Chrysolina balthazari, Tang & Zhang & Guo & Luo & Jiang & Pan, 2023

Tang, Jin, Zhang, Gongaote, Guo, Junqi, Luo, Lingxuan, Jiang, Jiamei & Pan, Hongbo, 2023, Three Amazing New Species Of The Genus Chrysolina (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae) From China, Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 69 (3), pp. 199-211 : 207-209

publication ID	https://zoobank.org/7B2844FD-4725-4DBF-B1C8-F61DD86DCB30
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EC7E0B-E87A-FF83-FE2F-FADF93A3B618
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Chrysolina balthazari
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Chrysolina balthazari sp. n.

http://zoobank.org/ E920AEE7-64CB-4D27-93EB-1F890B0053DF ( Figs 1B, G View Fig ; 2C View Fig ; 3C, E View Fig )

Material examined: Holotype: China, Yunnan Province, Lijiang – Shangrila , 214 Ntn. Road WSW of Edi Village, 27°19’31” N / 99°51’27” E, H= 3960 m, 01.VI.2013, I. Belousov, I. Kabak, G. Davidian leg.: male ( ZIN); with red holotype label GoogleMaps . Paratypes: the same label as holotype: 1 male, 3 females ( ZIN, ABC); with red Paratype labels.

Description. Male (holotype). Body elongate oval, 1.7× as long as wide, convex, with constriction between pronotum and elytra. Dorsal and ventral sides of body, femora, and tibiae metallic brassy, tarsi and maxillary palpi black, antennae black with antennomeres 1 and 2 rufous below. Dorsal side shining, micropunctulate (punctures about 0.01 mm wide) and reticulate (more distinctly on head and elytron).

Last maxillary palpomere barrel-shaped, 1.2× as long as wide, 1.5× longer and 1.2× wider than penultimate one.

Antennal insertion 2.4× closer to clypeus than to eye.

Pronotum broadest at mid-length, with lateral sides rounded, more convergent anteriorly than posteriorly. Lateral callus narrow, convex, separated from disc by wide deep impression along almost entire length except near anterior margin. Lateral impression filled with large (0.09–0.1 mm wide) numerous, partly coalescent punctures. Pronotal disc covered by sparse fine punctures (0.015 mm wide). Pronotum marginated and ciliate anteriorly. Setiferous pores at anterior angles absent.

Prothoracic hypomeron convex, laterally with deep impression covered with wrinkles, without lateral border. Distinct basal fold of prothoracic hypomeron absent and re- placed by short impression.

Metasternum marginated anteriorly.

Elytron with obsolete humeral callus. Elytral punctures arranged in abbreviated scutellar row and 10 regular entire rows. Puncture rows 2–3, 4–5, 6–7, and 8–9 paired. Rows consist of dense, moderate (0.05 mm wide), funnel-shaped punctures. Narrow intervals between rows of each pair slightly wrinkled. Broad intervals between pairs of rows convex, with intervals between rows 5 and 6, 7 and 8 more convex than others. Distinct sutural stria developed at apical slope.

Elytral epipleuron inclined outside, visible along entire length in lateral view, with sparse setae at apex.

Hind wings absent.

Tarsomeres 1–3 with entire sole. Fore-, mid-, and hind-tarsomeres 1 very broad, fore- and mid-tarsomeres 3 moderately broadened. Fore-tarsomere 1 1.2× as wide as fore-tarsomere 3. Claw tarsomere without denticles beneath.

Pygidium with narrow longitudinal impression in basal ½, and convex, without impression in apical ½.

Last abdominal sternite evenly convex, broadly truncate apically.

Aedeagus strongly arcuate, with apex recurved dorsally, some flattened, with dorsal side broadly impressed before apical orifice, with apex elongate triangular, slightly drawn out, with 2 fine apical denticles ventrally. Flagellum simple, narrow, exposed.

Body length: 7.7 mm.

Variability. Paratypes: male 6.8 mm, females 8.4–9.0 mm long. In some specimens, broad intervals between rows 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8 very convex, nearly ridge-shaped. Female with tarsomeres 1–3 narrow, with entire sole, with last maxillary palpomere narrower than those in male, 1.5× as long as wide, similar to penultimate one in length and width, last abdominal sternite rounded apically.

Differential diagnosis. Peculiar relief of elytra (alternation of wide convex intervals between pairs of rows and very narrow flat or slightly convex intervals between rows of one pair) makes this new species well distinguishable from most Chrysolina members. Partly similar relief is found in unrelated Ch. (Timarchoptera) soiota khakassa Mikhailov, 2002 and Ch. (Timarcholina) carinata ( Jacoby, 1903) ( BIEŃKOWSKI 2019) . It is interesting, that other unrelated species have very convex intervals of each pair of rows (2–3, 4–5, 6–7, 8–9), as in Ch. (Arctolina) magniceps (J. Sahlberg, 1887) , Ch. (Rhyssoloma) fragariae ( Wollaston, 1854) , and Ch. (Timarchomela) costulata ( Achard, 1922) , but not the intervals between pairs of rows ( BIEŃKOWSKI 2019).

Due to this feature, the new species can only be close to Ch. jinxiaoae Ge in: DACCORDI, GE, CUI et YANG (2011) (not assigned to any subgenus) from N Sichuan ( Fig. 2D View Fig ). The latter differs from the new species in the following features: pronotum broadest basally, with lateral sides almost straight, convergent forward, pronotal lateral impression smooth, without large punctures, paired elytral rows consist of fine punctures (0.02 mm wide), with narrow intervals impressed; fore- and mid-tarsomeres 1 and 3 of equal width; aedeagus broadly truncate, without narrow apical projection ( BIEŃKOWSKI 2019, and material examined). Owing to these differences, I do not include these two species in one new subgenus.

Landscape in type locality: forest, bamboo thickets, fragments of meadows (I. I. Kabak, personal communication).

Etymology. The new species is named in honor of biblical Magian Balthazar, is due to the fact that the article was being prepared before Christmas and New Year.