Serratitibia tortuosa (Mulsant) Gordon & Canepari & Hanley, 2013

Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2013, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XII: New name for Cyra Mulsant, review of Brachiacanthini genera, and systematic revision of Cleothera Mulsant, Hinda Mulsant and Serratitibia Gordon and Canepari, new genus, Insecta Mundi 2013 (278), pp. 1-150 : 42-43

18. Serratitibia tortuosa (Mulsant) , new combination

Cleothera tortuosa Mulsant, 1850: 567 ; Crotch 1874: 218; Korschefsky 1931: 197; Blackwelder 1945: 448; Gordon 1987: 27.

Description. Male. Length 4.0 mm, width 3.4 mm; body broadly oval, convex. Dorsal surface shiny, lacking alutaceous sculpture. Color yellow; head with vertex reddish brown, frons with median, apically triangular, reddish brown spot; pronotum with 5 median reddish brown spots, 1 small rectangular basomedial spot, 1 transversely rectangular spot on each side of middle, and 2 median, triangular spots in apical 1/2; elytron with 4 longitudinal, reddish brown vittae, sutural vitta slightly widened medially, 2nd vitta triangularly extended from near base to middle of elytron, 3rd vitta extended from base across humerus nearly to apex, inner margin apically hooked, outer vitta extended from humerus nearly to apex, outer margin medially indented with yellow ( Fig. 149 ); venter of head, prosternum, meso–, metaventrites yellowish red; abdomen reddish yellow. Head punctures small, separated by less than diameter, each puncture as large as 1 eye facet; pronotal punctures equal in size to head punctures, separated by less than 2 times diameter; elytral punctures as large as on pronotum, separated by 1–3 times diameter; metaventral punctures larger than on elytra, separated by diameter or less medially, larger laterally. Clypeus weakly emarginate apically, lateral angle abruptly rounded. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, slightly angled forward, apically rounded, yellow. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal angle broadly rounded, anterior angle abruptly rounded, lateral margin rounded, basal margin without trace of bordering line. Epipleuron wide, weakly grooved, slightly descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibial flange narrower than remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, with about 5 small teeth in basal 1/2, sponda extended beyond protibial border. Carinae on prosternal process widely separated at apex, parallel, joined at basal 1/6 of prosternum, connected to base by short stem. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite with median setal tuft. Abdomen with primary pores laterally between ventrites 4–5 small, extended under apical 1/8 of ventrite 4; postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite angled to posterior ventrite margin, rounded along margin, apex extended forward. Abdominal ventrites 1–4 with short, sparse pubescence, punctures on basal 3 ventrites large, separated by less than diameter, becoming smaller and dense laterally, ventrites 3–5 densely punctured throughout; 5th ventrite depressed medially in apical 1/2, apical border weakly emarginate medially, lateral angle of emargination with small tubercle bearing tuft of dense setae; 6th ventrite narrow, deeply depressed medially, depression glabrous, without median tubercle, apical margin shallowly emarginate, angle on each side of emargination bearing tuft of setae. Apical tergite short, narrow, apex weakly emarginate, surface densely, finely punctured. Genitalia with basal lobe 3/4 as long as paramere, sides weakly convergent, apex obliquely truncate; paramere Unm type, wide, widened apically, apex rounded ( Fig. 150, 151 ); sipho robust, curved in basal 3/4, basal capsule with inner arm short, narrow, apex rounded, outer arm 3 times as long as inner arm, widened apically, with accessory piece, basal border broadly, weakly emarginate ( Fig. 152, 153 ).

Female. Similar to male except head with vertex, upper frons, and clypeus reddish brown, elytron in a Bolivian specimen has inner 2 vittae fused into a single large macula. Genitalia with spermathecal capsule long, slender, widened from base to apex, curved medially; bursal cap widely triangular, with 3 arms, inner arm faint, apical strut short, spatulate at apex in lateral view ( Fig. 154 ).

Variation. Length 3.8–4.1 mm, width 3.0– 3.4 mm. Female head with reddish brown macula variable in size and distribution, and elytral vittae subject to fusion.

Type locality. Brazil.

Type depository. BMNH (holotype).

Geographical distribution. Bolivia, Brazil.

Specimens examined. 5. Bolivia. Loma Alta . Brazil. “ Bresil ;” Guanapuaua ; Parana, Cálmon ; Rio de Janeiro. ( BMNH) ( DZUP) ( USNM) .

Remarks. This is a large, distinctively vittate species, somewhat similar to S. psylloboroides , but not easily confused with any other known species of Serratitibia . The Bolivian specimen is tentatively placed here because the protibia and abdominal structure compare well with those of S. tortuosa , but the dorsal color pattern differs considerably, with the 2 internal elytral vittae coalesced into a single large macula.

Mulsant (1850) apparently had only a single specimen, this holotype in the BMNH is labeled “Type (orange bordered disc)/ Bresil (green disc, handwritten)/Tortuosa. Muls Bresil. (green paper, handwritten).”

Figures

Figures 137–154. 137–143) Serratitibia anna. 137) Habitus. 138) Protibia. 139) Phallobase ventral. 140) Phallobase lateral. 141) Enlarged siphonal apex. 142) Sipho. 143) Female genitalia. 144–148) Serratitibia rebecca. 144) Habitus. 145) Phallobase ventral. 146) Phallobase lateral. 147) Enlarged siphonal apex. 148) Enlarged siphonal apex. 149–154) Serratitibia tortuosa. 149) Habitus. 150) Phallobase ventral. 151) Phallobase lateral. 152) Enlarged siphonal apex. 153) Sipho. 154) Female genitalia.