Aulonodera darwini Champion

Jerez, Viviane & Bocaz, Patricia, 2006, Aulonodera Darwini Champion 1918, A Leaf Litter Flea Beetle From Nothofagus Forest, Chile. Redescription And Biological Remarks (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), The Coleopterists Bulletin 60 (3), pp. 217-223 : 218-221

Aulonodera darwini Champion

( Figs. 1–14 )

Champion 1918: 50; Blackwelder 1944: 695; Seeno and Wilcox 1982: 132; Jerez,

2005: 345

Description. ( Fig. 1, 2 ). Body: Female: 1.6–1.7 mm long. (n 5 4); male: 1.1– 1.3 mm long (n 5 4). Body subovate, strongly convex, shining and glabrous; color uniform, reddish brown; legs brownish. Head: ( Fig. 3 ) Antenna 11- segmented; antennal calli elevated over surface of vertex; first and second antennomeres longer and wider than third with few setae; third antennomere slightly longer than fourth; ninth and eleventh antennomere longer and wider than the rest. Anterofrontal ridge with 4 long setae located along fusion line with clypeus. Clypeus subtriangular. Labrum subquadrate with 4 long setae located on disc; anterior angles rounded and front margin weakly emarginated with a number of sub-marginal setae. Mandibles ( Fig. 4 ) with 5 teeth; mandibular tooth 3 long, acute; inner margin serrate. Thorax: Pronotum ( Fig. 5 ) subquadrate, broadest anteriorly, very convex dorsally; disk smooth; anterior angles tuberculate with a long setae; lateral margin well developed; posterior margin with a deeply transverse prebasal groove. Anterior coxae rounded. Procoxal cavity partially closed behind. Prosternal process broad and expanded apically. Scutellum visible. Elytra ( Figs. 1, 2 , 6 ) very convex, 2.5 times length of pronotum; laterally strongly rounded, subacuminate apex; internal margin with a deep sutural stria; epipleuron well developed, separated from the disc by a carina; humeral callus absent; punctures small, sparsely distributed. Wings absent. Metendosternite ( Fig. 11 ) with the stem narrow and short, without sclerotized membranous plate; furcal branches long, tapered apically; furcal tendons situated near the apex of the branches. Metafemora strongly incrassate; metafemoral spring ( Fig. 12 ) 1/3 as long as femora length; dorsal lobe straight, apically not curved and ventral lobe curved and not extended. Posterior tibiae long; metatibial spur short ( Fig. 7 ); third metatarsomere bilobed; tarsal pilosity spatulate ( Fig. 8 ); tarsal claws simple.

Abdomen: ( Fig. 9 ). First abdominal ventrite as long as ventrites 2–4 together. Apical tergite ( Fig. 10 ) subtriangular, with a groove in middle and two lateral depressed areas covered with longs hairs. Spermatheca ( Fig. 13 ); with internal side of receptacle convex, external side sinuate; pump narrow, rounded at apex and curved horizontally; receptacle much longer than pump, posterior extremity curving towards collum; collum thick; ramus short and thick; spermathecal duct short and relatively thick near the ramus; spermathecal gland short, sac-like. Tignum straight. Median lobe of aedeagus ( Fig. 14 ) elongate, slightly narrowing apically; not curved in lateral view, apex acute, with smooth surface.

Type Series Examined. Holotype: Labels Type H. T.; Chiloe I., Chile, C. Darwin; Chiloe 2368; Aulonodera darwini, Ch. ; another specimen, label Chiloe. Natural History Museum of London.

The Champion description indicates: ‘‘Three examples, sex not ascertained, two of them numbered 2368 and one 2369.’’

Type Locality. Chile. Chiloe Island. Llanquihue Province . (42u439S; 74u009W) .

Other localities: Tubul, Arauco Province (37u139S; 73u269W); Concepción, Fundo Nonguén Concepción Province (36u499S; 72u579W).

Sexual Dimorphism. Males more slender and smaller than females.

Biological Data. Specimens of A. darwini were collected at pitfall traps in soil; these flightless flea beetles live in the leaf litter of Nothofagus forest . A flea beetle from a similar habitat was described for the first time by Konstantinov and Tishechkin (2004) in the Nearctic Region.

Phenology. March, April, October, November.

Figures

Figs. 1–4. Aulonodera darwini. Female 1) habitus, scale 1 mm; 2) female, pronotum and elytron,dorsalview;3) head,frontalview,scale:0,5 mm;4) left mandible,dorsalview,scale:23mm.

Figs. 5–10. Aulonodera darwini. Female. 5) pronotum, lateral view; 6) elytron, lateral view; 7) metatibial spur, scale: 30 mm; 8) tarsal pilosity, scale: 6.5 mm; 9) abdomen, ventral view; scale: 0.75 mm; 10) apical abdominal tergite, scale: 0.5 mm.

Figs. 11–14. Aulonodera darwini. 11) metendosternite, scale: 23 mm; 12) metafemoral spring, scale: 20 mm 13) spermatheca; scale: 25 mm; 14) aedeagus, lateral view, scale: 75 mm.