Brachiacantha argentinica (Weise) Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014

Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVI: systematic revision of Brachiacantha Dejean (Coccinellinae: Hyperaspidini), Insecta Mundi 2014 (390), pp. 1-76 : 53-54

45. Brachiacantha argentinica (Weise) , new combination

Hyperaspis argentinica Weise, 1922: 34 .

Hyperaspis argentina: Korschefsky 1931: 184 ; Blackwelder 1945: 446.

Description. Female. Length 3.6 mm, width 2.7 mm; body elongate oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head alutaceous, dull, pronotum and elytron smooth, shiny. Color black except head with clypeus dark reddish brown, pronotum with anterolateral angle and lateral margin narrowly yellow; elytron reddish yellow except humeral angle narrowly yellow, sutural margin bordered with irregular black vitta extended from base to apex, 1 elongate black spot near humeral angle extended posteriorly from near base over humeral callus, 1 black spot on lateral margin on apical declivity narrowly connected to sutural border along apical margin ( Fig. 255 ); ventral surface with antenna, mouthparts yellow, legs yellow except basal 2/3 of femur brown; abdomen dark brown. Head punctures small, dense, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture about as large as 2–3 eye facets; pronotal punctures slightly larger than head punctures, separated by less than to 2 times diameter, elytral punctures as large as on pronotum, separated by 1 to 3 times diameter; metaventral punctures larger than on elytron, separated by about a diameter. Clypeus slightly emarginate apically, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, straight, apically rounded, black. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin weakly rounded, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, grooved, not descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia narrowly flanged, flange less than width of remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, smooth, basal tooth short, length about 1/6 width of tibia at base, sponda extended beyond protibial flange ( Fig. 256 ). Carinae on prosternal process narrowly separated at apex, convergent toward base, not joined, ended at basal 1/4 of prosternum. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite flattened along posterior ventrite margin, extended forward apically, ventrite with sparse, long pubescence and small, dense punctures; ventrites 2–6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense. Genitalia with spermatheca short, wide, widened from base to apex, cornu apically beaked; bursal cap without sclerotized arms, apical strut short, narrowed from base to apex ( Fig. 257, 258 ).

Male. Unknown.

Variation. Length 3.4 to 3.7 mm, width 2.6 to 2.9 mm.

Type locality. Argentina, Gobernacion Misiones.

Type depository. MBR (lectotype here designated).

Geographical distribution. Argentina, Uruguay.

Material examined. 4. Argentina. Corrientes, Gobernacion Misiones ; Misiones , Piñalito ; San Roque; Santa Maria. Uruguay. Rivera, Sierra de la Aurora, Arroyo de la Aurora. ( BMNH) ( JEBC) ( USNM) .

Remarks. This species is separated from other Brachiacantha taxa by the large size and distinctive dorsal color pattern. One specimen from Misiones, Piñalito, is the same size as B. argentinica but with a differing dorsal color pattern described as: elytron reddish yellow with sutural margin bordered with irregular black vitta widened on disc, small black spot present on humeral callus, wide, black, irregular vitta present on apical declivity extended from lateral margin to sutural margin. This specimen is tentatively considered as B. argentinica .

Weise (1922) had more than one specimen of this species, so a type specimen in the MBR labeled “Rep. Argentina, Gob. Misiones, 189, C. Bruch/TYPUS/ Hyperaspis argentinica Weise ” is designated the lectotype. A second type specimen in the MBR labeled “Rep. Argentina, Prov. Corrientes, 190, C. Bruch/ Corrientes, San Roquel, II-1920, Bosq/typus/ Hyperaspis argentinica Weise ” is designated a paralectotype.

Figures

Figures 247–258. 247–251. Brachiacantha gail. 247) Habitus. 248) Protibia. 249) Phallobase ventral. 250) Apical 2/3 of sipho. 251) Enlarged siphonal apex. 252–254. Brachiacantha appropinquata. 252) Habitus. 253) Protibia. 254) Female genitalia. 255–258. Brachiacantha argentinica. 255) Habitus. 256) Protibia. 257) Female genitalia. 258) Enlarged spermathecal capsule.