte apicali nigro-cyanea. Therefore I designate here the specimen labeled as “Upper Yangtse Kiang as lectotype, although its gender is female. In my opinion, of all syntypes, this specimen fits the original description the best. Thus, the identity of M. soreli is fixed for the species occuring in Sichuan province.