Cassida sekerkai, Borowiec, Lech & Świętojańska, Jolanta, 2017

Borowiec, Lech & Świętojańska, Jolanta, 2017, Cassida sekerkai sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae), a new species from Madagascar, Zootaxa 4268 (3), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

Cassida sekerkai sp. nov.

Etymology. Dedicated to Dr. Lukas Sekerka, an eminent specialist in taxonomy of cassidine beetles who sent us this species to study.

Type. Holotype: MADAGASCAR | Antananarivo prov . | Ambohitantely Spec. Res. | 18°11’51’’S, 47°17’03’’E, 1530m | 24. – 29.xi.2011 | M. Trýzna lgt || COLLECTION | Lukáš Sekerka | Liberec Czech Republic (preserved in NMPC—National Museum, Prague) .

Diagnosis. Cassida sekerkai sp. nov. belongs to the group of species with pronotal disc mostly and elytral disc completely black, and explanate margin of pronotum and elytra partly black. Eight Madagascan species have this combination of characters, six of them i.e. Cassida currax Spaeth , C. flavooculata Borowiec & Świętojańska , C. rubromaculata Spaeth , C. taediosa Boh. , C. tenax Spaeth and C. trossula Spaeth distinctly differ in explanate margin of elytra black with yellow fenestrate spot while in C. sekerkai sp. nov., C. sanguineoguttata Spaeth , C. scymnoides Borowiec and C. tenax Spaeth the explanate margin of elytra is completely or mostly black at most with yellow humeral corners, extreme lateral margin and apex. C. sanguineoguttata well differs in elytral disc with several reddish elevated spots while in remainder three species elytral disc is uniformly black. The broader clypeus is 1.2 times as wide as long (approximately as wide as long in C. sekerkai ). C. sekerkai like C. scymnoides has elytral surface covered with sparse, adherent pubescence but in C. sekerkai setae are extremely short and sparse, visible only in high magnification of stereomicroscope thus body appears bare while in C. scymnoides hairs are longer, denser, well visible. Both species differ in elytral sculpture, in C. scymnoides postscutellar impressions are very shallow not margined by distinct elevations while in C. sekerkai the impressions are well marked, margined by well marked H-shaped elevation. Puncturation of disc in C. scymnoides is shallowly impressed, moderately dense with flat interspaces and arranged in regular rows while in C. sekerkai the puncturation is deeply impressed, dense, with slightly elevated interspaces and at least on sides of disc appears partly irregular. Dorsum of C. scymnoiodes appears slightly opaque while in C. sekerkai shiny. C. tenax is the most similar but differs in larger size with length 5.5 – 6.3 mm and width 4.55 – 5.2 mm (vs. 4.95 and 4.1, respectively, in C. sekerkai ), surface of disc without adherent hairs, elytral sculpture more developed with second interval convex up to 3/4 length of disc (to 2/3 length of disc in C. sekerkai ) and black colour on explanate margin occupying almost whole surface while in C. sekerkai humeral corners and apical ¼ length of the margin are yellow.

Description. Length: 4.95 mm, width: 4.10 mm, length of pronotum: 1.80 mm, width of pronotum: 3.40 mm, length/width ratio 1.21, width/length ratio of pronotum: 1.89. Body almost circular, widest in the mid length ( Fig. 1 ).

Pronotal disc in basal 2/3 of surface black, area above head yellowish to partly yellowish brown, two small yellowish brown patches on sides of disc. Explanate margin of pronotum mostly yellow with brownish-black basal spots. Scutellum black. Elytral disc completely black. Explanate margin of elytra in basal half mostly black with yellow humeral angles and lateral margin, in posterior half yellow increases and apical 1/4 of the explanate margin completely yellow. Clypeus and labrum yellow. Thorax black, abdomen mostly dark brown to black broadly surrounded by yellow. Legs yellow except for brown fore coxa. Antennal segments 1 – 6 yellow, last five segments gradually infuscate with three apical segments black except for yellowish apex of ventral side of last segment.

Pronotum slightly irregularly elliptical, with maximum width slightly behind the middle, sides narrowly rounded. Disc only slightly convex, indistinctly separated from explanate margin. Whole surface of disc coarsely and densely punctate, punctures partly touching each other and tend to form longitudinal striation, only area above head indistinctly sculptured. Explanate margin on dark parts finely sculptured, appears indistinctly striated, on yellow parts almost smooth and shiny, transparent, with well visible honeycomb structure.

Base of elytra distinctly wider than base of pronotum ( Fig. 1 ), basal margin of disc with very small black crenulation, humeral angles moderately protruding anterad, subangulate. Disc irregularly convex in profile ( Fig. 2 ), with distinct H-shaped elevation in postscutellar area and shallow but distinct scutellar and principal impressions. Anterior branches of H-shaped elevation surrounding postscutellar impressions, posterior branches prolongate into elevated second interval extending to 2/3 length of disc, also fourth interval in the middle tends to form longitudinal fold. Puncturation moderately coarse but dense with distance between punctures mostly smaller than puncture diameter, interspaces partly form irregular folds. More or less regular rows visible only in sutural and marginal parts of disc, central part of each appears mostly irregularly punctate. Marginal row distinct, its punctures only slightly coarser than punctures in central rows. Intervals marked only in elevated parts, on most parts of disc indistinct or linear. Marginal interval well marked on whole length but not or only slightly wider than two neighbouring rows combined. Surface of disc appears shiny. Explanate margin moderately declivous, moderately broad, in the widest part four times narrower than disc. Surface of explanate margin as coarse and dense punctate as disc, appears irregular. Apex of elytral epipleura mostly glabrous, only apical edge of elytra with row of very short setae.

Eyes large, gena obsolete. Clypeus narrow, as wide as long, frontal grooves very fine, run mostly close to margin of eye and on apex of clypeus converging in obtuse triangle. Area between grooves and margin of eye and above upper margin of labrum with row of setose punctures. Surface of clypeal plate with shallow longitudinal impression, smooth and shiny. Labrum broadly emarginate to 1/5 length. Antennae slim, segments 9 – 10 distinctly longer than wide. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:65:85:88:79:59:62:56:59:59:109. Segment 3 approximately 1.3 times as long as segment 2 and approximately as long as segment 4 ( Fig. 4 ).

Prosternal collar as long as length of last palpomere. Prosternal process broad, not impressed along lateral margins, broad apically. Area between coxae flat, shiny, with few setose punctures. Central part of rhomboidal apex elevated, mostly smooth, at top with few punctures, sides impressed with setose punctures ( Fig. 3 ).

Claws with small basal tooth ( Fig. 5 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1 – 5. Cassida sekerkai sp. nov. 1. Dorsal, 2. Lateral, 3. Head and prosternum, 4. Antenna, 5. Tarsal claw. (scale bar for 1 – 3 = 2 mm, 4 = 1 mm, 5 = 0.1 mm)