Sceloenopla bidens (Fabricius, 1792) (Sceloenoplini)

Sekerka, Lukáš, 2020, Commented catalogue of Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, with remarks on the collection of Jaro Mráz in the National Museum in Prague, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) 60 (2), pp. 667-707 : 702

Sceloenopla bidens (Fabricius, 1792) (Sceloenoplini)

Distribution. Brazil (Amazonas), Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, and Suriname.

Remarks. Cඈඌඍൺ et al. (1988) published description of larva of Sceloenopla af. bidens (Fabricius, 1792) based on material collected in Campinas but did not discuss further the identification. Lඈඎඋൾඇඡඞඈ et al. (1991) published biological observations on the same population of S. bidens and provided colour photograph of the adult. Regarding identification, they wrote following: ‘Specimens were sent in 1984 to Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA and identified by Dr. R. E. White as S. bidens or very close species. In 1989, Dr. Cleide Costa compared these specimens to the holotype of S. bidens in MNHN and concluded that they are the same species.’ I have repeatedly tried to locate the type of S. bidens in MNHN and failed; however, it was described from Suriname and the species is common in the Guiana shield. The specimen figured by Lඈඎඋൾඇඡඞඈ et al. (1991) shows high and broad costae on the elytra matching another species, S. rectelineata . I had at disposal numerous specimens of S. bidens from French Guiana and historical material from MNHN and BMNH identified as this species; they have distinctly lower and narrower costae in comparison to the holotype of S. rectelineata . Therefore S. bidens is removed from the fauna of São Paulo and the respective records are transferred to S. rectelineata . True S. bidens is with certainty distributed in the Guiana shield, other records should be verified.