Gallerucida octodecimpunctata Xu & Yang, 2022

Xu, Si-yuan, Nie, Rui-E & Yang, Xing-ke, 2022, Notes on spotted-elytron species of Gallerucida Motschulsky with the description of six new species from China (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae), ZooKeys 1116, pp. 33-55 : 33

Gallerucida octodecimpunctata Xu & Yang sp. nov.

Figs 22-28

Type material.

Holotype. China: ♂, Yunnan, Xishuangbanna, Menglun / 550 m // 15-VII-1959 / Fa-Cai Zhang, leg. (IZAS).

Paratype. China: 1♂, Yunnan, Yiwuzhen / 650 m // 26-VII-1956 / Fa-Cai Zhang leg. (IZAS)

Description.

Holotype. Length 7.0 mm, width 4.0 mm.

Male: Body oval. General color (Figs 22-24 ) red; basal four segments of antennae orange, the rest brown; occiput with a black spot near anterior margin of pronotum; pronotum with four black spots: middle area of disc with two adjacent longitudinal black spots, each side with one round black spot, respectively; elytra with seven rounded black spots, distributed in four rows, arrangement for 2: 2: 2: 1, last one situated at apical area; middle area of epipleura black, rest red; meso - meta sternum black, anterior metasternal process dark red, ventral surface of each visible abdomen except the last one with two black spots; 1/2 of tibiae and tarsi black.

Head distinctly narrower than prothorax, occiput concave, with faintly punctures; frontoclypeus surface smooth; frontal tubercle developed, square. Antennae shorter than 1/2 length of elytra, basal three segments moderately shiny, from 4th segment, covered with short pale hairs; length ratios of antennomeres I-V, 1.0: 0.4: 0.3: 1.2: 1.1, 3rd segment slightly shorter than 2nd segment in length, 5th -11th segments subequal, the last segment longest. Pronotum transverse, ~ 2.4 × as broad as long, lateral margin rounded, anterior margin concave, anterior corner indistinct, basal margin convex, disc area with uniformly distributed fine punctures, near lateral margin with shallow inclined depression. Anterior metasternal process reaching apex of mesocoxal cavities, surface smooth, apex square. Scutellum triangular, impunctate. Elytra subparallel-sided, 1.6 × as long as broad, disc slightly convex, disc with uniformly distributed fine punctures, space between punctures larger than the diameter of puncture. Last sternite of male with distinctly trilobite concavities (Fig. 25 ).

Aedeagus almost parallel-sided from base to apex in dorsal view, apex obtusely angled, slightly curved towards ventral side; internal sclerites (Figs 26-28 ): median sclerite longitudinal, extending almost to apex of aedeagus, with apex enlarged; a pair of lateral longitudinal sclerites, ½ length of median sclerite, convergent apically.

Derivatio nominis.

The specific epithet Gallerucida octodecimpunctata , comes from the Latin numeral, octodecim - (eighteen) and Latin adjective punctata (spotted); it refers to eighteen black spots on the pronotum (4) and elytra (14).

Distribution.

China: Guangxi.

Diagnosis.

This species is similar to Gallerucida balyi (Duvivier), but G. octodecimpunctata has brown antennae except the basal segments orange, red femora and black distal 1/2 of tibiae, while G. balyi has antennae total yellowish brown and femora and tibiae yellow.

Figures

Figures 22 - 28. Gallerucida octodecimpunctata sp. nov. 22 dorsal view (paratype) 23 ventral view (paratype) 24 lateral view (paratype) 25 ventral view of 5 th ventrite, male (paratype) 26 aedeagus, dorsal view (holotype) 27 ditto, lateral view (holotype) 28 ditto, ventral view (holotype). Scale bars: 5 mm (22 - 24); 1 mm (25 - 28).