Neodownesia sita ( Maulik, 1919 ) Sekerka, 2015

Sekerka, Lukáš, 2015, Wallacea, Pistosia and Neodownesia: three distinct genera and their tribal placement (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 55 (2), pp. 713-743 : 722-723

Neodownesia sita ( Maulik, 1919) comb. nov.

( Fig. 3 )

Wallacea sita Maulik, 1919: 109 (original description); BOROWIEC & SEKERKA (2010): 383 (catalogue). Wallaceana sita: UHMANN (1958) : 231 (catalogue). Pistosia sita: KIMOTO (1999) : 67 (fauna of SE Asia).

Type locality. ‘ Burma: Karen Hills’ [= Myanmar, Karen Hills, approx. 17°30′– 20°20′N, 97°02′– 98°01′E].

Type material examined. SYNTYPES: J, pinned, ‘Type [w, p, s, circular label with red frame] || 64279 [w, hw, s; Fryʼs catalogue accession number] || Birmah | Karen Mts [w, hw, s] || Doherty [w, hw, s] || Fry Coll. | 1905.100 [w, p, s; BMHN register number referring to the Alexander Fry collection] || Wallacea sita . M. | Det. Maulik, 1918 [p] | J Type [w, hw by Maulik, s]’ ( BMNH) ; ♀, pinned, ‘Type [w, p, s, circular label with red frame] || Doherty [w, hw, s] || Fry Coll. | 1905.100 [w, p, s; BMHN register number referring to the Alexander Fry collection] || Birmah | Karen Mts [w, hw, s] || Wallacea sita . M. | Det. Maulik, 1918 [p] | J Type [w, hw by Maulik, s]’ ( BMNH) .

Additional material examined. THAILAND: MAE HONG SON: Kiwlom Pass near Soppong, 19°26.75′N, 98°19.15′E, 1400–1450 m, 7.–12.v.1996, 1 J 1 ♀, S. Bečvář lgt. ( LSPC), 23.vi.–2.vii.2002, 1 ♀, R. & H. Fouquè lgt. ( LSPC).

Differential diagnosis. See Table 1.

Distribution. Myanmar ( MAULIK 1919) and Thailand (new record).

Neodownesia mediovittata (Fig. 1) Neodownesia rubra (Fig. 2) Neodownesia sita (Fig. 3) pronotum slightly narrowing ante- riorly widening anteriorly widening anteriorly punctation of pronotum moderately coarse and dense, arranged in stripes; disc with five broad impunctate stripes coarse, dense and irregu- lar; disc with three more or less defined impunctate stripes moderate, sparse and irregular; disc only with medial impunctate stripe black medial stripe on pronotum present absent absent

Remarks. MAULIK (1919) described W. sita based on two specimens collected by W. Doherty in Karen Hills. Both specimens are syntypes as Maulik treated both specimens as ‘types’. Karen Hills are south-western projection of the Shan Hills and are situated between the Sittaung Valley and the Salween River in Myanmar. However, the exact location where the two specimens were collected is unknown. ELVES (1891) published an account on butterflies collected by W. Doherty in south-east Asia, including Karen Hills, and also included an itinerary to principal places visited by Doherty according to his letters, thus indicating the specimens were quite likely collected in one of the mentioned sites.

KIMOTO (1999) synonymized N. rubra and N. mediovittata with N. sita and increased its distribution to both Laos and Vietnam additional to China and Myanmar (as Burma). He most likely added these two countries because types of N. mediovittata were collected in ‘Nam Long (Alto Mekong)’ and he was not sure whether the locality is either in Vietnam or Laos. Therefore the two latter countries must be removed from distribution of N. sita . Moreover, Vietnam is removed from the distribution of N. mediovittata as the type specimens were collected in Laos and thus far there are no records of its occurrence in Vietnam.

Figures

Figs 1–7. 1 – Neodownesia mediovittata (Gestro, 1920) (Laos: Ban Song Cha, J, 8.7 mm); 2 – N. rubra Gressitt, 1953 (holotype, J, 6.5 mm); 3 – N. sita (Maulik, 1919) (Thailand: Soppong, ♀, 9.0 mm); 4 – Wallacea apicalis Gestro, 1896 (Indonesia: Mentawai Is.: Siberut, 5.3 mm); 5 – Pistosia terminalis (Baly, 1869) (holotype, 9.5 mm, © Natural History Museum, London); 6 – P. maculata (syntype, 12.0 mm, © Museum für Tierkunde, Berlin); 7 – P. testacea (Fabricius, 1801) (Indonesia: Sulawesi: Ahua Creek, 11.1 mm).