Cephaloleia chica Staines

Staines, Charles L. & Garcia-Robledo, Carlos, 2014, The genus Cephaloleia Chevrolat, 1836 (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Cassidinae), ZooKeys 436, pp. 1-355 : 91

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Chrysomelidae

Cephaloleia chica Staines sp. n. Fig. 97

Description.

Small; elongate; subdepressed; head, scutellum, and antennae (except basal 2 antennomeres paler) black; pronotum yellow with black triangular macula behind head; elytra black with lateral and apical margins yellow and yellow vitta from basal margin to apical ⅓ on puncture rows 2-5; venter and legs dark yellowish. Head: vertex punctate, medial sulcus absent; eye large; frons not projecting; not depressed between eyes. Antenna: reaches to humerus; slender; antennomere 1 incrassate, elongate; 2-10 subequal in length, each ¾ length of 1; 11 3 × length of 10, pointed at apex; 1-2 punctate with scattered setae; 3-11 setose. Pronotum: subquadrate; lateral margin straight then rounding to anterior angle, canaliculate; anterior angle rounded, not produced; posterior angle acute; anterior margin straight; disc subconvex; surface coarsely, irregularly punctate; transverse basal impression present; pronotal length 0.7 mm; pronotal width 1.0 mm. Scutellum: pentagonal; impunctate. Elytron: lateral margin straight, smooth, margined; apex weakly rounded; sutural angle without tooth; humerus rounded, not produced; slightly constricted behind humerus; moderately punctate-striate; elytral length 2.9; elytral width 1.1 mm. Venter: pro-, meso-, and metasterna impunctate; abdominal sterna punctate, each puncture with white seta; suture between abdominal sterna 1 and 2 obsolete medially; last sternite with apical margin shallowly emarginate. Leg: slender; femur and tibia punctate, each puncture with seta; tibia with fringe of setae on inner margin of apex. Total length: 3.9 mm.

Etymology.

From chico (Spanish) meaning little or little one for the small size of this species. The name is feminine.

Diagnosis.

This species is similar to Cephaloleia convexifrons . It can be distinguished by the small body size and the triangular macula on the anterior margin of the pronotum behind the head.

Distribution.

Peru.

Type material.

Holotype: Peru, Dept. Loreto, Explorama Lodge, 80 km NE Iquitos on Amazon River, VI-24/VII-20 1990, Menke and Awertschenko/ collected in malaise trap/ Holotype Cephaloleia chica Staines, des. C. L. Staines 2012 [red label] (USNM).