Sikkimia meihuai, Lee, Chi-Feng & Bezdek, Jan, 2016

Lee, Chi-Feng & Bezdek, Jan, 2016, Revision of the wingless Sikkimia Duvivier (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae) from Taiwan, including a new generic synonymy and four new species descriptions, ZooKeys 553, pp. 79-106 : 86-89

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Chrysomelidae

Sikkimia meihuai sp. n. Figs 27-29, 39-41, 50, 51-57

Type locality.

Taiwan: Taitung county, Liyuan (栗園), 23°13'17"N, 121°00'40"E, 1800 m.

Type material

(n= 19). Holotype ♂: Taitung: Liyuan (栗園), 23.VI.2010, leg. M.-H. Tsou. Paratypes: 3♂♂, 2♀♀, same data as holotype; 2♀♀, same locality, 19.VI.2013, leg. C.-F. Lee; 7♀♀, same locality, 24.VII.2013, leg. C.-F. Lee; 1♂, 3♀♀, Motien (摩天), 23°11'41"N, 121°01'18"E, 20.VI.2011, leg. C.-F. Lee (1♂, 2♀♀ in JBCB).

Description

Male. Length 7.3-7.5 mm; width 4.0-4.2 mm. Coloration brown, head dark brown, legs and antennae black. Antenna (Fig. 51) long, about as long as body; antennomeres I–VII filiform; VIII-IX widening slightly; × and XI extremely swollen (Figs 27-29, 39 –41),× with a shallow groove from middle to apex of mesal surface, XI moderately concave in basal 1/4 of outer surface, weakly concave in apical 1/3 of mesal surface and pointed apically; dorsal surface with two longitudinal ridges, one close to mesal margin, extending from middle and abbreviated near base, other longitudinal ridge along mesal margin extending from apical 1/3, projecting in middle, and ending in basal 1/4, with a deep groove between the longitudinal ridges, and a transverse groove near the base; length ratio of II to XI about 1.0: 1.3: 1.8: 1.6: 1.8: 1.6: 1.4: 1.3: 1.8: 2.8, and length to width ratios of II to XI about 2.0: 2.0: 2.7: 2.4: 2.7: 2.2: 2.3: 1.9: 2.8: 2.8. Pronotum transverse, 1.5 × as wider than long; anterior and posterior margins almost straight, slightly concave medially; lateral margin weakly rounded; disc with finely punctured. Elytra narrow, about 1.2 × longer than wide; densely and randomly punctuate, humeri reduced. Abdominal ventrite V trilobed, internal anterior margin extended, reaching ventrite III; median longitudinal internal ridge running from base to apex of extension. Abdominal tergite I with only spiracles sclerotized; tergites II–V with sclerotized spiracles and transverse weakly sclerotized areas; most of tergite VI and spiracles strongly sclerotized; tergite VII entirely and strongly sclerotized. Aedeagus (Figs 53-54) wide in dorsal view, about 4.8 × longer than wide, base strongly incised medially, wide in basal 1/3, becoming slightly narrower towards the subtriangular apex; ventral surface well sclerotized and smooth; broad and moderately curved in lateral view; endophallic sclerite longitudinal and slender, bifurcate apically, about 0.3 × as long as aedeagus.

Female. Length 7.5-8.2 mm; width 4.5-4.8 mm. Similar to male, but antennae (Fig. 52) filiform, antennomeres× and XI not swollen; length ratio of II to XI about 1.0: 1.6: 2.1: 2.0: 2.1: 2.0: 1.8: 1.9: 2.1: 2.6, and length to width ratios of II to XI about 1.9: 2.6: 3.3: 3.1: 3.3: 3.2: 2.9: 3.0: 3.3: 4.2. Elytra relatively wide, about 1.1 × longer than wide. Gonocoxae (Fig. 55) wide, together about 2.7 × longer than wide and joined from base almost to middle, basal margin deeply indented medially narrowing strongly in basal 1/3 with a short medial groove, apices tubular and parallel, narrowing slightly in apical 1/3 and curving inward, with nine setae. Ventrite VIII (Fig. 56) weakly sclerotized; with extremely long speculum; apex transverse, api cal margin widely rounded, with scattered long setae along apical margin. Abdominal tergites I–III membranous with only spiracles sclerotized, tergites IV–VII entirely and strongly sclerotized. Receptacle of spermatheca (Fig. 57) strongly swollen and transverse; pump elongate and strongly curved; spermathecal duct short but extremely wide.

Diagnosis.

Sikkimia meihuai sp. n. is similar to Sikkimia yuae sp. n. in greatest width of the aedeagus (4.8 × longer than wide), but differs in having the aedeagus narrowing very slightly towards the apex (distinctly narrower in apical 1/3 in Sikkimia yuae sp. n.); short median ridge on antennomere IX in males (long median ridge in Sikkimia yuae sp. n.); and wider gonocoxae, 2.7 × longer than wide (slender gonocoxae in Sikkimia yuae sp. n., 4.4 × longer than wide).

Host plant.

Polygonum chinense L. ( Polygonaceae ).

Etymology.

This new species is named after Mr. Mei-Hua Tsou, who is a member of TCRT and the first to collect this new species.

Distribution.

East half of South Cross-Island Highway (南橫公路) (Fig. 50).