Ootheca ugandae, Kortenhaus, Sabine & Wagner, Thomas, 2010

Kortenhaus, Sabine & Wagner, Thomas, 2010, Revision of Ootheca Chevrolat, 1837 from tropical Africa — redescriptions, descriptions of new species and identification key (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae), Zootaxa 2659, pp. 1-52 : 47-48

Ootheca ugandae sp. n.

( Figs 61 , 71–74 )

Total length. 5.75–5.95 mm (mean: 5.83 mm; n = 4; Fig. 71 ).

Head. Dark brown with yellowish labrum. Four basal antennomeres yellowish, others gradually becoming darker towards apex; length ratios: second to third antennomere 0.55–0.67 (mean: 0.59); third to fourth antennomere 0.79–0.86 (mean: 0.81; Fig. 72 ). Maximal width of eyes to minimal distance between eyes ratio 0.53–0.60 (mean: 0.56).

Thorax. Prothorax dark brown. Pronotum yellowish usually with a small brown medio-basal spot; finely punctuated, anterior angles protruberant, latero-basal impression usually distinct; width 2.20–2.30 mm (mean: 2.24 mm); length 1.35–1.40 mm (mean: 1.38 mm); width to length 1.57–1.67 (mean: 1.62). Elytra: yellowish with a more or less broad dark brown to black sutural stripe ( Fig. 72 ); punctuation much coarser than that of the pronotum; length 4.40–4.75 mm (mean: 4.47 mm); maximal width of elytra together 3.30–3.50 mm (mean: 3.38 mm); maximal width of elytra together to length of elytron 0.75–0.80 (mean: 0.76). Scutellum, meso- and metathorax dark brown. Legs: dark brown to black, femoral apex and base of tibia paler brownish colour; length ratio of basi-metatarsus to metatibia 0.19–0.28 (mean: 0.23).

Abdomen. Dark brown to black.

Male genitalia. Median lobe nearly rectangular in dorsal view, with a very small point at apex. Apical quarter very flat and strongly bent ventrally in lateral view. Tectum consists of two short, tectorial spurs, very broad basally and ventrally curved apically. Endophallus with basal part long and broad, one pair of spines, one close to the middle and the other almost beyond the apex ( Fig. 73 ).

Diagnosis. Ootheca ugandae sp. n. is characterized by yellow elytra with a broad, dark brown to black stripe over the elytral suture. The stripe is usually wide basally near the scutellum and narrows towards the elytral apex. Furthermore, the yellow elytra have a narrow black sublateral stripe along the yellow lateral elytral margins. In size and colouration this species is most similar to some specimens of O. proteus , but the anterior pronotal angles are protruding distinctly in O. ugandae sp. n. while they are more rounded in O. proteus ( Figs 17 , 71 ). Without dissection of the male genitalia an allocation to one of these species is not always possible, as specimens of O. proteus with the same colouration do occur sympatrically. Furthermore, O. variabilis and O. julianae sp. n. are similar in colouration, but are on average smaller, have dark brown to black outer margins, finer elytral punctuation and the elytra are less convex.

Distribution. Only known from few sites in Uganda and Ethiopia ( Fig. 61 ).

Etymology. Named after the country where the majority of specimens have been collected.

Type material. Holotype: male, “Karamoja, Uganda, April 1950, T. H. E. Jackson” / Holotypus Ootheca ugandae Kortenhaus & Wagner, 2010 / AfriGa specimen ID: 1870 specimen data documented 18.I.2010 ( NMK; Fig. 74 ). Type locality: Uganda 2°45’N / 34°15’E.

Paratypes: Ethiopia: 1 ex., Uha, X. 1912, Holtz ( MNHU). Uganda: 2 ex., same data as holotype ( NMK).

Figures

FIGURE 61. Distribution of Ootheca eddae sp. n., O. julianae sp. n. and O. ugandae sp. n.

FIGURE 74. Holotype of Ootheca ugandae sp. n., a. specimen with labels, b. close-up detail of specimen.

FIGURES 71 – 73. Ootheca ugandae sp. n.; 71 a. Habitus, dorsal view; 72. Antennomeres 1 – 4 of two different males and two different females; 73. Median lobe: dorsal (left), lateral (right).

FIGURES 17 – 20. Ootheca proteus (Chapuis, 1879). 17. Habitus, dorsal view; 18. Antennomeres 1 – 4 of two different males and two different females; 19. Colour pattern of some specimens; 20. Median lobe: dorsal (left), lateral (right).