Cyrea alma Canepari and Gordon, 2016

Canepari, Claudio, Gordon, Robert D. & Hanley, Guy A., 2016, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVII: Systematic revision of the genera Cyrea Gordon and Canepari and Tiphysa Mulsant (Hyperaspidinae: Brachiacanthini), Insecta Mundi 2016 (486), pp. 1-180 : 100-101

87. Cyrea alma Canepari and Gordon , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 2.5 mm, width 2.0 mm; body elongate oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head alutaceous, dull, pronotum slightly alutaceous, feebly shiny, elytron smooth, shiny. Color yellow except pronotum with basomedian black spot broken medially, forming 2 anterior eyebrow shaped parts, basal portion of spot narrow, wide, sinuate, feebly connected to anterior parts; elytron black with 5 large, yellow spots, humeral spot elongate, median lateral spot rounded, slightly projected inward, discal spot elongate oval, apical spot transversely oval, apical border entire ( Fig. 481 ); ventral surface with head, prosternum, meso- and metaventrites black; abdomen with ventrites 2-4 dark brown medially, yellowish brown laterally, ventrites 5-6 yellowish brown. Head punctures small, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture as large as an eye facet; pronotal punctures larger than head punctures, separated by a diameter or less, elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by less than to twice a diameter; metaventral punctures as large as on elytron, separated by about a diameter medially, becoming coarser and denser laterally, separated by less than a diameter. Clypeus emarginate apically, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 5 eye facets long, angled forward, apically rounded, yellow. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin weakly rounded, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, grooved, not descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia with weak oblique angle, basal tooth absent, sponda slightly extended beyond angle. Carinae on prosternal process narrowly separated at apex, parallel toward base, joined at basal 1/6 of prosternum. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite without setal tuft. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite rounded throughout, extended forward at apex, ventrite slightly depressed medially with short, dense pubescence and small, dense punctures; ventrites 2-6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense; 5th ventrite depressed in median 1/3 with large cusp on each side of middle, apex deeply emarginate; 6th ventrite medially depressed, apex shallowly emarginate. Apical tergite finely, densely punctured, apex emarginate. Genitalia heavily sclerotized with basal lobe short, slightly more than 1/2 as long as paramere, symmetrical, sides parallel in basal 2/3, curved to abruptly rounded apex in apical 1/3; paramere strongly Psc, short, wide, widened in apical 1/3 ( Fig. 482, 483 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 2/3, with visible alae in apical 1/6, basal capsule sclerotized, inner arm short, narrow, apex bifid, outer arm slightly curved, as wide as and longer than inner arm, with accessory piece, basal border shallowly emarginate ( Fig. 484, 485 ).

Female. Similar to male except head black with median, triangular yellow spot on frons, pronotum with large, black basomedian macula extended almost to anterior pronotal border, macula deeply incised with yellow medially, large anterolateral angle yellow. Genitalia with spermathecal capsule long, slender, basal 1/4 enlarged, widened, cornu apically narrowed to acute apex; bursal cap oval, with 3 irregular sclerotized arms, median arm apically triangular, apical strut elongate, somewhat rectangular ( Fig. 486 ).

Variation. Length 2.3 to 2.6 mm, width 1.7 to 2.0 mm. Pronotum varies as described for male and female above.

Type material. Holotype male; Ecuador, Guayllabamba , 2106 m. alt., Jan. 30, 1959, J. Molineros. ( USNM) . Paratypes; 11, same data as holotype ( USNM) .

Geographical distribution. Ecuador.

Remarks. This is a distinctive species because of an elytral color pattern with an extremely elongate discal spot, male 5th abdominal ventrite with large cusp on each side of middle, and heavily sclerotized male genitalia with short basal lobe and paramere enlarged in apical 1/3. The dorsal color pattern and male genitalia are very similar to those of C. elsie , but the latter species has no trace of cusps on the male 5th abdominal ventrite.

Figures

Figures 470-486. Cyrea spp. 470-474) Cyrea kirsten. 470) Habitus. 471) Phallobase ventral. 472) Phallobase lateral. 473) Sipho. 474) Enlarged siphonal apex. 475-480) Cyrea vanessa. 475) Habitus. 476) Phallobase ventral. 477) Phallobase lateral. 478) Sipho. 479) Enlarged siphonal apex. 480) Female genitalia. 481-486) Cyrea alma. 481) Habitus. 482) Phallobase ventral. 483) Phallobase lateral. 484) Sipho. 485) Enlarged siphonal apex. 486) Female bursal cap and apical strut, spermathecal capsule.