Jolibrotica, Lee, Chi-Feng & Bezdek, Jan, 2015

Lee, Chi-Feng & Bezdek, Jan, 2015, Revision of " Phyllobrotica " from Taiwan with description of Jolibrotica gen. n. (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae), ZooKeys 547, pp. 75-92 : 77-79

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Chrysomelidae

Jolibrotica gen. n.

Type species.

Luperus (Luperus) sauteri Chûjô, 1935

Description.

Coloration: dorsum lustrous, black or metallic blue-green. Antennae black. Legs metallic,black, or brown. Ventral side metallic or black. Body length 3.2-4.3 mm.

Head. Labrum trapezoidal, transverse, with four pores in transverse row bearing pale seta, anterior margin straight. Anterior part of head very short, almost impunctate and glabrous, several setae on anterior margin of clypeus and along lateral margins of nasal keel. Nasal keel narrow, sharp. Interantennal space very narrow, cca 0.5 as wide as transverse diameter of antennal insertion. Frontal tubercles transverse, subtriangular, slightly elevated, lustrous, glabrous, impunctate, anterior tips not separated by nasal keel. Vertex with distinct shallow impression in middle just behind frontal tubercles, with several larger punctures at each side just behind frontal tubercles bearing very long pale setae, rest of vertex impunctate or with indistinct fine punctuation and glabrous. Antennae slender, 0.80-1.00 as long as body, all antennomeres dull, covered with dense setae, antennomere II as long as wide, antennomere III three times as long as antennomere II, antennomeres III-VII ca 2.8-3.0 as long as wide.

Pronotum 1.30-1.60 times as broad as long, widest in anterior quarter, parallel anteriorly, convergent posteriorly, anterior margin straight, posterior margin rounded. Disc covered with fine punctures. Posterior half of disc with wide shallow transvese impression. Anterior margin unbordered in middle, laterally with indistinct fine border, lateral and posterior margins bordered. Anterior and posterior margins with dense short setae, lateral margins with sparse setae. Anterior angles moderately swollen, recangular, posterior angles obtuseangulate, all angles with setigerous pore bearing long pale seta.

Scutellum subtriangular, impunctate, glabrous, with rounded apex.

Elytra ca 1.90-2.10 times as long as wide, almost glabrous (with almost indistinct very scarse short pale setae on humeri, lateral margins and apical slopes), widest at apical quarter, densely covered with fine small confused punctures. Humeral calli well developed. Epipleura extremely narrow, visible only in anterior third of elytra, towards apex more or less only indicated. Macropterous.

Ventral surface lustrous, sparsely covered with fine punctures and pale setae. Anterior coxal cavities opened posteriorly. Prosternal process not visible between procoxae. Abdomen simple, posterior margin of last ventrite with two short incisions, surface behind posterior margin subtriangularly impressed.

Legs slender. All tibiae with fine apical spine in both sexes. Protarsomeres I slender, ca 0.75 times as long as II and III combined. Metatarsomeres I slender, ca as long as II and III combined. Claws appendiculate.

Penis (Figs 9, 10, 25, 26) extremely elongate, without lateral processes, weakly curved at lateral view; internal sac with at least one elongate sclerite.

Females. Antennae distinctly more slender than in males. Protarsomeres I same as in males. Posterior margin of last ventrite entire. Gonocoxae (Figs 11, 27) slender, well separated from each other, narrowly connected at middle; each gonocoxa with seven setae from apical 1/6 to apex. Ventrite VIII (Figs 12, 26) well sclerotized; apical margin widely rounded, with dense setae along outer margin. Spermatheca very characteristic, spermathecal receptaculum (Fig, 13, 29) extremely swollen; pump extremely slender and curved; sclerotized spermathecal duct short and wide, hardly separated from receptaculum.

Diagnosis.

Jolibrotica gen. n. can be differentiated from Phyllobrotica as follows: body black or metallic; interantennal space very narrow, cca 0.5 as wide as transverse diameter of antennal insertion; vertex with several larger punctures at each side just behind frontal tubercles bearing very long pale setae; antennae 0.80-1.00 as long as body; antennomere II as long as wide, antennomere III three times as long as II; male abdominal ventrites not modified; all tibiae with fine apical spine in both sexes; body length 3.2-4.3 mm. Same characters in Phyllobrotica : body coloration always partly orange; interantennal space wider, ca as wide as transverse diameter of antennal insertion; vertex completely glabrous except one setigerous pore behind each eye; antennae distinctly shorter than body; antennomere II ca twice as long as wide, antennomere III 1.5 times as long as II; male abdominal ventrites strongly modified; all tibiae in both sexes without apical spines; body length more than 5.0 mm.

Based on Wilcox (1973) and Seeno and Wilcox (1982), the section Phyllobroticites includes the following Asiatic genera: Euliroetis Ogloblin, 1936; Japonitata Strand, 1935; Hoplasoma Jacoby, 1884 (= Haplomela Chen, 1942); Hemygascelis Jacoby, 1896; Konbirella Duvivier, 1892; Mimastra Baly, 1865 (? = Neoatysa Abdullah & Qureshi, 1968); Trichomimastra Weise, 1922; Haplosomoides Duvivier, 1890; Sosibiella Jacoby, 1896. All these genera (except Konbirella ) can be easily distinguished from Jolibrotica gen. n. by tibiae lacking apical spines. Additional distinguishing characters can be described as follows: Euliroetis has the male abdomen strongly modified and penis bifurcate (abdomen not modified in male and penis extremely elongate, not bifurcate in Jolibrotica gen. n.), Japonitata has elytra bearing distinct carinae and impressions (elytra even in Jolibrotica gen. n.), Hoplasoma has bifurcate claws (claws appendiculate in Jolibrotica gen. n.), Hemygascelis has the male abdomen strongly modified and pronotum much longer than wide (abdomen simple and pronotum transverse in Jolibrotica gen. n.), Mimastra has epipleurae that are wide in the basal quarter, than suddenly narrowed and visible towards apex (epipleurae extremely narrow, visible only in anterior third of elytra in Jolibrotica gen. n.), Trichomimastra has the elytra densely pubescent (almost glabrous in Jolibrotica gen. n.), Haplosomoides is larger and the body is completely or predominantly yellow (body smaller and completely black or metallic in Jolibrotica gen. n.), and, finally, Sosibiella has wide epipleurae. Konbirella and Jolibrotica gen. n. apparently are the only genera in Phyllobroticites with apical spurs on all tibiae. Konbirella differs by possessing antennae that are 1.3 times longer than the body and the pronotum is longer than wide (antennae shorter, 0.80-1.00 as long as body and pronotum transverse in Jolibrotica gen. n.).

Recently, three additional genera were described and probably belong to Phyllobroticites although it is not specified in the description. From Jolibrotica gen. n. they can be separated as follows: Pubibrotica Medvedev, 2002 has tibiae lacking apical spines and elytra densely pubescent; Mimastrosoma Medvedev, 2004 is much larger, predominantly pale and the aedeagus is bifurcate; Hirtomimastra Medvedev, 2009 has elongate metatarsus I, body pale and elytra densely pubescent.

Distribution.

Taiwan, China: Guanxi.

Etymology.

Composed from Jolivet and Phyllobrotica to honor Pierre Jolivet, who promoted leaf beetle research more than any other person in recent history.