Cryptocephalus catharinae, Clark & Lillrose & Belo Neto, 2013

Clark, Shawn M., Lillrose, Tiffany & Belo Neto, Luiz A., 2013, Leaf Beetles of the Cayman Islands (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Insecta Mundi 2013 (279), pp. 1-41 : 30-31

Cryptocephalus catharinae , new species

( Figures 25, 40, 48)

Diagnosis. In this species, the hind femora are not greatly enlarged in comparison to those of the front and middle legs, the base of the pronotum is not margined by a distinct bead, the apical abdominal tergite is largely exposed beyond the elytral apex, and the tarsal claws are simple rather than appendiculate. This combination of characters distinguishes Cryptocephalus from other chrysomelid genera known to occur in the Cayman Islands. Additionally, the dorsal color is pale brown with poorly defined yellowish areas, especially along the edges of the pronotum and elytra; the punctures of the head and pronotum are rather deep, dense, and coarse; there is no oblique impression in the basolateral quadrant of the pronotum; the elytral punctures are mostly arranged in regular striae; and the body is 2.3-3.5 mm long. This combination of characters distinguishes this species from others of the genus known to occur in the Cayman Islands, as well as elsewhere in the West Indies. This species is very similar to Cryptocephalus kirki , but differs in the lighter coloration and in the less densely punctate head.

Description of male. Body elongate oval, cylindrical, glabrous, shiny; color yellow with discal areas of pronotum and elytra darker brown; striate punctation of elytra deeply impressed to apex. Length 2.3-3.1 mm; width across humeri 1.3-1.7 mm.

Head yellow with darker brown areas on occiput and in median longitudinal groove between eyes. Eyes deeply emarginate, reniform. Vertex deeply, coarsely, punctate; area immediately mesad to eyes sparsely, shallowly punctate; more mesal area between eyes, coarsely, deeply punctate; frontal area below antennae finely punctate. Antennae filiform; antennomere 2 globular, about one third as long as antennomere 1; antennomeres 3-11 slender; antennomeres 1-5 pale yellow-brown, sparsely setose; antennomeres 6-11 dark brown, densely pubescent. Labrum and palpi pale yellow brown; mandibles piceous.

Pronotum 1.5 times as wide as long, 1.7 times as wide as head across eyes, 0.7 times as wide as elytra across humeri. Anterior margin possessing fine bead; lateral margins each with strong, carinate bead; posterior margin without bead, weakly crenulate. Discal punctures coarse, larger than those on frontal area of head but smaller than those on elytra; interspaces polished. Color brown with anterior margin narrowly yellow, with lateral margins more broadly yellow, also with two vaguely paler areas near scutellum, these sometimes confluent with each other. Scutellum subtriangular, slightly elevated posteriad, yellow with margins darker.

Elytra together 0.7 times as long as wide, 1.7 times as long as pronotum. Color pale brown, with poorly delimited yellow areas along base, lateral margins, apical margins, and sometimes suture, with epipleuron and most punctures dark brown. Punctation striate, with punctures rather coarse and deeply impressed, with those within each row normally separated by a distance less than their diameters, with those in neighboring rows separated by a distance subequal to their diameters; subscutellar stria short, extending about one third length of elytron; stria 1 (first complete row) approaching suture beyond subscutellar row, uniting with stria 2 near base of apical declivity; stria 3 paralleling stria 2 and uniting with stria 8 near elytral apex; striae 3 and 4 uniting with each other on apical declivity; stria 5 uniting with stria 7 on apical declivity; stria 6 located behind humerus, poorly defined, largely confused. Interpunctural areas polished.

Ventral areas pale yellow-brown, with lateral areas of metathorax darker brown. Prothoracic hypomera polished, nearly impunctate; prosternum distinctly punctate, with punctures similar in size to those of head; anterior margin of prosternum evenly arcuate, without mesal angulation or spine; prosternum between coxae about as wide as each coxa. Mesothorax pale yellow-brown, laterally alutaceous. Metasternum shiny, deeply, coarsely, sparsely punctate; metepisterna densely pubescent. Ventral areas of abdomen alutaceous, densely punctate. Pygidium coarsely, closely punctate, with punctures somewhat smaller than those at apex of elytra. Legs pale yellow-brown; front and middle basitarsi slightly broader than those of female; tarsal claws simple. Aedeagus as in Figure 40.

Description of female. Form and appearance similar to male, but with differences as follow. Eyes dorsally separated by 0.45 times maximum width of head. Pronotum 1.5 times as wide as long, 1.9 times as wide as head across eyes, 0.6 times as wide as elytra across humeri. Elytra together 1.4 times as long as wide and 2.2-2.3 times as long as pronotum. Front and middle basitarsi slightly narrower than those of male. Terminal ventrite possessing deep fovea. Spermatheca as in Figure 48. Length 3.0- 3.5 mm; width across humeri 1.6-1.8 mm.

Material examined. Holotype: “ CAYMAN ISLANDS: Grand Cayman , Queen Elizabeth Botanical Garden , 28-V-2009 Thomas, Turnbow and Ball. Blacklight trap ” (male, FSCA) . Paratypes: Cayman Islands , Grand Cayman , Mastic Trail, 28-V-2009, R. Turnbow (1 female, BYUC; 3 males, 1 female, RHTC) ; Cayman Islands , Grand Cayman, Mastic Trailhead S, 20-V-2009, R. Turnbow (1 female, RHTC) ; Cayman Islands , Grand Cayman, Queen Elizabeth Botanical Garden, 28-V-2009, Thomas, Turnbow and Ball, blacklight trap (1 male, BYUC; 3 females, FSCA) .

Plant associations. Unknown.

Etymology. The species epithet of this taxon honors Catharine Barbara Clark, daughter of the senior author.

Comments. The West Indies are especially species-rich with regards to the genus Cryptocephalus . Many species have already been named, and many more are yet to be described.