Cyrea flavoguttata (Mulsant) Canepari & Gordon & Hanley, 2016

Canepari, Claudio, Gordon, Robert D. & Hanley, Guy A., 2016, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVII: Systematic revision of the genera Cyrea Gordon and Canepari and Tiphysa Mulsant (Hyperaspidinae: Brachiacanthini), Insecta Mundi 2016 (486), pp. 1-180 : 107-109

95. Cyrea flavoguttata (Mulsant) , new combination

Hyperaspis flavoguttata Mulsant, 1850:651 ; Mulsant 1853:99; Korschefsky 1931:189; Blackwelder 1945:447.

Cleothera scapulata Mulsant, 1853:81 . NEW SYNONYM.

Hyperaspis scapulata: Korschefsky 1931:195 ; Crotch 1874:228 (as junior synonym of H. mercabilis ); Blackwelder, 1945:448; Gordon 1987:29 (as senior synonym of. H. mercabilis ).

Cleothera mercabilis Mulsant, 1853:91 .

Hyperaspis mercabilis: Crotch 1874:228 (as senior synonym of H. scapulata ); Korschefsky1931:195 (as junior synonym of Hyperaspis scapulata ); Gordon, 1987:29.

Hyperaspis iheringi Weise, 1910:57 ; Korschefsky 1931:190; Blackwelder 1945:447. NEW SYNONYM.

Description. Male. Length 3.5 mm, width 2.7 mm; body elongate oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head and pronotum alutaceous, dull, pronotum alutaceous, slightly shiny. Color yellow except pronotum with large, black basomedian macula occupying all of pronotal surface except anterior 1/8 and anterolateral 1/ 5 yellow; elytron black with 4 large yellow spots, humeral spot extended posteriorly along lateral border of elytron to apical 1/6, median lateral spot represented as a projection of lateral yellow border, scutellar spot broadly triangular, discal spot obliquely oval, apical border of spot rounded ( Fig. 525 ); ventral surface with head, prosternum, meso- and metaventrite black; metafemur brown; abdomen dark brown. Head punctures small, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture about as large as 2 eye facets; pronotal punctures slightly larger than head punctures, separated by less than to twice a diameter, elytral punctures as large as on pronotum, separated by less than to twice a diameter; metaventral punctures larger than on elytron, separated by a diameter or less medially, becoming larger and separated by less than a diameter laterally. Clypeus deeply emarginate apically, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, angled forward, apically rounded, yellow. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin curved, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, grooved, slightly descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia with wide oblique angle, basal tooth absent, sponda slightly extended beyond angle ( Fig. 526 ). Carinae on prosternal process widely separated at apex, parallel, curved and joined just anterior to middle of prosternum. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite without setal tuft. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite rounded except slightly flattened at middle, ventrite with sparse, short pubescence and coarse, sparse punctures; ventrites 2-6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense; 5th ventrite depressed in median 1/3, apex shallowly emarginate; 6th ventrite depressed medially, apex widely, shallowly emarginate. Apical tergite coarsely, densely punctured, apex slightly emarginate. Genitalia with basal lobe slightly longer than paramere, symmetrical, sides convergent from base to truncate apex; paramere Psc, narrowed in apical 1/3 ( Fig. 527, 528 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 2/3, with visible, sclerotized alae in apical 1/6, basal capsule distinctly sclerotized, inner arm long, slender, apex bifid, outer arm straight, as long as and slightly wider than inner arm, with accessory piece, basal border weakly emarginate ( Fig. 529, 530 ).

Female. Similar to male except head black, pronotum entirely black except lateral 1/8 yellow. Genitalia with spermathecal capsule extremely long, slender, basal 1/6 enlarged, cornu narrowed to acute apex; bursal cap oval, with 3 sclerotized arms, apical strut short, slender, slightly widened from base to apex ( Fig. 531 ).

Variation. Length 3.0 to 4.3 mm, width 2.3 to 3.0 mm. Size of elytral spots varies from small to large, there is a tendency for the discal and median lateral spots to connect and occasionally the humeral and scutellar spots are connected; sometimes the lateral yellow border extends to the apical spot. The form described as iheringi by Weise differs in dorsal coloration by having the elytron yellow with lateral border narrowly black, sutural border with irregular, wide black vitta extended from base to apex, vitta widened in basal 1/3, narrowed before apex and extended laterally long apical border of elytron, 2 large black spots present, 1 medially in basal 1/3, 1 transversely elongate spot narrowly connected to sutural vitta on apical declivity.

Type locality. Of flavoguttata , Brazil, “Monte-Video;” of scapulata , Brazil, “Saint Paul;” of mercabilis , Brazil; of iheringi , Brazil, Estado Sao Paulo, Yparanga.

Type depository. Of flavoguttata, MNHP (lectotype here designated); of scapulata, UMZC (lectotype designated by Gordon, 1987); of mercabilis, UMZC (lectotype designated by Gordon, 1987); of iheringi, MBR (lectotype here designated).

Geographical distribution. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay.

Specimens examined. 102. Argentina. Dep. Concepcion, Sta. Maria; Estancia la Noria, Rio San Javier, Santa Fe; Pr. Cordoba, Capilla del Monte; Pr. Cordoba, 4 km NE Cruz del Eje; Mendoza; Misiones. Brazil. Alto Itatiaya, Serra de Itatiaya; Campos de Jordao; Chapada; MG, Serra Caraca; Minas Gerais, Poco de Caldas; Minas Gerais, V. Monte Verde; Rio de Janeiro; Sao Paulo; Sao Paulo, Barueri; Virmond. Paraguay. Hohenau, Alto-Parana; San Bernardino. ( BMNH) ( CAS) ( CMNH) ( CNC) ( DZUP) ( MHNP) ( MZSP) ( USNM) ( ZMHB).

Remarks. Cyrea flavoguttata is frequently collected as evidenced by the number of specimens available for study. It is distinguished by the mostly alutaceous, dull dorsal surface; narrow, lateral yellow vitta extended from humeral spot to, or nearly to, the apical spot; basal lobe of male genitalia longer than paramere and with a truncate apex, paramere narrowed in apical 1/3, and sipho with lateral alae sclerotized. In spite of the color differences, this species, C. scapulata , C. mercabilis and C. iheringi are conspecific. Both male and the distinctive female genitalia are identical in these forms, and they differ only by the elytral color pattern. The distinctly sclerotized siphonal alae are unique to this species, all others have membranous alae. Both C. scapulata and C. mercabilis were correctly treated as synonyms of each by Crotch (1874) and Korschefsky (1931). Here we consider both as junior synonyms of C. flavoguttata . Cyrea iheringi (Weise) is also an extreme color variation of C. flavoguttata that is identical in all other respects, including male and female genitalia.

A male type specimen of C. flavoguttata in the MNHP labeled “Museum Paris, Montevideo, 7 bre et 9 bre/1820 is designated as the lectotype. There are 2 other specimens in the MNHP from Minas Gerais, Brazil, that may or may not qualify as paralectotypes. Each bears the label “ H. flavoguttata Muls , auct. det.” A male specimen of C. iheringi in the MBR labeled “Ypirana, Estado de S. Paulo, 14.IX.1897 is designated as the lectotype.

Figures

Figures 519-537. Cyrea spp. 519-524) Cyrea rosemary. 519) Habitus. 520) Phallobase ventral. 521) Phallobase lateral. 522) Sipho. 523) Enlarged siphonal apex. 524) Female bursal cap and apical strut, spermathecal capsule. 525-531) Cyrea flavoguttata. 525) Habitus. 526) Protibia. 527) Phallobase ventral. 528) Phallobase lateral. 529) Sipho. 530) Enlarged siphonal apex. 531) Female bursal cap and apical strut, spermathecal capsule. 532-537) Cyrea ferruginiceps. 532) Habitus. 533) Protibia. 534) Phallobase ventral. 535) Phallobase lateral. 536) Sipho. 537) Female genitalia.