Micraspis unicus Poorani

POORANI, J., 2023, An illustrated guide to lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part 1. Tribe Coccinellini, Zootaxa 5332 (1), pp. 1-307 : 189

Micraspis unicus Poorani

( Fig. 134 )

Micraspis unicus Poorani, 2019: 190 (Holotype male, NBAIR; Type locality: Arunachal Pradesh).

Diagnosis. Length: 3.33 mm; width: 3.05 mm. Form ( Fig. 134a–c ) broad oval to almost round, nearly as long as wide, broadest around middle of elytra and apically narrowed; dorsum convex and glabrous except head with white hairs around clypeal margin. Head creamy white or yellow, rest of dorsum and ventral side yellowish, pronotum with an indistinct pale yellowish-brown median marking, pronotum and elytra with lateral margins transparent. Epipleuron at its widest almost half as wide as metaventrite ( Fig. 134d ). Abdominal postcoxal lines ( Fig. 134e ) incomplete, short. Male genitalia ( Fig. 134h–k ) and spermatheca ( Fig. 134g ) as illustrated. It can be separated from its Indian congeners by its medium-large size, uniform yellow-orange body with distinctly explanate elytra, small scutellar shield, epipleuron at its widest almost half as wide as metaventrite, and the distinctive male genitalia and spermatheca.

Distribution. India (Arunachal Pradesh).

Note. See Poorani (2019) for detailed description.

Figures

FIGURE 134. Micraspis unicus Poorani: a, b. adult, dorsal view; c. adult, frontal view; d. adult, ventral view; e. abdominal postcoxal line; f. prosternum; g. spermatheca; h–k. male genitalia: h. tegmen, lateral view; i. tegmen, ventral view; j. penis; k. penis apex.