Paratorquispa caledoniae ( Uhmann, 1954 ) Borowiec & Świętojańska & Sekerka, 2019

Borowiec, Lech, Świętojańska, Jolanta & Sekerka, Lukáš, 2019, Revision of the tribe Cryptonychini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) of New Caledonia, Zootaxa 4690 (1), pp. 1-71 : 38-41

Paratorquispa caledoniae ( Uhmann, 1954) comb. nov.

(Figs 127–134, 235)

Torquispa caledoniae Uhmann, 1954: 6 (original description), 1958: 199 (catalogue), 1964: 445 (catalogue); Gressitt 1957: 265 (noted), 1960a: 66 (noted), 1960b: 121 (noted); Würmli 1976: 400 (revision).

Type locality. New Caledonia , Bourail. According to Gressitt (1960b) the original type locality ‘ Ourail’ refers to a place nowadays named Bourail in central New Caledonia .

Description. Length 14.90–16.10 mm, width 4.20–4.35 mm.

Head dark ferrugineous. Pronotum and elytra black (Fig. 127). Antennae mostly black, antennomere I ferrugineous-brown on ventral side. Ventritral side mostly black, anterior parts of prosternum partly dark ferrugineous-red, lateral plates of mesoventrite ferrugineous-brown, abdominal ventrites sometimes on sides with ferrugineous-brown patches. Legs ferrugineous to ferrugineous-brown, tarsi usually slightly paler than tibiae and femora. Body glabrous except for yellowish hairs on frontoclypeus, short golden brown pubescence on distal antennomeres and golden orange pubescence on tarsal pads and apices of tibiae. Head 1.4 × as wide as long, interocular plate rectangular, as long as wide, almost flat, separated from vertex by shallow impression, lateral margins slightly elevated but not carinate, anterior corners of interocular plate obtuse. Surface of interocular plate in basal half coarsely punctate, in apical half finely punctate with a few coarse punctures, interspaces well marked but mostly narrower than puncture diameter, along middle runs deep median sulcus extending from ¼ to ⅔ length of plate; interantennal process elongate, only slightly shorter than length of antennomere I, not keel-shaped, sides deeply impressed but dorsal part broad with deep sulcus (Fig. 130). Frontoclypeus narrow and elongate, approximately 2.9 × as long as broad (including interantennal process), central plate triangular, truncate apically, anterolateral corners without tubercles, obtuse, central plate on apical half flat, smooth and shiny, in middle with round impression, basally with moderately coarse and dense, setose punctures (Fig. 129). Antennae approximately 0.3 × as long as body, slightly compressed apically; antennomere I large, approximately 2 × as long as broad; antennomere II elongate, 1.7 × as long as broad and 0.65 × as long as I; antennomere III slightly shorter than II; antennomeres IV–V slightly shorter than III; antennomeres VI–VII as long as III; antennomeres VIII–X slightly shorter than III; antennomere XI 1.8 × as long as X, subangulate apically (Fig. 128). Pronotum approximately 1.1 × as long as broad, sides behind projections almost parallel, anterior margin moderately convex, basal margin bisinuate; anterolateral part forming angulate projections, anterior angles with small and sharp tubercle, basal angles bearing small and elongate acute tooth; disc on top almost flat, in middle slightly impressed with shallow medial sulcus, surface shiny, in anterolateral part and behind projections with moderately coarse and moderately dense punctation, along middle mostly impunctate, interspaces with sparse, minute, secondary punctation (Fig. 131). Elytra 2.6–2.7 × as long as broad, subparallel on almost whole length then regularly narrowed and rounded posterad. Apex of elytra not emarginate, only sutural angle slightly elongate and forming small denticle, lateral angle regularly rounded. Disc without scutellar row; eigth rows in posthumeral part, eigth rows behind middle and ten rows apically; interspaces narrow, flat or only slightly convex, without longitudinal carinae, only intervals 3, 5, 7 apically forming short and sharp carinae; intervals 1–3 distinctly wider than rows, lateral intervals linear, interval 8 slightly elevated apically. Ventral surface shiny, hypomera with coarse and dense punctures along middle; prosternum with distinct prosternal collar separated from prosternal process by deep, coarsely punctate sulcus, anterior margin of collar shallowly emarginate, prosternal alae smooth and shiny, intercoxal area and expanded apex flat with extremely fine and sparse punctation, interspaces shiny, mesoventrite mostly smooth and shiny, only posterolaterally with shallow impression and a few minute punctures, without grooves or striation, metaventrite along sides with moderately coarse and sparse punctures, central part mostly smooth and shiny, anterior process with shallow sparse striation, also posterolateral convex angles and central plate with very fine oblique striation and sparse fine pricks; abdomen mostly smooth and shiny with fine and sparse pricks, only posterior margins of ventrites II–IV and posterior half of last ventrite with fine and sparse punctation. Legs moderately stout, probably not sexually dimorphic, apex of fore tibiae on inner margin shallowly excavate in females, mid tibiae slightly curved with minute apical spine (Figs 132–133).

Sexual dimorphism unknown as both examined specimens are females. Females of P. caledoniae have rounded apex of abdominal ventrite V with slight emargination.

Type examined. Holotype: ♀, ‘ Coll. R. I. Sc. N. B. | Nouvelle Calédonie | Ourail [hw on whithe label glued to the pink one] | ex coll. Fauvel [pink, p, cb] || ♀ [w, p, cb] || Holo- [hw] | Typus | ♀ [hw] [r, p, cb] || E. Uhmann det., 195[p]3[hw] | Torquispa ♀ [hw] | caledoniae Uhmann [hw] [w, p, cb]’ ( IRSNB).

Additional material examined. NEW CALEDONIA: Table Unio , 700 m, 21.xi.1996, 1 ♀ ( LS) .

Remarks. Uhmann (1954) stated that Torquispa caledoniae differs in many points from T. vittigera (type species for the genus Torquispa ) but he maintained them in the same genus as both have the anterior margin of prosternum projecting towards mouthparts. Würmli (1975) pointed that T. caledoniae is quite different from the type species based on the primary description as the types were unknown to him. Würmli (1976) studied types of both species and stated that by general appearance they are very similar and based on a closer study there is no need to propose a separate genus for T. caledoniae . However, he did not give any further comments or justifications.

Defining genera in Cryptonychini is difficult since many taxa are quite similar and nothing is known about their phylogenetic relationships. On the other hand, we have examined voluminous material of New Caledonian Cryptonychini as well as representatives of all other genera in this tribe and evaluated morphological characters used to separate the genera. Such differences in the head morphology (see diagnosis) as between T. caledoniae and T. vit- tigera are not found in any other genera of Cryptonychini . Indeed, the structures can be of various shapes, convexity, punctation etc. but still they have similar general outline. This is also supported by the discovery of the second species of true Torquispa , which has structural characters of the head just like T. vittigera . Therefore we concluded that T. caledoniae deserves to be placed in its own genus.