Yemenaltica furthi, Döberl, 2012

Döberl, Manfred, 2012, Alticinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of Socotra Island, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 52, pp. 429-447 : 444-446

Yemenaltica furthi sp. nov.

( Figs. 12 , 14, 25 , 42 )

Type locality. Yemen, Socotra Island, Al Haghier Mts., Wadi Madar, 12°33.2′N, 54°00.4′E.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J ( NMPC), ‘ YEMEN, SOCOTRA Island / Al Haghier Mts. / wadi Madar, 1180-1230 m / 12°33.2′N, 54°00.4′E, / J. Bezděk leg., 12-14.xi.2010 [w, p]’. PARATYPES: 2 ♀♀, same data as holotype ( MDCA); 3 JJ 1 ♀, same data as holotype but J. Hájek leg. ( NMPC, 1 J in MDCA); 1 ♀, ‘ YEMEN, SOCOTRA Island / Al Haghier Mts. / Scant Mt. env. / 12°34.6′N, 54°01.5′E, 1450 m / J. Bezdĕk leg., 12.-13.xi.2010 [w, p]’ ( JBCB); 1 ♀, same data but L. Purchart leg. ( JBCB); 12 spec. unsexed, ‘ YEMEN, SOCOTRA ISLAND / Dixam plateau, TUDHEN / shrubland with Commiphora / planifrons 18.+ 22.vi.2012 / 12°32.7’N, 53°59.9’E, 1135 m [w, p] // SOCOTRA expedition 2012 / J. Bezděk, J. Hájek, V. Hula, / P. Kment, I. Malenovský, / J. Niedobová & L. Purchart leg. [w, p]’ ( NMPC); 3 spec. unsexed, ‘ YEMEN, SOCOTRA ISLAND, 18.vi. / Hagher Mts., WADI MADAR, 2012 / montane shrubland with / Cephalocroton socotranus / 12°33.2’N, 54°00.4’E, 1170 m [w, p] // SOCOTRA expedition 2012 / J. Bezděk, J. Hájek, V. Hula, / P. Kment, I. Malenovský, / J. Niedobová & L. Purchart leg. [w, p]’ ( NMPC). The specimens are provided with two additional labels: ‘ Yemenaltica / furthi mihi / des. Döberl 2012 [w, p]’ and ‘ Holotypus [Paratypus, resp.] [r, p]’.

Description. Body length/width: males 2.0–2.3/ 0.8–0.9 mm (holotype 2.0/ 0.8 mm); females 1.8–2.2/ 0.7–0.9 mm.

Male (holotype, Fig. 42 ). Body subparallel, lustrous, brown. Anterior part of head pale, vertex and frons dark brown, labrum and maxillar palpi darkened. Antennomeres I–III brownish, remaining black. Elytra brown, around humeral calli and in apex paler. Legs fulvous, tarsi infuscate. Underside black, apex of apical ventrite paler.

Antennal calli elongate, trigonate, separated by shallowly impressed line, laterally and posteriorly not delimited by dictinct lines, their anterior tip extending to interantennal space. Ratio of distances between inner and outer margins of eyes 1:1.75. Vertex and frons shining smooth. Antennae long, 0.9 times as long as body, proportions of antennomeres are 16:9:11:19:18:17:17:16:16:16:16 (1 = 0.01 mm).

Pronotum subquadrate, 1.4 times as wide as long. Anterior margin nearly straight, lateral margins straight, posterior margin rounded.Anterior angles almost rectangular with setigerous pore, posterior angles evenly rounded with setigerous pore and additional one or two short setae. Surface finely and shallowly punctured, finer near base, along pronotal base with weak shallow transverse impression.

Scutellum small and trigonate. Elytra subparallel, 0.65 times as long as body, 1.55 times as long as wide (measured at humeral calli). Elytral disc flattened. Winged, humeral calli well developed. Elytra densely covered with fine punctures forming numerous regular striae, interstices weakly raised.

Anterior coxal cavities closed. Apical ventrite with two short incisions. Protarsomere I subtriangular, with rounded sides, as wide as protarsomere III, length ratios of protarsomeres I–IV equal to 6-3-3-4. Apical third of metatibia distinctly bent outwards, somewhat thickened and hollowed, apical margins provided with few stiff setae. Metatibial spur short, with undulate margins ( Fig. 14 ). Metatarsomeres combined nearly as long as the tibia, very thin. Metatarsomere I long, length ratios of metatarsomeres I–IV equal to 11-7-3-4.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 12 ) ventrally with broad furrow, tapering to base.

Female. Protarsomere I almost parallel, narrow, distinctly narrower than protarsomere III. Apical ventrite evenly rounded. Spermatheca ( Fig. 25 ): nodulus elongate, gradually merged with cornu.

Differential diagnosis. Yemenaltica furthi sp. nov. can be compared only with the second known Yemenaltica species – Y. scorteccii Scherer, 1985 from the Arabian Peninsula. Both species share the metatibial spur with undulate margins. In Y. scorteccii , this spur is long and broad while it is rather small in Y. furthi sp. nov. Pronotum is more transverse (about 1.7 times as wide as long), dull and densely punctate in Y. scorteccii , while 1.4 times as wide as long, lustrous and finely punctate in Y. furthi sp. nov. Metatibia are channeled in almost whole length in Y. scorteccii , while only in apical third in Y. furthi sp. nov.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to David G. Furth (Washington, USA), well known specialist of Alticinae , to whom I owe numerous specimens of Alticinae from Israel for comparison.

Distribution. Socotra Island, Yemen.

Figures

Figs. 10–12.Aedeagus (a – ventral view, b – lateral view). 10 – Podagrica puncticollis Weise, 1902; 11 – Psylliodes persica Allard, 1867 (specimen from Iran); 12 – Yemenaltica furthi sp. nov. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figs. 13–25. 13 – head of Bezdekaltica socotrana sp. nov. 14 – left hind leg of Yemenaltica furthi sp. nov. 15–25. Spermatheca. 15 – Aphthona pusilla Laboissière, 1942; 16 – A. socotrana sp. nov.; 17 – Bezdekaltica socotrana sp. nov.; 18 – Hermaeophaga ruficollis (Lucas, 1847); 19 – Longitarsus buettikeri Doguet, 1984; 20 – Luperomorpha biondii sp. nov.; 21 – Phyllotreta cheiranthi Weise, 1903; 22 – P. procera (Redtenbacher, 1849); 23 – Podagrica puncticollis Weise, 1902; 24 – Psylliodes persica Allard, 1867; 25 – Yemenaltica furthi sp. nov. Scale bars: 0.5 mm for Figs. 14, 0.2 mm for Fig. 13 and 0.1 mm for Figs. 14–25.

Figs. 38–42. Habitus. 38 – Phyllotreta cheiranthi Weise, 1903 (female, 1.9 mm); 39 – P. procera (Redtenbacher, 1849) (male, 2.4 mm); 40 – Podagrica puncticollis Weise, 1902 (female, 3.7 mm); 41 – Psylliodes persica Allard, 1867 (female, 2.3 mm); 42 – Yemenaltica furthi sp. nov. (holotype, male, 2.0 mm).