Smeia undata ( Thunberg, 1821 ) Bezděk, 2019

Bezděk, Jan, 2019, Annotated review of Cryptocephalinae (Clytrini), Synetinae and part of Galerucinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) described by Carl Peter Thunberg, European Journal of Taxonomy 499, pp. 1-42 : 23-25

Smeia undata ( Thunberg, 1821) comb. nov.

Fig. 12

Clythra undata Thunberg, 1821: 184 (original description).

Clythra (Smeia) virginea Lacordaire, 1848: 24 (original description). Syn. nov.

Melitonoma pictipennis Jacoby, 1898: 350 (original description). Syn. nov.

Clythra undata – Forsberg 1821: 288 (redescription). — Lacordaire 1848: 393.

Miopristis undata – Gemminger & Harold 1874: 3280 (catalogue).

Miopristis virginea – Gemminger & Harold 1874: 3280 (catalogue).

Melitonoma pictipennis – Medvedev 1979: 170 (= Smeia virginea ).

Type localities

Clythra undata : “Cap” [= from the publication title]. Clythra (Smeia) virginea : “Caffrerie”. Melitonoma pictipennis : “Pretoria”.

Material examined

Holotype

SOUTH AFRICA • ♂; “Uppsala Univ. Zool. Mus. / Thunbergsaml. nr. 8234 / Clythra undata / Cap. TYP [r, p] // catenata . / Cap. 13 [box label, w, h]”; UUZM.

Additional material

SOUTH AFRICA, Western Cape • ♂, syntype of Clythra (Smeia) virginea ; “23051 [w, p] // Promont. / b. sp. / Krebs [blue-grey, h] // Smeia / virginea Lac. * [w, h] // Hist.-Coll. ( Coleoptera ) / Nr. 23051 / Smeia virginea Lac. x / Promont. b. sp. Krebs / Zool. Mus. Berlin [b, p] // Smeia / virginea Lac. [h] / L. Medvedev det. 96 [p] 7 [w, h] // SYNTYPE / Smeia virginea / Lacordaire, 1848 / labelled by MFNB 2017 [r, p]”; ZMHB • 1 ♀; “Promont. b. sp.” [= Promontorio Bonae Spei]; Krebs leg.; ZMHB . – Gauteng • 1 ♀, syntype of Melitonoma pictipennis ; “SYN- / TYPE [white round label with blue collar, p] // Pretoria / (W. L. D.) [w, p] // Distant Coll. / 1911-383 [w, p] // Melitonoma / pictipennis / Jac. [b, h] // Smeia / virginea Lac. [h] / L. N. Medvedev det. 19 [p] 68 [w, h]”; BMNH • 1 ♀, syntype of Melitonoma pictipennis ; “SYN- / TYPE [white round label with blue collar, p] // Pretoria / (W. L. D.) [w, p] // Jacoby Coll. / 1909-28 a [w, p] // Melitonoma / pictipennis / Jac. [b, h]”; BMNH •

Distribution

RSA.

Comments

The identity of Clythra undata was unclear to the subsequent authors. Lacordaire (1848) listed C. undata among the species not known to him but, based on the description, he speculated its position within the genus Macrolenes . In the catalogues by Gemminger & Harold (1874), Jacoby & Clavareau (1906) and Clavareau (1913), it is classified in the genus Miopristis .

The comparison of the primary type specimens of Clythra undata , C. virginea and Melitonoma pictipennis showed that all three taxa are conspecific, and they are therefore synonymized here. Medvedev (1979) synonymized Melitonoma pictipennis Jacoby, 1898 with Smeia virginea without any comments. Melitonoma pictipennis was described from two females now deposited in BMNH. Both specimens have the outer elytral black spots connected, forming a lateral black stripe. Except for this colour peculiarity, I do not see any other difference.

Lacordaire (1848) did not specify the number of available specimens when describing Smeia virginea , only mentioning material from Caffrerie deposited in “Museum Berlin ”. Based on the catalogue of this historic collection, the original series included three specimens (Jäger 2017, pers. comm.) and I was able to locate two of them: a male and a female. Because Lacordaire (1848) explicitly mentioned that the female was unknown to him, I treat only the male as a syntype, the female is listed here in the section ‘Additional material examined’.

The genus Smeia Lacordaire, 1848 is among the genera with pubescent propleura and can be distinguished by the combination of the following characters: epipleura glabrous, male fore legs elongate with strongly thickened femora, anterior margin of elytra elevated along whole length, antennomere IV elongate, pronotum glabrous (see the generic keys by Medvedev 1970, 1989a). Currently, only two species are classified in Smeia: S. undata comb. nov. and S. braunsi Medvedev, 1993 , both distributed in RSA. Smeia braunsi differs from S. undata comb. nov. in apex of aedeagus bulbous and carinate underside, and missing humeral and preapical elytral spots ( Medvedev 1993a).

Figures

Fig. 12. Smeia undata (Thunberg, 1821) comb. nov. A–D. Holotype, ♂, 6.5 mm, UUZM. A. Dorsal view. B. Frontal view. C. Label. D. Box label. E–F. Syntype of Clythra virginea Lacordaire, 1848, ♂, not measured, ZMHB. E. Dorsal view. F. Labels. G–H. Syntype of Melitonoma pictipennis Jacoby, 1898, ♀, not measured, BMNH. G. Dorsal view. H. Labels.