Cassida rogozinskii, Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2022

Borowiec, Lech & Świętojańska, Jolanta, 2022, A monograph of the Afrotropical Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Part 6. Revision of the tribe Cassidini 3, the genus Cassida L., Zootaxa 5171 (1), pp. 1-250 : 135-137

Cassida rogozinskii sp. nov.

( figs. 39 , 107–108 )

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EF02B027-F945-495E-833F-BB8F76B18B47

Etymology. Dedicated to Stefan Szolc–Rogoziński (1861–1896), Polish globe–trotter, who explored Mt. Cameroon, the type locality of this new species.

Description. L: 4.65–5.15 mm, W: 3.90–4.30 mm, Lp: 1.60–1.80 mm, Wp: 3.00–3.20 mm, L/W: 1.18–1.26, Wp/LP: 1.78–1.88. Body short–oval to almost circular ( fig. 107 ).

Pronotum mostly black except yellow anterior part of explanate margin and yellow extreme margin of pronotum. Scutellum yellowish brown to black, elytral disc mostly black, including marginal interval, only apex of disc narrowly yellow. Top of disc with sparse yellow pattern forming at least four stripes at base of disc and yellow narrow, transverse, arch–shaped stripe on slope. Between basal an apical stripes several small yellow spots, on sides of postscutellar elevation sometimes coalescent and forming yellow stripe in shape of hockey stick. Explanate margin yellow with broad humeral spots on almost entire length extending to the anterior margin of elytra, only humeral spine yellow, and at lest in the middle of apex extending to the lateral margin of elytra ( figs. 107, 108 ). Head yellow. Prosternum brown to black, metasternum mostly black with paler, yellowish brown posterolateral angles and lateral plates, abdomen mostly brown to black surrounded by yellow or with only last sternite yellow laterally. Legs mostly yellow including trochanters, coxa usually more or less infuscate. Antennae uniformly yellow.

Pronotum regularly elliptical, with maximum width in the middle, anterior margin regularly convex, sides broadly rounded, no basal corners. Area above head not or indistinctly impressed, lateral lobes indistinct but bordered from explanate margin by short and deep impression. Surface of disc shiny, with fine and moderately dense punctation, appears regular. Explanate margin broad, dark parts with few small punctures, yellow parts impunctate, transparent with well visible honeycomb structure its surface shiny.

Base of elytra much wider than base of pronotum, humeral angles moderately protruding anterad, sharply angulate. Disc convex, with well marked postscutellar, principal and posterolateral impressions and low postscutellar elevation forming H–shaped figure of short lateral branches ( fig. 108 ). Punctation coarse, arranged in completely regular rows, postscutellar impressions often with additional irregular punctures. Punctures in rows dense, distance between punctures mostly narrower than puncture diameter. Marginal row distinct, its punctures approximately twice coarser than punctures in central rows, interspaces in posterior half of row form short folds. Intervals mostly flat but second interval on slope fourth and sixth interval in the middle slightly convex, in sutural area intervals as wide as rows, on sides narrower than rows, marginal interval broad, twice wider than lateral intervals, without humeral folds but with short lateral fold. Explanate margin moderately broad, moderately declivous, in the widest part four times narrower than disc, surface from shiny with coarse and dense but shallow punctation, appears slightly irregular, transparent with well visible honeycomb structure, only black humeral spots with coarse, shallow punctures and grooves thus surface appears distinctly irregular.

Eyes very large, gena obsolete. Clypeus moderately broad, approximately as wide as long. Clypeal grooves very fine, run mostly close to margin of eye, converging in triangle with obtuse top, surface of clypeus flat or slightly convex, shiny with several very small punctures. Labrum shallowly emarginate to 1/6 length. Antennae slim, segments 9–10 approximately 1.5 times as long as wide. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:53:59:59:69: 53:63:53:59:63:113. Segment 3 approximately 1.1 times as long as segment 2 and as long as segment 4.

Prosternum moderately broad in the middle, strongly expanded apically, area between coxae slightly convex, shiny, without special sculpture only along sides with row of setose punctures, central apex of expanded part convex, shiny, sides impressed with few coarse and dense setose punctures.

Claws with large basal tooth.

Distribution. Known only from Cameroon ( fig. 39 ).

Remarks. A very distinct species with an unique combination of characters: brown to black basal 2/3 of pronotum, mostly black elytral disc with a few yellow spots forming short stripe on sides of disc and transverse band in 2/3 length of disc and explanate margin of elytra, and with broad, black humeral spots. Only three African species have broad brown to black humeral spots on the explanate margin of elytra: C. camerunensis (fig. 95) and dark forms of C. humerosa ( figs. 93, 94 ) and C. innotata ( figs. 101, 102 ). All differ in the pronotum rusty yellow or yellow, C. innotata differs also in elytral surface covered with short, erect setae. Only the darkest form of C. humerosa has the pronotal disc partly, and elytral disc mostly, black ( fig. 94 ) but differs in the explanate margin of pronotum completely yellow and elytral disc without yellow spots.

Types examined. Holotype: [ CAMEROON]: Cameroon, Mt. Cameroon, Buea , 13–17–V–40, 1 ( MNHW); two paratypes: [ CAMEROON]: the same data as holotype.

Figures

FIGURE 39. Distribution of Cassida rhodesiaca (black circles), Cassida rogozinskii (black sq uare) and Cassida circumflexa (black diamond).

FIGURES 107–108. Cassida rogozinskii. FIGURES 109–110. Cassida setosa. 107, 109. Dorsal; 108, 110. Lateral.

FIGURES 92–94. Cassida humerosa. FIGURES 95–96. Cassida camerunensis. 92–95. Dorsal; 96. Lateral.

FIGURES 97–102. Cassida innotata. 97–98, 100–102. Dorsal; 99. Lateral.