Lankaphthona micheli Medvedev, 2001

Ruan, Yongying, Konstantinov, Alexander S., Prathapan, Kaniyarikkal D., Zhang, Mengna & Yang, Xingke, 2019, A review of the genus Lankaphthona Medvedev, 2001, with comments on the modified phallobase and the unique abdominal appendage of L. binotata (Baly) (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini), ZooKeys 857, pp. 29-58 : 29

2. Lankaphthona micheli Medvedev, 2001 Fig. 4

Lankaphthona micheli Medvedev, 2001: 163. Type Locality: "Kandy, Sri Lanka ". Type depository: Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel, Switzerland (NHMB).

Distribution.

Sri Lanka .

Description.

Body rufous brown, except labrum, fore- and middle legs, hind tibia and tarsi lemon yellow. Body broadly oblong in dorsal view, dorsum convex in lateral view. Body apparently larger in female, 1.74-1.84 mm in length, 1.10-1.12 mm in width. Body length to width ratio: 1.55-1.67. Pronotum width to length ratio: 1.40-1.52. Pronotum width at base to width at apex ratio: 1.06-1.13. Elytron length (measured along suture) to width of both ratio: 1.28-1.45. Length of elytron to length of pronotum ratio: 2.96-3.48. Width of elytra at base (measured in middle of humeral calli) to width of pronotum at base ratio: 1.32-1.37.

Vertex with minute and shallow moderate sized punctures. Supraorbital pore adjacent to orbital sulcus, surrounded by shallow groove. Supracallinal sulcus convex, shallow; suprafrontal, supraantennal sulci shallow but more vivid than supracallinal; midfrontal sulcus short, shallow and broader. Antennal callus subtriangular, posteriorly higher than anteriorly, hardly raised above level of vertex, anterior ends slightly enter into interantennal space. Proximal end of frontal ridge narrowed, produced between anterior ends of antennal calli. Frontal ridge well developed, convexly raised between antennal sockets, forms strongly arched convex line in lateral view. Frontal ridge anteriorly flat, forming flat, triangular anterofrontal ridge, raised laterally, flat above clypeus. Antennal socket close to eye. Width of frontal ridge to antennal sockets (counting surrounding ridges), ratio 0.40-0.55. Eyes strongly convex. Distance between eyes (just above antennal sockets) to transverse diameter of eye in frontal view ratio: 0.96-1.80. Longitudinal diameter of eye to transverse diameter of eye in frontal view ratio: 1.39-1.40. Distance between antennal sockets to transverse diameter of one antennal socket ratio: 0.72-0.90. Labrum with about five pairs of irregularly arranged setiferous pores bearing long setae.

Antennae filiform, rather long, about 0.69 times body length in female and 0.82 times body length in male. Proportions of antennomeres as follows: 10: 6.5-8: 4.7-6.7: 7.1-7.3: 8.2-10: 8.7-10: 10-10.6: 10.6-10.7: 10.7-1.18: 10-10.6: 14-15.3. Antennomere 2 robust, 3 shorter and thinner than 2, 4-6 each longer than preceding one. Antennomere 6-9 subequal; 10 shorter than 9. Length to width of antennomere 9 ratio: 2.00-2.22. Length to width of antennomere 10 ratio: 1.64-2.00. Length to width of antennomere 11 ratio: 2.33-2.74.

Pronotum convex, with mixture of shallow, small and minute punctures. Antebasal transverse impression obsolete, leaving an evident trace. Posterior margin weakly bisinuate with lobe in middle. Pronotal punctures distinctly smaller than those on elytra. Anterolateral callosity convex, elongate, with seta bearing pore on upper posterior face. Lateral margin posteriorly narrowed. Posterolateral callosity not protruding.

Elytral punctures irregular, distance between adjacent punctures about 1-3 times diameter of a puncture. Humeral callus well developed, with weak depression posteriorly.

Length (not counting trochanter) to maximum width of metafemur ratio: 1.85-1.94. Length to width of metatibia in lateral view ratio: 5.17-5.60. Width of metatibia at base to width at apex in dorsal view ratio: 0.46-0.60. Length of metafemur to metatibia ratio: 1.72-1.87. Length of first metatarsomere to length of second metatarsomere ratio: 2.57-3.60.

Intercoxal subparallel ridges on first abdominal ventrite well developed (Fig. 4E), barely reaching middle of ventrite. Males without appendage on first abdominal ventrite. Last abdominal ventrite in male with circular depression towards posterior margin, posterior margin with lobe in middle. Last ventrite in female with convex posterior margin as in most flea beetles, apical circular depression and lobe absent.

Aedeagus characteristic: in ventral view, deeply channeled along middle, gently narrowed preapically, apex unusually broad and emarginated in middle; nearly straight in lateral view with apex very slightly curved dorsad. Spermatheca with receptacle about 2.8 times longer than wide, narrowed at distal 1/4, outer margin concave, inner margin convex; pump widened medially, apex rounded without denticle; duct strongly bent towards receptacle, not coiled. Vaginal palpi strongly sclerotized posteriorly than anteriorly; lateral membranous area shorter and narrower than posterior sclerotization. Tignum gently curved; proximal end broadened and lightly sclerotized, distal sclerotization arrow-head shaped.

Type material.

Paratype: ♂ (NHMB), labels: 1) Sri Lanka , Kandy, 600 m 1-18.6.1991, N. M. Kolibac leg.; 2) Paratype: Lankaphthona micheli m. L. Medvedev det. 1998.

Material.

4 ♂, 1♀ (3 in KAU, 2 to be transferred to USNM) SRI LANKA, Central Prov., 10 km south from Kandy, Uda Peradeniya Vill. Env., 07°15.087'N, 80°37.108'E, 720 m, 24.ii.2013, S. Saluk coll.

Remarks.

Medvedev (2001), in his original description of the genus, has stated that the pronotum in Lankaphthona is devoid of antebasal transverse impression. However, the pronotum has a very weak antebasal transverse impression that is hard to discern. Lankaphthona micheli can be distinguished from other members of the genus by the red-brown color (all others are yellow brown), feeble antebasal transverse impression on pronotum (well developed in other species) and the unique shape of the aedeagus. The apex of the aedeagus in ventral view is broad and emarginate in L. micheli , while the same is narrowed and convex in all other species.