Teretrispa Gressitt, 1960

Borowiec, Lech, Świętojańska, Jolanta & Sekerka, Lukáš, 2019, Revision of the tribe Cryptonychini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) of New Caledonia, Zootaxa 4690 (1), pp. 1-71 : 46

Genus Teretrispa Gressitt, 1960

Teretrispa Gressitt 1960b: 116 (original description), 1961: 79 (noted); Uhmann 1964: 455 (catalogue); Würmli 1975: 37 (diagnostic description); Seeno & Wilcox 1982: 163 (catalogue); Jolivet 1989: 310 (host plant); Jolivet & Hawkeswood 1995: 153 (host plant); Jolivet & Verma 2009: 218 (faunal list).

Type species. Teretrispa gahniae Gressitt 1960b by original designation.

Description. Moderately large beetles, body length below 13.3 mm. Antennae 11-segmented. Body slim and elongate, more than 3.5 × as long as wide. Head wider than long, interocular plate rectangular, flat and continuous or separated from vertex by shallow but distinct sulcus. Interantennal process short to moderate, at most as long as ¾ length of antennomere I. Frontoclypeus as long as wide, coarsely punctate, without medial keel. Labrum strongly convex, tuberculate. Prosternum between coxae wider than half with of coxa, without prosternal collar, but anterior margin elevated and separated from prosternal process by deep sulcus, prosternal process finely punctate. Pronotum rectangular in outline, as long as to 1.2 × longer than wide, with obtuse lateral carina, with or without anterolateral tubercles. Top of pronotal disc flat, coarsely and densely punctate without distinct impressions or pits. Elytra without scutellar row of punctures or with 1–2 irregular punctures, with 6–7 rows in humeral part, 7–8 rows behind middle, and 9–10 rows apically. At least interval 3 distinctly costate. Thorax and abdomen mostly smooth or finely sculptured. Legs slim, with indistinct sexual characters. Sexual dimorphism manifested in length of interantennal process, shape of apical spine of mid tibiae, and shape of last abdominal ventrite.

Distribution. Four species endemic to New Caledonia.

Key to species of Teretrispa

1. Pronotum with distinct anterolateral tubercles (Figs 158, 168, 183)..............................................2.

- Pronotum without anterolateral tubercles, only with broadly rounded projection at anterior corners (Fig. 177)................................................................................................ T. longicollis sp. nov.

2. Elytra between interval 3 (costa) and 5 with two regular rows of punctures in whole length; on average larger species, length 8.5–13.0 mm........................................................................................3.

- Elytra between interval 3 (costa) and 5 with one row of punctures on basal half and two rows on apical half; smaller species, length 8.4 mm .................................................................. T. orchidaceae Gressitt, 1960

3. Legs rust-coloured ( Figs 169, 170 ), pronotum ochraceous to brown ( Fig. 168 ), ventral side largely pale brown; smaller species, length 8.5–11.1 mm ................................................................ T. gahniae Gressitt, 1960

- Legs and pronotum black (Figs 158–162), ventral side black only abdominal ventrites with pale spot on each side; larger species, length 11.0–13.0 mm............................................................... T. daccordii sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURES 163–171. Teretrispa gahniae Gressitt, 1960. 163–164. Body dorsal, 165. Antenna, 166. Frontoclypeus and prosternum, 167. Head dorsal, 168. Pronotum, 169. Fore leg, 170. Mid leg, 171. Holotype labels.