Serraphula Jacoby

Biondi, Maurizio & D’Alessandro, Paola, 2010, Revision of the Afrotropical flea beetle genus Serraphula Jacoby and description of Bechynella, a new genus from Western and Central Africa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae), Zootaxa 2444, pp. 1-44 : 3

Serraphula Jacoby

Serraphula Jacoby, 1897: 556 .

TYPE SPECIES. Serraphula aenea Jacoby, 1897 by original designation.

DISTRIBUTION. Southern-Western Africa ( Zimbabwe and Republic of South Africa) ( Figs 20–21 ).

MORPHOLOGICAL REMARKS. On the basis of the new examined material, some morphological characters of the genus Serraphula are added or upgraded with respect to the original description by Jacoby (1897; 1900). Head with setigerous area near each upper ocular margin, formed by larger setigerous pore and some smaller setigerous punctures ( Figs 31–42 ). Elytral punctuation arranged in 9 (+1 scutellar) regular rows. Anterior coxal cavities open. Frontal dimple generally deeply impressed anteriorly to each setigerous area ( Fig. 35 ). Hind tibiae dorsally more or less deeply channelled ( Figs 23, 27 ); apical spur of hind tibiae formed by a narrow foil laterally bent and folded in an evident dorsal furrow, differently elongate but always clearly serrate ( Figs 23–28 ); hind tarsi ( Figs 23–25, 27–28 ) very thin, dorsally and pre-apically inserted on hind tibiae; metatarsomere 1 about as long as metatarsomeres 2–4 together; metatarsomere 2 clearly longer than metatarsomeres 3 and 4 together; unguiculi from weakly to clearly sub-appendiculate. First anterior and middle tarsomeres in males ventrally with an adhesive setigerous area distinctly visible by means of stereomicroscope ( Figs 77–82 ). Metafemoral spring ( Fig. 29 ) attributable to Psylliodes morpho-group (cf. Furth & Suzuki 1998; nomenclature as in Furth 1982) with dorsal lobe straight with short and extended arm deflected downwards; proximal edge of spring slightly curved, bent at about 90 degrees angle with proximal-distal axis of dorsal lobe; dorsal margin of ventral lobe straight, apically abruptly depressed; proximal angle of the ventral lobe very prominent; recurve flange strongly developed and slerotized. Tegmen in male strongly reduced. Spermatheca ( Figs 61–76 ) of Alticinae-type (cf. Furth & Suzuki 1994) with uncoiled ductus and generally with subglobose basal part.

Figures

FIGURES 17 – 20. Habitus of: S. transvaalensis sp. n. (17); S. uysi sp. n. (18); S. wittmeri sp. n. (19); Bechynella bohumilae (Bechyné) (20).

FIGURE 21. Geographical distribution of: Serraphula aenea Jacoby; S. alticola sp. n.; S. debiasei sp. n.; S. drakensbergensis sp. n.; S. duplessisi sp. n.; S. grobbelaariae sp. n.; S. monticola sp. n.; S. oberprieleri sp. n.; S. osellai sp. n.; S. transvaalensis sp. n.; S. uysi sp. n.

FIGURES 31 – 36. Head and pronotum of Serraphula Jacoby: S. aenea Jacoby (31); S. audisiana sp. n. (32); S. bulirschi sp. n. (33); S. colonnellii sp. n. (34); S. debiasei sp. n. (frontal dimple pointed) (35); S. drakensbergensis sp. n. (36).

FIGURES 37 – 42. Head and pronotum of Serraphula Jacoby: S. duplessisi sp. n. (37); S. grobbelaariae sp. n. (38); S. oberprieleri sp. n. (39); S. osellai sp. n. (40); S. puncticollis Bryant (41); S. wittmeri sp. n. (42).

FIGURES 23 – 30. Morphological characters in Serraphula Jacoby: apical spur of hind tibiae of S. aenea Jacoby (23); ibidem S. audisiana sp. n. (24); ibidem S. elongata Jacoby (25); ibidem S. monticola sp. n. (26); ibidem S. osellai sp. n. (27); ibidem S. puncticollis Bryant (28); metafemoral spring of S. elongata Jacoby (29); head of S. elongata Jacoby (30).

FIGURES 77 – 82. Ventral side of first anterior and middle tarsomeres in male and female of Serraphula elongata Jacoby: male with differentiated adhesive structure (77, 79, 81 – 82); female without differentiated adhesive structure (78, 80).

FIGURES 61 – 76. Spermatheca of Serraphula Jacoby: S. natalensis, KwaZulu-Natal, Blesberg (61); S. audisiana, Kwazulu-Natal, Ngele Forest (62); S. osellai, Kwazulu-Natal, Ngele Forest (63); S. alticola, Mpumalanga, Mount Sheba area (64); S. oberprieleri, Zimbabwe, Bunga Forest (65); S. grobbelaariae, Mpumalanga, Houtenbek Farm, Macabelel Lodge (66); S. transvaalensis, Eastern Transvaal, Nelshoogte Pass (67); S. uysi, Transvaal, Palala (68); S. duplessisi, Limpopo, Entabeni Forest Reserve, Soutpansberg (69); S. elongata, Eastern Cape Province, nr. Grahamstown (70); S. debiasei, Eastern Cape Province, 4 km S Barkly Pass (71); S. colonnelli, Kwazulu-Natal, Umzinto Vernon Crookes N. R. (72); S. wittmeri, Limpopo, Branddraai (73); S. mpumalangaensis, Mpumalanga, Houtenbek Farm, Macabelel Lodge (74); S. monticola, Kwazulu-Natal / Free State, Botha’s Pass (75); S. drakensbergensis, Kwazulu-Natal, Monk’s Cowl (76).