Calliaspis cerdai, Borowiec, L., 2003

Borowiec, L., 2003, A new species of Calliaspis Dejean, 1837 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) from French Guyana, Zootaxa 148, pp. 1-6 : 1-4

Calliaspis cerdai sp. nov.

Etymology

Dedicated to J. A. Cerda, who collected this new species.

Differential diagnosis

Calliaspis cerdai sp. nov. and C. surinamensis Borowiec, 2000 are the only members of the genus with both pronotum and elytra distinctly bicoloured, red and black. Most species of the genus have the pronotum and elytra unicolourous, red, metallic blue, or black, sometimes with paler margins, only C. bicolor Boheman, 1856 has the pronotum distinctly bicoloured but it has the elytral disc uniformly black. Calliaspis cinnabarina Boheman, 1850 and C. umbonata Hincks, 1956 sometimes have indistinct brownish areas on the elytral disc, especially on the sides, the slope, and on the humeral part, but both differ from C. cerdai and C. surinamensis in the paler red ground colour, and the coarser and denser punctation of the pronotum. Calliaspis cerdai differs from C. surinamensis in having a well marked postscutellar tubercle ( Fig. 4 ), while C. surinamensis has the elytral disc almost regularly convex ( Fig. 2 ). The black markings in C. surinamensis occupy the basal part and sides of elytral disc ( Fig. 1 ), while in C. cerdai only the basal third of disc ( Fig. 3 ). Calliaspis cerdai is a slightly larger species, with the body length 6.6 mm, while in C. surinamensis the body length is 5.5-6.1 mm. Calliaspis cerdai , C. umbonata , and C. wegrzynowiczi Borowiec et Stojczew, 1998 are the only species of the genus with a distinct postscutellar tubercle. Calliaspis umbonata differs in large size (length 7.5-8.0 mm) and in having the pale red elytral ground colour with only indistinct brownish spots. C. wegrzynowiczi differs in the small size (length 5.3 mm) and in having uniformly purple red pronotal and elytral disc.

Description

Length: 6.6 mm, width: 5.3 mm, length of pronotum: 1.8 mm, width of pronotum: 4.0 mm; length/width ratio: 1.25. Body stout ( Fig. 3 ).

Head reddish. Top of pronotum black, sides changing gradually from black to red, extreme margin yellowish­red. Scutellum at base brownish­red, apex red. Elytral disc in anterior third black to reddish brown. Postscutellar tubercle and area around scutellum, the border between dark and red parts of elytra indistinct, changing gradually from top of disc to marginal interval are black. Posterior 2/3 of elytral disc and whole explanate margin red, only extreme margin of elytra yellowish­red. Ventrites yellow. Basal two antennal segments yellow, segments 3­6 pale yellow, segment 7 with basal half pale yellow, black apically, remaining three segments deep black with only apex of last segment yellowish. Antennae stout, telescoped, two basal segments smooth and shiny, remainder dull, pubescent. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:166:200:185:167:158:150:117:158:300.

Head shallowly constricted behind eyes. Frons with very high and sharp interocular carina. Vertex almost flat, with several fine punctures, with median sulcus. Pronotum 2.2 times as wide as long, sides regularly converging anteriorly. Anterior margin deeply emarginate, anterior margin of emargination distinctly protruding anteriorly, on sides with setal tubercle. Disc of pronotum convex, without impressions, sides with moderately coarse and sparse punctation, distance between punctures three to four times wider than diameter of a puncture, punctation more dense than on sides only in posterior corners, with distance between punctures partly as wide as diameter of a puncture. Top of disc with fine and sparse punctation. Punctures thrice smaller than those on sides of disc, with distance between punctures four to five times wider than diameter of a puncture. Surface between punctures with very fine secondary punctation, shiny. Explanate margin reduced to very narrow margination. Scutellum large, pentagonal. Base of elytra as wide as base of pronotum, elytra short­oval with maximum width at middle, apical margin rounded, last abdominal tergite covered. Disc distinctly elevated in postscutellar area, forming an obtuse postscutellar tubercle ( Fig. 4 ). Punctation of disc arranged in regular rows, punctures fine, distinctly finer on slope than in anterior part of disc. Distance between punctures in rows twice to thrice longer than diameter of a puncture. Punctures in marginal row only slightly larger than in submarginal row. Intervals flat, several times wider than rows. Surface of intervals smooth and shiny with fine micropunctation. Explanate margin narrow, at widest part as wide as three marginal intervals combined, its surface impunctate, smooth and shiny. Prosternal process strongly expanded apically, its apical margin shallowly emarginate, surface with three long and two short, deep longitudinal grooves. Legs stout, claws simple.

Types

Holotype: “ GUYANE (Régina), Montagne de Kaw, PK 36, 4.X. 1997, filet cryldé” “J.A. Cerda legit” (preserved at the Department of Systematic Zoology and Zoogeography, Wroc aw University, Wroc aw, Poland).

Figures

FIGURES 1 - 4. 1, 2. Calliaspis surinamensis Borowiec, 2000: 1. Dorsal; 2. Lateral; 3, 4. Calliaspis cerdai sp. nov.: 3. Dorsal; 4. Lateral.