Oulema verae, Bezděk & Baselga, 2015

Bezděk, Jan & Baselga, Andrés, 2015, Revision of western Palaearctic species of the Oulema melanopus group, with description of two new species from Europe (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Criocerinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 55 (1), pp. 273-304 : 295-298

Oulema verae sp. nov.

( Figs 5 , 10, 15 , 23 , 25 , 30 , 32 )

Type locality. Spain, Castilla y León, Zamora Province, Fornillos de Fermoselle.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂, ‘ 18-5-1998 2561 / Fornillos de / Fermoselle / Zamora [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h]/ A. Baselga [p] ʼ98 [w, h]’ ( MNCN). PARATYPES: SPAIN: ANDALUSIA: 1 ♀, ‘ 27-4–2010 / Castillo de / Castellar de la Frontera / Cadiz [h] / A. Baselga [w, p]’ ( BASC); 1 ♂, 1 spec. unsexed, ‘K...th 1903 / Andalusia [partly illegible, w, h]’ ( NHMW); 3 ♂♂ 2 ♀♀, ‘ Puebla de / D. Fadrique / (Granada) / Escalera 1900 [w, p] // MUSEUM PARIS / COLL. H. MARMOTTAN 1914 [w, p]’ ( MNHN); 1 ♂, ‘ La Sagra / (Granada) / Escalera 1900 [w, p]’ ( MNHN) ; 1 ♀, ‘ Sierra / de Alfakar [ Alfacar , Granada] / R. Obr. & L. Bl. / Juillet 1879 [w, p] // Museum Paris / ex Coll. / R. Oberthur [w, p]’ ( MNHN). ARAGÓN: 1 spec. unsexed, ‘ Albarracin, / Spain, / G. C. C. [w, p] // G. C. Champion Coll. / B. M. 1927-409. [w, p]’ ( BMNH). CASTILLA Y LEÓN: 1 ♀, ‘ 18-5-1998 2561 / Fornillos de / Fermoselle / Zamora [h] / A. Baselga [w, p]’ ( BASC); 4 ♂♂ 4 ♀♀, ‘ 18-6-2001 4278 / Villadepera / Zamora [h] / A. Baselga [w, p]’ ( BASC, 1 ♂ JBCB); 1 spec. unsexed, ‘ 18-6-2001 2478 / Villadepera / Zamora / A. Baselga [w, h] // Oulema / rufocyanea Suff. / A.Baselga det. [w, p]’ ( FFCJ); 1♂, ‘ 18-6-2001 2478 / Villadepera / Zamora [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suff.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] 01 [w, h] // coll. F.Fritzlar, Jena / ex coll.Andrés Baselga, / Corunna, 2003 [w, p]’ ( FFCJ); 1 ♂ 3 ♀♀, ‘ 18-6-2001 4306 / Badilla / Zamora [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] 01 [w, h]’ ( BASC); 6♂♂ 1♀, ‘ 18-5-1998 2561 / Fornillos de / Fermoselle / Zamora [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] ʼ98 [w, h]’ ( BASC); 3 ♂♂ 3 ♀♀, ‘ 19-5-1998 2592 / Pinilla / Fermoselle / Zamora [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] ʼ98 [w, h]’ ( BASC); 1 ♂, ‘ CASTILLA-LEON / Luelmo (Zamora) / 7-VI-2004 / leg. E. Petitpierre [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea (Suffr.) / det. Petitpierre ʼ04 [w, p]’ ( EPCP); 3 ♂♂, ‘ Bejar, / Spain, / G. C. C. [w, p] // G. C. Champion Coll. / B. M. 1927-409. [w, p]’ ( BMNH); 3 ♂♂ 1 ♀, ‘ 19-6-2001 4354 / Cerezal de / Peñahorcada / Salamanca [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] 01 [w, h]’ ( BASC); 1 ♂ 3 ♀♀, ‘ 19-6-2001 4318 / Masueco / Salamanca [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] 01 [w, h]’ ( BASC); 1 ♂, ‘ 19-6- 2001 4372 / Saucelle / Salamanca [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] 01 [w, h]’ ( BASC); 1 ♂ 2 ♀♀, ‘ 20-6-2001 4379 / Trabanca / Salamanca [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] 01 [w, h]’ ( BASC); 2 ♀♀, ‘ 19-5-2010 / Vilvestre / Salamanca [h] / A. Baselga [w, p]’ ( BASC); 1 ♂, ‘ HISPANIA [p] / Buenamadre / Salamanca [h] / J. Vives Leg. [w, p] // 8-58 [reverse of previous label, h]’ ( EPCP); 1 spec. unsexed, ‘ Ponferrada / Paganetti [w, p]’ ( NHMW); 1 ♀, ‘ S. Rafael [Segovia] / 29.6.1930 [w, h] // Collección / M. ESCALERA [w, p]’ ( MNCN). GALICIA: 2 ♀♀, ‘ 14-6-2010 / San Martiño / Baltar – Ourense [h] / A. Baselga [w, p]’ ( BASC) ; 1 ♂, ‘ 3-6-2000 3926 / Casaio / Carballeda / Ourense [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] 00 [w, h]’ ( BASC). MADRID: 2 ♂♂, ‘ Escorial / Espagne / R. Obr. & L. Bl. / Juillet 1879 [w, p] // Museum Paris / ex Coll. / R. Oberthur [w, p]’ ( MNHN); 1 ♂, ‘ HISPANIA [p] / Escorial / Madrid 6.5.57 [h] / M. González leg. [w, p]’ ( EPCP); 1 ♀, ‘Galap. [= Galapagar, Madrid] / 14.6.1930 [w, h] // Collección / M. ESCALERA [w, p] // Oulema / melanopa (L.) [h] / det. [p] E. Petitpierre ʼ89 [w, h]’ ( MNCN); 1 ♀, ‘ ESCORIAL [w, p] // Collección / LAUFFER [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea Suffr. / det. Petitpierre ʼ91 [w, h]’ ( MNCN); 4 ♂♂ 3 ♀♀, ‘ESCORIAL [w, p] // Collección / LAUFFER [w, p]’ ( MNCN); 1 spec. unsexed, ‘ Madrid / Escorial [w, p]’ ( NHMW); 8 spec. unsexed, ‘ Escorial 4.7.1879 / D. S. [w, h] // Sharp Coll. / 1905-313. [w, p]’ ( BMNH). PORTUGAL: TRÁS- OS- MONTES: 1 ♂ 1 ♀, ‘ 20-6-2001 4404 / Castelo Branco / Mogadouro [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] 01 [w, h]’ ( BASC, NMPC); 1 ♀, ‘ 21-6-2001 4458 / Vila Cha / Miranda de Douro [h] / A. Baselga [w, p] // Oulema / rufocyanea / (Suffr.) [h] / A. Baselga [p] 01 [w, h]’ ( BASC). The specimens are provided with additional printed red labels: ‘ HOLOTYPUS, [or PARATYPUS] / Oulema verae sp. nov. / det. J. Bezděk & / A. Baselga 2014’.

Description. Body length: ♂♂ 3.7–4.2 mm (holotype 4.0 mm); ♀♀ 3.8–4.4 mm.

Male (holotype, Fig. 5 ). Pronotum orange with narrow black anterior margin, posetrior margin wide, black (including complete basal constriction), pronotal hypomeron with large orange to red triangle connecting with colouration of dorsal side.

Antennae ( Fig. 15 ) slender, 0.48 times as long as body, length ratio of antennomeres I–XI equal to 100: 71: 86: 86: 129: 114: 114: 114: 100: 100: 143. Pronotum ( Fig. 10 ) quadratic, as wide as long, widest in anterior third. Surface weakly constricted before base, between constriction and posterior margin low thin ridge. Anterior margin nearly straight, thinly bordered, anterior half of lateral margins almost parallel, straight, posterior half convergent.

Scutellum as wide as long, posterior margin straight.

Elytra 0.68 times as long as body, 1.8 times as long as wide in humeral part.

Tarsi. Protarsomere I elongate triangular, 1.4 times as long as broad, 0.63 times as long as two following tarsomeres combined, protarsomere II triangular, as wide as long, length ratios of protarsomeres I–IV equal to 100: 71: 86: 143. Metatarsomere I elongate triangular, 1.75 times as long as broad, 0.72 times as long as two following tarsomeres combined, length ratios of metatarsomeres I–IV equal to 100: 63: 75: 150.

Male genitalia.Aedeagus as in Fig. 25 . Flagellum ( Fig. 23 ) relatively small, wide, shallowly constricted before its midlength, apex with deep elongate-oval incision and sharp thin process; in lateral view bisinuate, apically slightly wider than basally; posterobasal arms dark, slender, regularly turned in apical half.

Female. Spermatheca ( Fig. 30 ) with short duct, which is heavily sclerotized in proximal three quarters, soft in basal quarter, with no specialized junction to bursa copulatrix, sclerotized part of duct slender, slightly widened in basal third. Nodulus poorly developed, gradually connected with cornu, about twice wider than cornu in middle part, cornu and nodulus are connected in axis ca 75°, cornu gradually narrowing towards apex.

Variability. Metallic colouration of head, scutellum and elytra varies from metallic bright blue to metallic bluish-black. Pronotum orange to red, posterior margin, usually including complete basal constriction, black, in some specimens only middle of basal constriction darkened or black. Antennae 0.46–0.50 times as long as body. Elytra 0.66–0.75 times as long as body. The length/width ratio of elytra varies between 1.75–2.00.

Differential diagnosis. Oulema verae sp. nov. differs from all other European species of the Oulema melanopus species group in the anterior and posterior margins of pronotum with wide darkened borders, while pronotum in the rest of species is uniformly orange or with only thin dark borders. Within European species O. verae sp. nov. has also shortest protarsomere I (length/width ratio 1.25–1.40). This ratio is higher in remaining species, at least 1.45 (see Tab. 1 ).

Lateral margins of pronotum in O. verae sp. nov. are similar to those of O. melanopus and O. duftschmidi , as the anterior half of lateral margins is nearly parallel ( Figs 6, 7, 10 ). The best diagnostic character is the flagellum, which is very characteristic in O. verae sp. nov. (relatively small, wide, with apex incised, in lateral view bisinuate, apically slightly wider than basally), and slightly resembles only that of O. melanopus , which is larger and not incised apically ( Figs 17–18, 23 ). The spermatheca and ductus spermathecae with simple incomplete coil are similar to those of O. rufocyanea , but both species differ in the structure of soft distal part of ductus spermathecae which is very short in O. verae sp. nov. and about four times longer in O. rufocyanea ( Figs 28, 30 ).

Known specimens of O. verae sp. nov. are 3.8–4.3 mm long, thus smaller than O. melanopus (4.5–6.2 mm) and O. duftschmidi (4.2–5.7 mm). However, the elytral length/width ratio (1.75–2.00 in O. verae sp. nov.) widely overlaps with this ratio in O. melanopus and O. duftschmidi (1.87–2.05) and also in O. rufocyanea and O. mauroi sp. nov. (1.69–1.87), thus this character cannot be used for correct identification.

Lateral margins of pronotum of O verae sp. nov. are not convexely rounded asin O. rufocyanea and O. mauroi sp. nov., but the pronotum resembles more that of O. melanopus and O. duftschmidi in which margins converge only in its anterior parts.

Etymology. Dedicated to Vera, daughter of Andrés Baselga.

Collection circumstances and bionomy. All collections done by A. Baselga correspond to samplings in meadows (particularly wet meadows), using a sweeping net. No specific information on the host plants is available yet.

Distribution. Portugal (Trás-os-Montes), Spain (Andalusia, Aragón, Castilla y León, Galicia, Madrid) ( Fig. 32 ).

Figures

Figs 1–5. Male habitus: 1 – Oulema duftschmidi (Retdenbacher, 1874) (4.6 mm); 2 – O. melanopus (Linnaeus, 1758) (4.5 mm); 3 – O. rufocyanea (Suffrian, 1847) (4.2 mm); 4 – O. mauroi sp. nov., holotype (4.4 mm); 5 – O. verae sp. nov., holotype (4.0mm).

Figs 6–15. Male pronotum:6 – Oulema duftschmidi (Redtenbacher, 1874); 7 – O. melanopus (Linnaeus, 1758); 8 – O. rufocyanea (Suffrian, 1847); 9 – O. mauroi sp. nov.; 10 – O. verae sp. nov. Left male antenna: 11 – O. duftschmidi; 12 – O. melanopus; 13 – O. rufocyanea; 14 – O. mauroi sp. nov.; 15 – O. verae sp. nov..

Figs 16–23. Flagellum of aedeagus in lateral (upper) and dorsal (below) view: 16 – Oulema duftschmidi (Redtenbacher, 1874); 17 – O. melanopus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Czech Republic); 18 – O. melanopus (Suffrian, 1847) (Spain); 19 – O. rufocyanea (Slovakia); 20 – O. rufocyanea (Hungary); 21 –O. rufocyanea (Italy); 22 – O. mauroi sp. nov.; 23 – O. verae sp. nov. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figs 24–25. Aedeagus in dorsal (left) and lateral (right) view: 24 – O. mauroi sp. nov.; 25 – O. verae sp. nov. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figs 26–30. Spermatheca and ductus spermathecae: 26 – Oulema duftschmidi (Redtenbacher, 1874); 27 – O. melanopus (Linnaeus, 1758); 28 – O. rufocyanea (Suffrian, 1847); 29 – O. mauroi sp. nov.; 30 – O. verae sp. nov. Scale bar: 0.25 mm.

Figs 31–32. Distributional maps: 31 – O. mauroi sp. nov.; 32 – O. verae sp. nov.