Ugandaltica wagneri, D'Alessandro, Paola & Biondi, Maurizio, 2018

D'Alessandro, Paola & Biondi, Maurizio, 2018, Ugandaltica gen. n., a tiny flea beetle from the forest canopy in Central Africa (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini), ZooKeys 746, pp. 123-136 : 128-132

Ugandaltica wagneri sp. n.

Type-specimen.

Holotype male, pinned, with genitalia on the same support. Original label: "Uganda, District Masindi / Budongo Forest n. Sonso / 1°45'N, 31°35'E / 15-25.i.1997 / Th. Wagner leg. [white label] // R.a.78N [white label] // HOLOTYPE / Ugandaltica wagneri sp. n. / D’Alessandro and Biondi det. 2018 [red label]" (BAQ).

Paratypes.

Uganda, District Masindi / Budongo Forest n. Sonso / 1°45'N, 31°35'E, 19-30.vi.1995 / Th. Wagner leg. // C.a.7, 1 ♂ and 1 ♀ (BAQ); ditto, 1-10.vii.1995 // R.a.7, 1 ♀ (BAQ); ditto, // T.r.2, 1 ♀ (BAQ); ditto, // T.r.3, 1 ♂ (BMNH); ditto, // T.r.4, 1 ♂ (BAQ); ditto, // T.r.6, 1 ♀ (BMNH); ditto, // T.r.8, 1 ♀ (BAQ); ditto, 11-20.vii.1995 // T.r.2, 1 ♀ (BAQ); ditto, 21-30.vii.1995 // R.a.22, 1 ♂ (NMPC); ditto, 5-15.i.1997 // R.a.57, 1 ♀ (NMPC); ditto, 15-25.i.1997 // R.a.48, 2 ♂ and 1 ♀ (BAQ).

Type locality.

Uganda, District Masindi, Budongo Forest n. Sonso, 1°45'N, 31°35'E, secondary forest, night, on fogged Rinorea beniensis , 15-25.i.1997, Th. Wagner leg.

Description of the holotype.

Body small-sized, roundish, distinctly convex (Fig. 1A); LB = 1.20 mm. Maximum pronotal width in basal third (WP = 0.52 mm); maximum elytral width in middle (WE = 0.74 mm). Dorsal integument brownish, shiny, with slightly paler elytral suture. Frons and vertex smooth (Fig. 2A); frontal tubercles absent; frontal grooves distinctly impressed, extending from upper ocular margin to antennal socket on either side; inter-antennal space slightly wider than length of first antennomere; frontal carina wide, flat apically, not delimited laterally, and poorly delimited posteriorly; eye sub-elliptical, rather wide; antennae slightly shorter than half body length (Fig. 1A) (LAN = 0.58 mm; LAN/LB = 0.48); antennomeres (Fig. 2A) 1-2 distinctly wider than the rest, the first sub-conical and the second sub-cylindrical; 7 distinctly wider than the adjacent antennomeres; 1-3 pale in colour, 8-11 brownish; LA: 100:114:43:71:71:71:93:86:100:114:135. Pronotum (Fig. 2B) sub-trapezoidal, slightly wider posteriorly, distinctly transverse (LP = 0.34 mm; WP/LP = 1.51), distinctly rounded laterally, and as wide as elytra basally; not margined anteriorly and basally; basal margin distinctly sinuous; lateral margin moderately expanded; anterior angles distinctly prominent, obliquely bevelled; posterior angles with a slightly prominent setigerous pore; punctation rather dense and uniform; most punctures slightly elongate and deeply impressed on sub-smooth surface. Scutellum (Fig. 2B) slightly elongate, roundish apically, with sub-smooth surface. Elytra (Figs 1A, 2D) slightly elongate (LE = 0.99 mm; WE/LE = 0.75), entirely covering pygidium, strongly arcuate laterally, jointly rounded apically; lateral margin moderately expanded up to sub-apical part of elytra, slightly visible in dorsal view; punctation arranged in 9 (+ 1 scutellar) regular rows; punctures larger than on pronotum, and distinctly impressed on most of the surface (shallower towards elytral apex); interstriae slightly raised, humeral callus distinct and prominent. Macropterous metathoracic wings. Legs with femora dark brown and tibiae brownish; coxae, apex of femora, base of tibiae, and tarsi yellowish. First tarsomere of anterior and middle tarsi distinctly dilated. Body dark brown ventrally; last visible abdominal sternite without special preapical impressions. Aedeagus (Fig. 3C) (LAED = 0.49 mm; LE/LAED = 2.03) tapering slightly towards the apex in ventral view; sub-triangular apically, acute, without a median tooth; surface smooth, with rather large pores, more numerous laterally; phallobasis widely rounded basally; aedeagus distinctly and evenly curved in lateral view, the apex slightly dorsally oriented; dorsal ligula about half the length of median lobe, wide, formed by an apically acute, triangular, median lobe, and two lateral lobes.

Variations.

Paratypes are very similar in size, shape, sculpture and colour to the holotype. Female without the dilated first tarsomere in the anterior and middle tarsi. Spermatheca (Fig. 3D) with sub-cylindrical basal part, narrower towards distal part; neck not distinctly separated from basal part; apical part thicker than neck and distinctly separated from it; ductus thin, as long as half the length of basal part, uncoiled, and laterally inserted.

Male (n = 6; mean and standard deviation; range): LE = 1.01 ± 0.10 mm (0.93 ≤ LE ≤ 1.20 mm); WE = 0.76 ± 0.07 mm (0.71 ≤ WE ≤ 0.89 mm); LP = 0.35 ± 0.02 mm (0.34 ≤ LP ≤ 0.39 mm); WP = 0.53 ± 0.04 mm (0.50 ≤ WP ≤ 0.61 mm); LAN = 0.60 ± 0.03 mm (0.58 ≤ LAN ≤ 0.66 mm); LAED = 0.49 ± 0.04 mm (0.46 ≤ LAED ≤ 0.58 mm); LB = 1.27 ± 0.03 mm (1.18 ≤ LB ≤ 1.53 mm); LE/LP = 2.88 ± 0.12 (2.74 ≤ LE/LP ≤ 3.10); WE/WP = 1.43 ± 0.02 (1.40 ≤ WE/WP ≤ 1.46); WP/LP = 1.51 ± 0.04 (1.48 ≤ WP/LP ≤ 1.58); WE/LE = 0.75 ± 0.01 (0.74 ≤ WE/LE ≤ 0.77); LAN/LB = 0.47 ± 0.02 (0.43 ≤ LAN/LB ≤ 0.50); LE/LAED = 2.05 ± 0.08 (1.90 ≤ LE/ LAED ≤ 2.13). Female (n = 6; mean and standard deviation; range): LE = 1.07 ± 0.04 mm (1.00 ≤ LE ≤ 1.13 mm); WE = 0.82 ± 0.02 mm (0.79 ≤ WE ≤ 0.85 mm); LP = 0.36 ± 0.02 mm (0.34 ≤ LP ≤ 0.39 mm); WP = 0.56 ± 0.01 mm (0.55 ≤ WP ≤ 0.58 mm); LAN = 0.59 ± 0.01 mm (0.58 ≤ LAN ≤ 0.61 mm); LSPC = 0.20 ± 0.01 mm (0.19 ≤ LSPC ≤ 0.21 mm); LB = 1.35 ± 0.04 mm (1.29 ≤ LB ≤ 1.40 mm); LE/LP = 2.97 ± 0.10 (2.83 ≤ LE/LP ≤ 3.13); WE/WP = 1.46 ± 0.02 (1.43 ≤ WE/WP ≤ 1.48); WP/LP = 1.55 ± 0.06 (1.48 ≤ WP/LP ≤ 1.61); WE/LE = 0.77 ± 0.02 (0.73 ≤ WE/LE ≤ 0.79); LAN/LB = 0.44 ± 0.02 (0.42 ≤ LAN/LB ≤ 0.46); LE/LSPC = 5.40 ± 0.28 (4.85 ≤ LE/LSPC ≤ 5.67).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a Latinized noun in the genitive case referring to its collector Thomas Wagner (University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany), renowned specialist of Afrotropical Galerucini .

Distribution.

Central Africa (Uganda). Considering both the habitat types and the most common species distributions associated with each chorotype ( Biondi and D’Alessandro 2006), Ugandaltica wagneri sp. n. possibly falls inside the Northern-Eastern Afrotropical chorotype (NEA).

Ecology.

All the specimens were collected in primary and secondary forest, at 1200 m a.s.l., by fogging the following trees: Trichilia rubescens ( Meliaceae ), Rinorea beniensis ( Violaceae ), and Cynometra alexandri ( Caesalpiniaceae ). The species was present during both the wet season, June and July 1995, and dry season, January 1997 ( Wagner 1999, 2000, 2001).