Benedictoides, Damaška & Konstantinov & Fikáček, 2022

Damaška, Albert František, Konstantinov, Alexander & Fikáček, Martin, 2022, Multiple origins of moss-inhabiting flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): molecular phylogeny, overview of genera and a new genus from Africa, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 196, pp. 647-676 : 657-658

BENEDICTOIDES GEN. NOV.

( FIG. 5 )

Z o o b a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: u r n: l s i d: z o o b a n k. org:act: 0D64E9D0-9F23-447C-963D-775BB7995B67

Type species: Benedictoides munclingeri sp. nov..

Phylogenetic position: Benedictoides is placed in the Manobia group, with Benedictus revealed as its sistergenus. The morphologically similar Neotropical genus Aulonodera is not closely related to Benedictoides .

Diversity and distribution: The single species is found in Cameroon, western Africa.

Description: Body convex, elongate, 1.4 mm long, 0.75 mm wide in dorsal view, 0.5 mm high in lateral view. Ventral surfaces and legs brown without metallic lustre, dorsal surfaces dark blackish brown.

Head: ( Fig. 5 ) Nearly prognathous, triangular, slightly protruded anteriorly. Vertex impunctate. Supraorbital, orbital, suprafrontal, supraantennal and supracallinal sulci deep and well developed. Antennal calli well developed, oblique, rhomboidal. Frontolateral sulci feebly developed. Supraorbital pore large, circular, placed nearly equally distant from eye as diameter of eye from dorsal view. Orbit large, equally wide as diameter of eye in lateral view; impunctate, eyes projecting laterally. Frontal ridge slender, sharply projecting. Frons nearly impunctate with several scattered setae. Clypeus darkened. Labrum with a longitudinal row of four setae. Antennae with 11 antennomeres, antennomeres 9–11 rounded oval, equally wide, distinctly wider than antennomeres 2–7.

Thorax: Pronotum ( Fig. 5 ) round, strongly convex in lateral view, impunctate, strongly narrowed basally by a deep antebasal transverse impression. Pronotal impression impunctate, reaching pronotal side. Anterolateral angles of pronotum extremely wide, projecting laterally, triangular, bearing a setiferous pore with a long seta. Posterolateral angles of pronotum small, sharp. Pronotal base straight, with a sharp edge. Procoxal cavities widely open posteriorly. Scutellum rounded-triangular. Elytra convex, punctate; punctures arranged in regular rows. Basal elytral margin widely rounded, elytral apices narrowed posteriorly. Lateral sides of elytra slightly produced laterally, lateral elytral margin and pleura not visible from dorsal view. Epipleura wide in basal parts, strongly narrowing towards apex. Humeral calli and wings absent. Metaventrite with a short, wide process extending about half of the space between the mesocoxae, not covering mesoventrite. Legs brown. Protibiae widened towards apex and slightly curved laterally. Metatibiae slightly widened apically, not bearing any distinct apical spine. Pro- and mesotarsi elongated; protarsi as long as a quarter of the protibiae, mesotarsi nearly as long as two-thirds of the mesotibiae. Metatarsomere 1 elongated, as long as metatarsomeres 2 and 3 combined.

Abdomen: Abdominal ventrites feebly punctate. First abdominal ventrite with a wide process reaching the space between the metacoxae.

Generic diagnosis: Benedictoides is distinct among the Afrotropical fauna. It is only similar to the Afrotropical genus Celisaltica Biondi, 2001 , sharing the lack of wings, somewhat elongated body, open procoxal cavities and apical antennomeres slightly widened. However, Benedictoides can be easily distinguished from Celisaltica by having a deep pronotal antebasal transverse impression and impunctate pronotum. The new genus is also similar to Manobia , from which it can be separated by lack of humeral calli (in Manobia , extremely projecting humeral calli are present). When compared to the fauna worldwide, Benedictoides is similar to the related Asian moss-inhabiting genus Benedictus . It also shares general body shape and many characters with the Neotropical genus Aulonodera Champion, 1918 , but which is not related. Benedictoides shares the following characters with Benedictus : wings absent; procoxal cavities open posteriorly; pronotum impunctate with a deep, antebasal, transverse impression; well-developed frontal calli; elytra deeply punctate by deep punctures arranged in rows; and widely projected anterior pronotal angles. However, the new genus differs from Benedictus in the following characters ( Fig. 4 ): (1) pronotum narrow, much narrower than basal part of elytra (in Benedictus , pronotum is usually as wide or only slightly narrower than basal part of elytra); (2) basal margin of elytra rounded, not forming a distinct edge between basal and lateral elytral margin (in Benedictus , basal elytral margin is straight, basal and lateral margin of elytra forming an edge); (3) pronotum and elytra extremely convex (in Benedictus , pronotum and elytra are not extremely convex or even flat in some species); (4) pronotal antebasal transverse impression reaching pronotal side (in Benedictus , pronotal antebasal transverse impression usually ends before pronotal side, in many species surrounded by short basal longitudinal impressions); and (5) antennomeres 9–11 rounded oval, equally wide, distinctly wider than antennomeres 2–7 (in Benedictus , antennomeres are widening gradually from basal to apical, with antennomere 11 the widest and antennomeres are subtriangular, widening apically). Benedictoides shares the following characters with Aulonodera : wings absent; pronotum narrower than basal part of elytra; basal elytral margin rounded, lacking an edge between basal and lateral margins; ovalrounded distal antennomeres; and antebasal pronotal transverse impression reaching pronotal pleura. The new genus differs from Aulonodera by having elytra punctate with deep punctures arranged in rows (in Aulonodera , elytra are nearly impunctate); and procoxal cavities widely open posteriorly (in Aulonodera , procoxal cavities are partially closed posteriorly).

Ecology: The only species, here described, was collected by sifting moss cushions in a tropical montane cloud forest ( Fig. 6 ).

Etymology: The name Benedictoides means ‘similar to Benedictus ’ and refers to the strong similarity between these two moss-inhabiting flea beetle genera. The name is masculine.

Figures

Figure 4. Moss-inhabiting flea beetle genera distributed in Asia. A A, Paraminotella nigrita; B, Benedictus shivalayanicus; C, Paraminota lauribina; D, Ivalia korakundah; E, Cangshanaltica nigra; F, Baoshanaltica minuta; G, Phaelota viridipennis; H, Clavicornaltica dali.

Figure 5. Benedictoides munclingeri. A, habitus in dorsal view; B, habitus in lateral view; C, habitus in ventral view; D, detail of head and pronotum; E, aedeagus in dorsal, lateral and ventral view; F, pronotum and elytral base of Benedictoides; G, pronotum and elytral base of Benedictus.

Figure 6. Moss-inhabiting flea beetle genera distributed in Europe. A, Minota obesa; B, Mniophila muscorum; C, Mniophilosoma laeve.