Amphimela Chapuis, 1875

Biondi, Maurizio & D'Alessandro, Paola, 2012, Afrotropical flea beetle genera: a key to their identification, updated catalogue and biogeographical analysis (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini), ZooKeys 253, pp. 1-158 : 20

Amphimela Chapuis, 1875 Figs 8, 9122284

=Cercyonia Weise, 1901 (synonymized by Scherer 1961)

=Diboloides Jacoby, 1897 (synonymized by Scherer 1961)

=Dibolosoma Jacoby, 1897 (synonymized by Biondi and D’Alessandro 2010a)

=Halticella Jacoby, 1899b (name preoccupied by Halticella Stephens 1829: 36, Hymenoptera , Chalcidoidea )

=Halticorthaea Csiki in Heikertinger and Csiki 1940 (new name for Halticella Jacoby, 1899; synonymized by Scherer 1961)

=Halticova Fairmaire, 1898 (synonymized by Biondi and D’Alessandro 2010a)

=Sphaerophysa Baly, 1876 syn. n.

References.

Chapuis 1875: 34; Baly 1875: 27; 1876b: 582; Jacoby 1897: 553, 559; 1899b: 357; Fairmaire 1898: 428; Weise 1901: 303; Maulik 1929: 307 (as Diboloides ); Csiki in Heikertinger and Csiki 1940: 418; Bechyné 1958c: 10; Scherer 1961: 252; Biondi and D’Alessandro 2010a: 403.

Type species.

Amphimela : Amphimela mouhoti Chapuis, 1875: 36 (Indonesia), designation by monotypy; Cercyonia : Cercyonia variabilis Weise, 1901: 303 (Tanzania: Bagamojo, Kunow), designation by monotypy; Diboloides : Diboloides bicolor Jacoby, 1897: 553 (Mashonaland), designation by monotypy; Dibolosoma : Dibolosoma quadripustulatum Jacoby, 1897: 560 (Madagascar: Diego-Suarez), designation by monotypy; Halticella : Halticella flavopustulata Jacoby, 1899b: 357 (Natal, Frere), designation by monotypy; Halticova : Halticova rufoguttata Fairmaire, 1898: 428 (Madagascar), designation by monotypy; Sphaerophysa: Sphaerophysa clavicornis Baly, 1876b: 582 (Madagascar), designation by monotypy.

Distribution.

Afrotropical (including Madagascar), Australian, Eastern Palaearctic and Oriental regions (Fig. 284).

Ecology.

Amphimela bryanti (Csiki in Heikertinger and Csiki 1940) on Bersama sp. ( Melianthaceae ) in Uganda ( Bryant 1936, as Cercyonia quadrinotata Bryant 1936: 218); Amphimela citri (Bryant 1922: 474) cited as a harmful pest of citrus in West Africa ( Bryant 1922a).

Notes.

About thirty-five species have been described in the Afrotropical region. Bechyné (1964: 161) established the synonymy between Dibolosoma quadripustulatum Jacoby, 1897 [as 4-punctata (sic!)] and Halticova rufoguttata Fairmaire, 1898; while Weise (1910b: 496) established the synonymy between Sphaerophysa Baly and Dibolosoma Jacoby. Moreover, there are no important diagnostic characters distinguishing Sphaerophysa from Amphimela , this latter characterized by a wide variability in the Afrotropical region. Therefore, the following new synonymy is proposed: Amphimela Chapuis, 1875 = Sphaerophysa Baly, 1876b syn. n. Material examined: Sphaerophysa clavicornis Baly (det. J. Bechyné), "Madagascar, Tananarive", 2 specimens (NMPC).