Paraclytra signata ( Lacordaire, 1848 )

Bezděk, Jan & Kantner, František, 2010, Revision of the genus Paraclytra (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cryptocephalinae: Clytrini), with description of P. cervenkai sp. nov. from Sultanate of Oman, Zootaxa 2353, pp. 1-33 : 24-29

Paraclytra signata ( Lacordaire, 1848)

( Figs. 14 , 25 , 36 , 47 )

Clythra (Clythra) signata Lacordaire, 1848: 222 (original description) (syn. nov. of C. notata Klug, 1835 , but replaces Clythra notata Klug, 1835 nec Clythra notata Gebler, 1830 , now syn. of Labidostomis lucida )

Clytra signata: Jacoby & Clavareau, 1906: 36 (catalogue); Clavareau, 1913: 52 (catalogue)

Paraclytra signata: Medvedev, 1971b: 656 (transferred to Paraclytra )

Clythra notata Klug, 1835: 49 (original description); Chevrolat, 1836: 417 (catalogue; attributed to Dejean; Senegal ); Chevrolat, 1837: 441 (catalogue; attributed to Dejean; Senegal )

Clytra notata: Jacoby & Clavareau, 1906: 36 (catalogue); Clavareau, 1913: 50 (catalogue); Brivio, 1960: 566 (Guinea- Bissau)

Clytra gambiensis: Monrós, 1953: 49 (incorrect replacement of Clythra notata Klug, 1853 )

Clytranotata decumana [sic!] Klug: Papp, 1952: 124 ( Nigeria)

Paraclytra notata: Medvedev 1971b: 656 ( Senegal)

(see also P. gambiensis , P. sennariensis and P. traeghaordi )

Type locality. „ Senegal “ [according to introduction] ( C. notata ). Lacordaire (1848) described C. signata from „ Sénégal “. The neotype designated here is a male also with the locality „ Sénégal “.

Type material. Clythra notata : Lectotype 3 ( ZMHB), designated here, labelled: „23170 [w, p] // Senegal / Buq. [blue label, h] // notata / Klug * Lac. / Seneg. Buq [blue label, h]“. Paralectotypes: 13 ( ZMHB), labelled: „ Senegal / Buq. [blue label, h] // Clytra 196 [p] / signata Lac. [sic!] [h] / L. Medvedev det. [w, p]“; 1Ƥ ( ZMHB), labelled: „ Senegal / Buq. [blue label, h] // Clytra 196 [p] 6 [h] / notata Klug. [h] / L. Medvedev det. [w, p]“ [this female belongs to P. gambiensis ]“; 1Ƥ ( ZMHB), labelled: „Sen gam [= Senegambia] [blue label, h]“ [this female belongs to P. g a m b i e n s i s]. The specimens are provided with one additional red printed label: „ LECTOTYPUS, [PARALECTOTYPUS, resp.] / Clythra / notata Klug, 1835 / des. J. Bezdĕk & / F. Kantner 2006 [red label, p]“.

Clythra signata : Neotype 3 ( USNM), designated here, labelled: „ Sénégal [w, h] // Ex-Musaeo / Mniszech [w, p] // F. Monros / Collection / 1959 [w, p] // Clytra / signata / Lac [h] / F. Monrós det. 19 [p] 57 [w, h] // Signata / Lac [w, h]“. The neotype is provided with one additional red printed label: „ NEOTYPUS / Clythra signata / Lacordaire, 1848 / des. J. Bezdĕk & / F. Kantner 2009 [red label, p]“.

Additional material studied. 4 specimens — SENEGAL : 1Ƥ, Senegal , coll. Baly, without additional data ( BMNH). WITHOUT LOCALITY: 13 1Ƥ, coll. E. Laferté ( BMNH); 1Ƥ, coll. Schaufuss ( ZMHB).

Description. Head completely orange, sometimes with two small indistinct brown spots along the inner margin of eyes. Apices of mandibles and palpi darkened. Antennomeres 1 to 4 orange, antennomeres 5 to 6 black with orange bases, the rest of antennomeres black. Pronotum orange, basally with a black band (anterior margin of this band is denticulate, in the middle deeply incised), paler specimens with the black band interrupted forming two separated or thinly connected spots. Scutellum completely black or with orange base. Elytra orange, each elytron with four black markings: one spot on humeral callus, one spot at the first third near suture, a transverse band at two third of elytra touching lateral margins and connected in suture, and a small spot in elytral apex (this spot is sometimes small and indistinct). Legs black with brownish knees and the last two tarsomeres, fore tibia brown on the inner side. Prosternum orange with widely black base. Meso-, metasternum and abdomen black.

Measurements. Males: 8.00– 8.60 mm (neotype of Clythra signata : 8.45 mm, lectotype of Clythra notata : 8.60 mm); females: 9.10–9.90 mm.

Male ( Fig. 14 ). Labrum transverse, anterior margin widely shallowly incised. Head lustrous, anterior part of head and vertex covered with fine punctures, frons with larger punctures. Head surface almost glabrous, the short hairs visible only along the inner margins of eyes. Frons broad, 2.25–2.44 times as wide as the diameter of the eye, with an indistinct shallow impression in the middle. Antennomere 1 moderately clavate, antennomere 4 triangular, antennae distinctly serrated from segment 5.

Prothorax transverse, 1.65–1.75 times as wide as long, widest at the last third, moderately convex, nearly impunctate (only the scutellar thickening with distinct larger punctures), lustrous. Lateral margins almost parallel in the basal third, moderately rounded and convergent anteriad, anterior margin slightly concave, posterior margin slightly rounded, thickened in scutellar area, distinctly sinuated before the thickening. Anterior angles rectangular, posterior ones obtusangulate with shortly rounded tip. All margins bordered, except the middle part of anterior margin where the border disappears. Scutellum subtriangular with rounded apex, lustrous, nearly impunctate and glabrous, only anterolaterally with distinct punctures and visible hairs.

Elytra cylindrical, 1.85 times as long as wide at the humeral part, glabrous, lustrous, densely covered with small fine confused punctures dissappearing in elytral apices. Ratio length of elytra/length of pronotum 3.70– 3.90.

Tarsi slender. First protarsomere as broad as long, the last two protarsomeres are missing in all males examined.

Aedeagus as in Fig. 25 .

Female. Frons broader, 2.55–2.85 times as wide as the diameter of the eye. Ratio length of elytra/length of pronotum 3.90–4.10. Spermatheca and rectal sclerites as in Figs. 36 , 47 .

Differential diagnosis. In its habitus and in the structure of its aedeagus, P. signata is very similar to the dark forms of P. sennariensis occuring in Ethiopia and Eritrea. P. signata is larger in size (8.00– 9.90 mm), while P. sennariensis is smaller (6.60–8.70 mm). The length of the elytra is comparatively shorter in P. sennariensis than in P. signata (ratio length of elytra/length of pronotum in P. sennariensis 3.35–3.50, in P. signata 3.70–4.10; ratio length of elytra/width of elytra in humeral part in P. sennariensis 1.60–1.75, in P. signata 1.85). Head of P. signata is always completely orange or at most with small brownish spots at the inner margins of eyes, while the dark forms of P. sennariensis always have at least whole vertex black. The aedeagi of both taxa are similar ( Figs. 22–25 ) but the alae of P. sennariensis are distictly convergent in the anterior half, while the alae of P. signata are almost parallel and widely rounded in the apical quarter. The underside of the aedeagus never has impressions in P. signata , while it has one longitudinal and two apical rounded impressions in P. sennariensis .

Distribution. Senegal . Brivio (1960) listed it also from Guinea-Bissau, but this record may refer to P. gambiensis . All other literature sources refer to other Paraclytra species.

Comments. Paraclytra notata was described by Klug (1835) from Senegal . In Dejean´s catalogues, Chevrolat (1836, 1837) attributed this species to Dejean. The entry catalogue of old collection of ZMHB includes the record „ Clythra notata Kl. ; 4 specimens; Senegal , Buq.“ under the number 23170. These specimens (two males and two females) should be treated as syntypes. We had the opportunity to examine complete series and we found that two males belong to different species than both females. Klug (1835) described the pronotum design as: „… mit einem grossen, gezahnten, in der Mitte tief ausgerandeten Fleck an der Basis“. Such coloration agrees only with one male which is designated here as a lectotype. The second male has a reduced black coloration on pronotum into two black spots. Both females we identified as P. gambiensis .

The concept of P. notata in Lacordaire (1848) is chaotic. He presented P. notata as a very variable species with five varieties and Klug´s true notata was treated under variety B (pronotum without the black spots). In the original description of Clythra notata, Klug (1835) explicitly mentioned a black pattern on pronotum. The general description of Lacordaire´s P. notata undoubtedly refers to P. gambiensis , a species with a triangular aedeagus because Lacordaire mentioned three separated black spot on prothorax (one central and two lateral).

On the other hand, Lacordaire (1848) described P. signata from Senegal from a large number of specimens („J´en ai vu un grand nombre d´exemplaires“). Unfortunately, we were not able to trace any type specimens in the institutions housing the parts of Lacordaire´s Phytophaga collection. We believe that Lacordaire´s description of P. signata refers to true P. notata . In the description of P. signata it is stated that the prothorax has two black spots on the pronotal base or prothorax black with pale anterior and lateral margins (var. B). Such coloration agrees very well with known specimens of P. notata . To definitely clarify the identity of P. signata we decided to designate a neotype. The coloration of its pronotum differs slightly from the original description because two black basal spots on pronom are not isolated but connected on the pronotal base. The neotype of P. signata and the lectotype of P. notata are conspecific and we suggest to synonymize both taxa.

Monrós (1953) found that Clythra notata Klug, 1835 is preoccupied by Clythra notata Gebler, 1830 and suggested P. gambiensis as a replacement name. We do not agree with this act, because the description of P. gambiensis perfectly fits the pale specimens of another West African Paraclytra species, but not the original description and the specimens of P. notata (all specimens of P. n o t a t a have a black band or spots on pronotum and a transverse band on elytra connected in suture). The identity of P. gambiensis as a valid species is fixed in this paper by the neotype designation. Thus we propose to replace P. notata by oldest synonym P. signata .

Medvedev (1971a) presented a key to the identification of subspecies of P. signata , upgraded the status of P. sennariensis to subspecies of P. signata and described P. signata spp. aethiopica. Medvedev´s concept of P. signata and its subspecies is false. As shown in this paper, West African P. signata do not correspond to East African P. sennariensis , although their aedeagi are similar.

Distribution. We identified only several specimens from Senegal . According to Brivio (1960) it occurs also in Guinea-Bissau. The records of P. notata from Chad ( Selman 1963) refer partly to P. sennariensis and partly to P. traeghaordi . Papp (1952) published „ Clytranotata decumana “ from Nigeria. It is questionable if this record refer to P. n o t a t a or to Clytrasoma decumana ( Illiger, 1800) .

Figures

FIGURES 13 – 15. Habitus of Paraclytra, males. 13 — P. sennariensis (paratype of P. signata ssp. aethiopica, Eritrea: Cheren, 6.75 mm); 14 — P. signata (lectotype of P. notata, Senegal, 8.70 mm); 15 — P. traegaordhi (Sudan: Kazangolo, 7.25 mm).

FIGURES 24 – 26. Aedeagus of Paraclytra (a—dorsal view, b—lateral view, c—ventral view). 24 — P. sennariensis (paratype of P. signata ssp. aethiopica, Eritrea: Cheren); 25 — P. signata (lectotype of P. notata, Senegal); 26 — P. traegaordhi. Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURES 34 – 37. Spermatheca of Paraclytra. 34 — P. sennariensis (paralectotype); 35 — P. sennariensis (paratype of P. signata ssp. aethiopica); 36 — P. signata; 37 — P. traegaordhi. Scale bar 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 47 – 48. Rectal sclerites of Paraclytra (a—dorsal view, b—ventral view). 47 — P. signata; 48 — P. traegaordhi.

FIGURES 20 – 23. Aedeagus of Paraclytra (a—dorsal view, b—lateral view, c—ventral view). 20 — P. intersecta; 21 — P. minuta; 22 — P. sennariensis (lectotype, Sudan: Sennar); 23 — P. sennariensis (paralectotype of P. rufitarsis, „ Arabie “). Scale bar 1 mm.