Ulrica iviei 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 : 73-76

Ulrica iviei Konstantinov & Konstantinova sp. n. Figs 51-58

Description.

Body length 1.89-2.05 mm, width 1.08-1.29 mm. Color chestnut brown to almost black with appendages lighter (Figs 51, 52). Head surface dorsally shiny, ventrally with some wrinkles (Fig. 53). Vertex with several large punctures, supraorbital pore as large as a few punctures on vertex near it. Supracallinal sulcus not separating antennal calli and vertex medially. Frontal ridge wide, about as long as antennal calli (Fig. 53). Anterofrontal ridge making long denticle about as long as entire clypeus. Pronotum and elytron with coarse punctures. Interspaces of elytron flat on disc, slightly convex apically. Proportions of tarsomeres of male as follows: protarsomeres 5:4:5:9; mesotarsomeres 5:4:5:9; metatarsomeres 10:5:5:9. Median lobe of aedeagus with more or less curved sides in ventral view, with ridge in middle being wider at base, narrowing towards middle and widening towards apex. In lateral view slightly curved without bump on ventral side beyond middle (Fig. 55). Spermatheca with pump at base wider than receptacle and duct making coils (Fig. 56). Sternite eight nearly fully sclerotized with tignum sharply bent anteriorly (Fig. 58). Vaginal palpi merged at about apical one third (Fig. 57).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a patronym dedicated to Mike Ivie who collected the holotype.

Diagnosis and comparison.

Ulrica iviei can be easily differentiated from Ulrica eltoro based on the key below.

Type material.

Holotype: ♂, Puerto Rico: Caribbean Nat. For. Pico El Yunque, El Toro trail, 975 m, 23 Sept. 1987, leg. M. A. Ivie, dwarf forest litter (WIBF). Paratypes ♂ and ♀, Puerto Rico El Yunque, Mt. Britton Tr. VIII.11.1999, C. W. O’Brien, P. Kovarik (MLBU, USNM).

Key to species of Ulrica from Puerto Rico

Key to Monoplatini genera of the West Indies

In addition to Distigmoptera and Ulrica , six other Monoplatini genera are reported in the West Indies: Aedmon Clark, Apleuraltica , Bonfilsus Scherer, Homotyphus Clark, Hypolampsis Clark, and Physimerus Clark ( Takizawa 2003). Aedmon , Apleuraltica , and Bonfilsus are West Indian endemics, relatively small (with the exception of Aedmon ) and relatively well circumscribed. However, Homotyphus (with about 20 species mostly from South America and just one in the West Indies), Hypolampsis (with about 50 species from North, Central, and South America and just two in the West Indies), and Physimerus (with about 60 species from Central and South America and one in the West Indies) are poorly understood; their identity, distinguishing characters and composition need extensive review. Below we provide a key for Monoplatini genera of the West Indies based on the West Indian species.