Distigmoptera chamorrae Konstantinov & Konstantinova

Konstantinov, A. S. & Konstantinova, A. A., 2011, New genus and species of flea beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini) from Puerto Rico, with comments on flea beetle diversity in the West Indies and a key to the West Indian Monoplatini genera, ZooKeys 155, pp. 61-87 : 67-70

Distigmoptera chamorrae Konstantinov & Konstantinova sp. n. Figs 15-27

Description.

Body (Figs 15, 18) length 1.72-2.27 mm, width 0.91-1.14 mm, pubescent, oval and moderately flat in lateral view. Head, except mouthparts, antenna, except antennomere five in males and five and six in females, pronotum, base of elytron, and metafemur dark brown to blackish. Mouthparts, antennomere five in male and five and six in female, front and middle legs and metatibia yellowish to very light brown. Apex of protibia and apical part of elytron (larger in female than in male) slightly darker. Lighter part of elytron with two transverse dark bands, narrower and better separated in female and wider and poorly visible in male. Lighter parts of elytron covered with setae lighter in color, darker parts covered with setae darker in color.

Head (Figs 16, 17) slightly convex in lateral view, evenly and strongly rugose and pubescent. Frons and vertex forming slightly convex line in lateral view. Supraorbital pore indistinguishable. Antennal callus clearly visible, nearly quadrate, its surface situated above surface of vertex. Midfrontal sulcus wide and deep. Supracallinal and supraorbital sulci poorly visible. Suprafrontal and supraantennal sulci shallow. Orbit relatively narrow, 2.50 times narrower than transverse diameter of eye. Interantennal space as wide as transverse diameter of eye. Antennal socket rounded. Frontal ridge wide, parallel sided. Anterofrontal ridge merged with frontal ridge forming denticle in middle. Eyes small, slightly protruding laterally, inner margin curved. Labrum deeply notched in middle, with six setiferous pores. Apical maxillary palpomere as wide as long, conical, much smaller than preceding palpomere. Labial palpomeres of equal length, apical conical. Antenna with 11 antennomeres, antennomeres widening apically. Antennomere four thinnest (Fig. 18). Proportions of antennomere lengths in male: 12:4:6:5:5:5:7:7:7:6:9; in female: 12:6:5:5:5:6:6:6:6:7:9.

Pronotum (Figs 15, 18) 1.47 times wider than long. Pronotal disc anteriorly raised in two wide ridges separated by shallow and wide impressions. Anterior margin straight, with distinct border. Lateral margins subparallel, very slightly convex, without explanation. Posterior margin nearly straight, without distinct border. Anterolateral callosity globular and evenly rounded, bearing seta and not forming denticle posteriorly. Posterolateral callosity absent. Pronotal surface covered with large closely placed punctures and a few yellow, whitish and black setae. Scutellum triangular, densely covered with yellow setae. Prosternal surface densely covered with irregular punctures. Prosternal intercoxal process extended posteriorly beyond coxa and truncate posteriorly. Posterior end about twice as wide as middle. Procoxal cavities closed posteriorly. Mesosternum shorter than prosternal process, quadrate, rugose and pilose. Metasternum smooth and pilose, convex in lateral view, as long as pro- and mesosterna together. Posterior margin with sharp notch.

Elytral surface punctate (Figs 15, 18), with punctures forming nine striae (not counting marginal and short scutellar striae), densely pilose with black setae near base and yellow setae in posterior half. Interspaces between puncture rows two and three, four and five, six and seven form convex ridges. Humeral callus absent. Base of elytron with callus situated between suture and humeral corner. Epipleura wide, nearly vertical, narrowing abruptly at elytral apex but not reaching it. Elytral apex narrowly truncate.

Pro- and mesofemora slightly dilated and tibiae subcylindrical, somewhat enlarged towards apical edge (Fig. 17); pubescence sparsely distributed. Metafemur greatly enlarged, 1.82 times longer than wide and 1.72 times longer than metatibia. Pro- and mesotibiae without apical spurs. Metatibia straight in lateral view, slightly curved in dorsal view. Outer and inner lateral dorsal ridges more or less straight with apical third with numerous denticles. Metatibial spur well developed. First metatarsomere inserted preapically and about as long as two subsequent tarsomeres together. Claw tarsomere swollen. Claw split in male and appendiculate in female.

Abdomen pubescent, with five visible sternites. Apical sternite shorter than three preceding sternites combined, without appendages basally (Fig. 26). Basal sternite shorter than three following sternites together. Last abdominal tergite of female without groove in middle, evenly covered with long setae.

Median lobe simple, slightly curved in lateral view with more abrupt curvature near middle; in ventral view, with lateral margins almost parallel, apex subtriangular without denticle (Fig. 22). Ventral side apically flatter than basally.

In female genitalia, posterior part of sternite eight sclerotized along its entire margin (Fig. 25). Tignum with rounded anterior margin, evenly sclerotized, bearing many moderately long setae (Fig. 25). Vaginal palpi (Fig. 24) elongate, anteriorly and along middle strongly sclerotized and merged anteriorly for more than half of their length, each with about eight setae at apex, with posterior sclerotization shorter than anterior (Fig. 24). Spermatheca curved (Fig. 23), with receptacle and pump not differentiated from each other (pump about as wide as receptacle). Apex of pump with flattened projection. Spermathecal duct long, forming “S” coils.

Diagnosis and comparison.

Distigmoptera chamorrae can be easily differentiated from all continental speciesof Distigmoptera by the bicolorous antennae with antennomeres five in the male and five and six in the female being yellowish, much lighter than the rest of the antennae. It can be distinguished from the only other West Indian species ( Distigmoptera antennata Medvedev) by the absence of wings ( Distigmoptera antennata is winged).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a patronym dedicated to Lourdes Chamorro who collected the only known specimens.

Type material.

Holotype: ♂, Puerto Rico: Toro Negro, 18°11.850'N, 66°29.533'W, 904 m, 20.VI.2008, leg. M. L. Chamorro (USNM). Paratype ♀, same label as holotype (USNM).