Dilatitibialis Duverger, 2001

Canepari, Claudio, Gordon, Robert D. & Hanley, Guy A., 2013, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XV: systematic revision of Dilatitibialis Duverger (Coccidulinae; Hyperaspidini), Insecta Mundi 2013 (312), pp. 1-91 : 3-4

Dilatitibialis Duverger

Dilatitibialis Duverger, 2001: 226 ; Gordon et al. 2013: 7, 8.

Type species. Cleothera jucunda Mulsant 1850 , by original designation.

Description. Brachiacanthini with form variable, round or oval, convex, occasionally elongate. Head usually yellow in male, at least partially brown or black in female. Elytral color variable, but usually dark with pale maculation, or pale with dark maculation, rarely vittate. Antenna with 11 articles, basal article twice as long as wide, antennal insertion exposed. Clypeus with apical margin nearly truncate or distinctly emarginate. Labrum rectangular. Apical maxillary palpomere securiform with sides slightly diverging. Scutellum large, wider than long. Elytral epipleuron narrow or wide, deeply excavated for reception of tibiae. Prosternal process slightly convex, with two carinae. Protibia with narrow, usually arcuate flange, or flange wide, outwardly arcuate ( Fig. 2 ). Abdomen with visible primary pores present between ventrites 4 and 5. Tarsal claw with subquadrate basal tooth. Postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite incomplete, of Scymnus (Scymnus) type. Fifth abdominal ventrite nearly always without tubercle on each side of median apical emargination, if tubercle present, then without surrounding clump of setae; 6th ventrite with median emargination, lateral angle bearing setal tuft. Male genitalia with asymmetrical basal lobe, paramere variable, Unm (paramere unmodified), Psc (paramere similar in shape to a scimitar), or Pvl (Paramere mostly unmodified, but distinctly lobed ventrally). Female genitalia with spermathecal capsule variable but usually short, wide ( Fig. 32 ).

Remarks. This genus was originally defined by the presence of a distinct protibial flange, a character that has proved nearly useless as a generic character because all degrees of flange development have been observed between Dilatitibialis and Cyrea Gordon and Canepari. There are certainly two distinct genera, and we have elected to use the presence or absence of primary abdominal pores to distinguish between them. This character varies in degree of development from extremely large, outstanding primary pores between abdominal ventrites 4-5 to pores that are small and may have to be observed from inside the abdomen, but it is always either present or absent. Both Hinda and Serratitibia species have primary pores, but both are distinguished from Dilatitibialis by different male abdominal ventrites and nearly all species having outwardly serrate protibiae.

Groups are difficult to define within Dilatitibialis , but species are generally arranged on the basis of male genitalia type. Those species having genitalia whose parameres are not Psc shaped and have no unifying characters are placed first. For convenience of reference, this assemblage is called the semicincta group, and contains those species from D. semicincta (Weise) through D. paula , n. sp. These species have mostly dissimilar male parameres that defy attempts to further group them. A large group of species, referred to as the mulsanti group, is defined by having Psc shaped male parameres ( Fig. 76 ) and contains those species from D. mulsanti (Kirsch) through D. josephine , n. sp. A small group of five species from D. thelma , n. sp. through D. ellen , n. sp. forms a compact, uniform group referred to as the thelma group, defined by a basal abdominal ventrite with median tuft of setae; ventrites 5-6 deeply, widely emarginate apically; apical tergite deeply, broadly emarginate with lateral angle large, projecting; and male genitalia with parameres apically emarginate ( Fig. 292 ). Another group of two species, D. ceciliae (Crotch) and D. elaine , n. sp., the ceciliae group, is defined by abdominal ventrite 5 with a tubercle on each side of apical emargination, tubercle not partially concealed by clump of setae, and male genitalia with basal lobe long, apically bent to one side ( Fig. 308 ). The tuberculate 5th abdominal ventrite of the latter group is a character that would seem to place them in Serratitibia (except that the tubercle in Serratitibia is at least partially concealed by a dense clump of setae), but the unusual male genitalia exclude them from that genus. Therefore they are placed in Dilatitibialis , seemingly the next best alternative. Those females distinctive enough to be distinguished from other Dilatitibialis species are grouped together because, without male genitalia, they cannot be assigned to a group.

Illustrations consist of color photographs of the habitus of nearly all species as well as pen and ink illustrations of genitalia.

This genus was first recognized by El-Ali (1972) in an unpublished doctoral dissertation. He named it Dilatitibiaspis in recognition of the widely flanged protibia found in many species of the genus, and designated Cleothera fuscomaculata (Mulsant) as the type species. Duverger (2001) recognized the validity of El-Ali’s genus, described it, modified the original name to Dilatitibialis , and designated Cleothera jucunda as the type species.

Figures

Figures 1-16. 1-7) Dilatitibialis semicincta. 1) Habitus. 2) Protibia. 3) Phallobase ventral. 4) Phallobase lateral. 5) Enlarged siphonal apex. 6) Sipho. 7) Female genitalia. 8-12) Dilatitibialis lois. 8) habitus. 9) Phallobase ventral. 10) Phallobase lateral. 11) Enlarged siphonal apex. 12) Sipho. 13-16) Dilatitibialis tina. 13) Habitus. 14) Phallobase ventral. 15) Phallobase lateral. 16) Female genitalia.

Figures 17-32. 17-21) Dilatitibialis phyllis. 17) Habitus. 18) Phallobase ventral. 19) Phallobase lateral. 20) Sipho. 21) Enlarged siphonal apex. 22-26) Dilatitibialis cindy. 22) Habitus. 23) Phallobase ventral. 24) Phallobase lateral. 25) Sipho. 26) Enlarged siphonal apex. 27-32) Dilatitibialis norma. 27) Habitus. 28) Phallobase ventral. 29) Phallobase lateral. 30) Enlarged siphonal apex. 31) Sipho. 32) Female genitalia.

Figures 67-85. 67-73) Dilatitibialis suzannae. 67) Habitus. 68) protibia. 69) Phallobase ventral. 70) Phallobase lateral. 71) Enlarged siphonal apex. 72) Sipho. 73) Female genitalia. 74-79) Dilatitibialis carolinae. 74) Habitus. 75) Phallobase ventral. 76) Phallobase lateral. 77) Enlarged siphonal apex. 78) Sipho. 79) Female genitalia. 80-85) Dilatitibialis annie. 80) Habitus. 81) protibia. 82) Phallobase ventral. 83) Phallobase lateral. 84) Enlarged siphonal apex. 85) Sipho.

Figures 284-301. 284-289) Dilatitibialis shannon. 284) Habitus. 285) Phallobase ventral. 286) Phallobase lateral. 287) Enlarged siphonal apex. 288) Sipho. 289) Female genitalia. 290-295) Dilatitibialis sheila. 290) Habitus. 291) Phallobase ventral. 292) Phallobase lateral. 293) Enlarged siphonal apex. 294) Sipho. 295) Female genitalia. 296- 301) Dilatitibialis ethel. 296) Habitus. 297) Phallobase ventral. 298) Phallobase lateral. 299) Enlarged siphonal apex. 300) Sipho. 301) Female genitalia.

Figures 302-317. 302-306). Dilatitibialis ellen. 302) Habitus. 303) Phallobase ventral. 304) Phallobase lateral. 305) Sipho. 306) Enlarged siphonal apex. 307-312) Dilatitibialis ceciliae. 307) Habitus. 308) Phallobase ventral. 309) Phallobase lateral. 310) Enlarged siphonal apex. 311) Sipho. 312) Female genitalia. 313-317) Dilatitibialis elaine. 313) Habitus. 314) Phallobase ventral. 315) Phallobase lateral. 316) Sipho. 317) Enlarged siphonal apex.