Mylassa Stal , 1857

Agrain, Federico A., Chamorro, Maria Lourdes, Cabrera, Nora, Sassi, Davide & Roig-Junent, Sergio, 2017, A comprehensive guide to the Argentinian case-bearer beetle fauna (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Camptosomata), ZooKeys 677, pp. 11-88 : 48-49

Mylassa Stal, 1857 Fig. 26

Mylassa : Stål 1857: 60; Baly 1877b: 32; Jakobson 1924: 258 (placed in Pachybrachina); Monrós 1949a: 492 (placed in Cryptocephalina); Schöller and Heinig 2003: 9, = Cryptocephalus ; Suffrian 1863: 174; Blackwelder 1946: 644; Jerez and Briones 2010: 32.

Type species.

Mylassa fasciatipennis Stål (= Pachybrachis crassicollis Blanchard), designated by Jakobson 1924: 258.

Diagnosis.

This genus can be easily distinguished from all others in the area by the presence of pubescence on its body and by the presence of a basal thoracic lobe with raised, thickened apex. Furthermore, it has nearly entire eyes and the rectal apparatus bears two ventral and three dorsal sclerites, with the shape of the dorsal central plate band-like (very narrow) ( Reid 1990; Schöller 2008).

Distribution.

This genus has eight species described form Southern Chile and Argentina, and some new species awaiting description. Species are found between 30°S and 42°S and are associated with sclerophyllous shrubs ( Jerez and Briones 2010).

Remarks.

This genus was considered a synonym of Cryptocephalus by several authors, however several studies support its validity and it is hypothesized to be included in Pachybrachina ( Baly 1877b; Jakobson 1924; Monrós 1949a, Schöller 2008; Jerez and Briones 2010) or in its own subtribe ( Reid 1990; Chamorro and Konstantinov, unpublished data).

Argentinian species checklist.

1. Mylassa chachallaoi Monrós, 1949a (CHU, RNO). Host plant: Proteaceae : Lomatia obliqua ( Monrós 1949a).

2. Mylassa crassicollis (Blanchard, 1851) (NQN, RNO). Host plant: Anacardiaceae : “litrenillo”, Schinus ? ( Bosq 1943), Schinus sp. ( Monrós 1949a); Betulaceae : Betula sp., Elaeocarpaceae : Aristotelia sp., and Aristotelia maqui , Aristotelia chilensis (as main food source) ( Monrós 1949a), Ericaceae : Gaultheria sp. ( Monrós 1949a), Pernettya sp. ( Bosq 1943), Salicaceae : Populus sp. ( Monrós 1949a).

= Mylassa fasciatipennis Stål, 1857.

3. Mylassa discariana Monrós, 1949a (RNO). Host plant: Rhamnaceae : Discaria sp. ( Monrós 1949a).

4. Mylassa frigens Monrós, 1949a (NQN).

5. Mylassa obliquata (Suffrian, 1863) (NQN, RNO).

6. Mylassa pectinicornis (Suffrian, 1866) (NQN, RNO, CHU). Host plant: Proteaceae : Lomatia obliqua ( Monrós 1949a).