Metaparia Crotch, 1873

Sublett, Clayton A. & Cook, Jerry L., 2021, A Comprehensive Revision of the Genus Metaparia Crotch, 1873 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae) and Description of a New Genus, The Coleopterists Bulletin 75 (4), pp. 779-811 : 781-783

Genus Metaparia Crotch, 1873

Metaparia Crotch 1873: 40 . Type species: Metaparia clytroides Crotch, 1873 , by monotypy.

Spintherophyta Lefèvre 1875:104 [not Spintherophyta Dejean, 1836 ]. Type species: Spintherophyta lesueuri Lefèvre, 1875 , by monotypy.

Spintherophyta : Lefèvre 1877: 115.

Spintherophyta : Jacoby 1881: 122.

Spintherophyta : Lefèvre 1885: 6.

Spintherophyta : Jacoby 1890: 203.

Metaparia : Horn 1892: 232.

Spintherophyta : Bechyné 1950a: 265.

Metaparia : Bechyné 1950a: 271.

Phytospinthera Monrós and Bechyné 1956: 1124 [replacement name for Spintherophyta Lefèvre, 1875 ].

Metaparia : Seeno and Wilcox 1982: 55.

Phytospinthera : Seeno and Wilcox 1982: 55.

Metaparia : Wilcox 1983: 40.

Metaparia : Flowers 1996: 41.

Metaparia : Riley et al. 2003: 146.

Description. Body ovate to elongate-oval; dorsum convex. Color shining black, green, blue-green, rose, or red-brown, often with slight metallic sheen. Head: IOR 2.00 or greater. Clypeus trapezoidal, rectangular, or arched; apical 1/4 suddenly or gradually narrowed; apex weakly to strongly emarginate, except in 2 species. Labrum rectangular; apical corners rounded, apex shallowly emarginate, sparsely setose. Mandibles enlarged ( Fig.1a , left); lateral face moderately to strongly convex, punctate-setose; left mandible with 2 apical teeth; right mandible with 3 apical teeth; right and/or left inner edge with 1 or 2 teeth ( Fig. 1b ) (males) or not enlarged ( Fig. 1a , right); lateral face flat to weakly convex, punctate-setose; right and left mandibles with 2 apical teeth; right and/or left mandible inner edge with or without 1 small tooth (females); mandible dorsal face flat or with lobes or ridges (males) to flat or with low ridges (females). Eyes with anterior edge emarginate, posterior edge flat, dorsal edge margined by groove with single seta. Antenna clavate with 11 antennomeres; antennomeres 7–10 more densely setose with ring of 6 long setae apically, with color often darker than preceding antennomeres, often weakly flattened; antennomere 11 pointed apically. Antennal socket protruding behind dorsobasal edge of mandibles, forming short lateral flange. Pronotum: Form wider than long, transversely convex. Anterior edge margined with bead, setose or glabrous, weakly, broadly emarginate. Sides margined with bead, with posterior half subparallel and anterior half evenly rounded, or with sides evenly rounded along entire length. Posterior edge margined with bead or lip; lip of upper edge margined with bead or not; lip of lower edge weakly dentate or smooth. Corners each with single long seta in a large pit. Scutellar shield: Form semicircular, semi-ovular, triangular, or pentagonal; base straight; disc smooth or microsculptured. Elytra: Disc punctate-striate; space between punctures smooth or microsculptured; punctures medium to large and dense in basal half, finer in apical half; rows indistinct or confused in basal half, more distinct in apical half, meeting apically. Humeri not prominent. Basal calli present, smooth or microsculptured, rarely punctate. Elytral suture margined with bead in apical half; bead narrowing apically. Epipleural fold visible, angled away from body, disc narrowed apically; sides margined with bead; outer edge with bead directed laterally. Venter: Anterior margin of prosternum excavated; leading edge of prosternal lateral arms anteriorly convex to weakly concave, connecting with pronotal anterior edge or terminating along hypomeron; anterior edge margined with bead; disc sparsely setose, punctate to weakly rugulose.Prosternum weakly to strongly hourglass-shaped; disc sparsely setose or glabrous, smooth to weakly rugulose; anterior edge margined with bead, straight or weakly convex; sides smoothly or angularly concave, margined with bead; posterior edge margined with bead, straight or moderately to strongly concave.Abdominal ventrites sparsely setose; setae longer medially. Pygidium: Apex broadly round- ed, subtruncate, thick, shining, ventral edge setose (males) or with apex narrowly rounded, thin, setose (females). Dorsal sclerite divided medially by large triangular depression; apicolateral margin with groove; depression with low medial costa; apicolateral grooves connected with medial depression at pygidial apex; sclerite halves triangular, sparsely setose with patch of shorter, dense setae basally. Legs: Trochanters with or without single long seta. Protibia setose, with 2 dorsal, 1 lateral (on each side), and 2 ventral carinae; dorsal carinae complete to tibial apex, lateral and ventral carinae extending 1/2–3/4 tibial length; setae arranged in single line between dorsal carinae, arranged in continuous patch on lateral and ventral tibial faces, except in single line between dorsal and lateral carinae; protibial apex U- or O-shaped, margined with stout setae, slanted with outer lateral tibial apex longer. Meso- and metatibiae setose, with 3 dorsal, 1 lateral (on each side), and 2 ventral carinae; dorsal carinae complete to apex; middle carina strong to nearly absent; lateral and ventral carinae extending 1/2–3/4 tibial length; setae as in protibia; meso- and metatibial apices U-shaped, margined with stout setae, flat; U shape very narrow in metatibia.All tibiae expanded apically; pro- and mesotibiae weakly curved ventrally, metatibia nearly straight. Pro- and mesotarsomere 1 enlarged (males) or not enlarged (females). Aedeagus: Basal hood shorter than or slightly longer than median lobe, dorsally constricted where connected with median lobe. Median lobe weakly to strongly curved; sclerotized region around endophallic opening thickened or not at apex; apex upturned or flat, emarginate; emargination arched, shallow to moderately deep, with basal corners sharp and well defined. Basal lateral digits short. Subbasal fenestra shallow. Spermatheca: Form broadly to narrowly U-shaped; base and/or apex bulbous or not; when broadly U-shaped, middle flat and stretched; when narrowly U-shaped, evenly curved throughout.

Diagnosis. Metaparia can be separated from most other eumolpine genera by the symmetrically enlarged male mandibles, the IOR greater than 2.00, and the well-defined basal corners of the apical emargination of the median lobe. Reid and Beatson (2013) identified two eumolpine genera that possess enlarged male mandibles based on the generic description: Glyptosceloides Askevold and Flowers, 1994 and Eurysarcus Lefèvre, 1885 . Metaparia lacks the profemoral tooth seen in Glyptosceloides and the ocular lobes formed from the prosternal lateral arms in Eurysarcus . Dispardentium , new genus also possesses enlarged male mandibles, but the mandibles are asymmetrically enlarged, easily distinguishable from the symmetrical mandibles in Metaparia .

Distribution. Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, United States.

Figures

Fig. 1. Generic characters of Metaparia. a) Comparison of male (left) and female (right) mandibles, b) Left male mandible. IT = inner tooth. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.