Isopedhispa cocotis ( Maulik, 1933 )

Borowiec, Lech, Świętojańska, Jolanta & Sekerka, Lukáš, 2019, Revision of the tribe Cryptonychini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) of New Caledonia, Zootaxa 4690 (1), pp. 1-71 : 29-31

Isopedhispa cocotis ( Maulik, 1933)

( Figs 93–100 , 225)

Plesispa cocotis Maulik, 1933: 280 (original description); Risbec 1934: 10 (faunistics, figures), 1936: 183 (description, immature stages incl. figures), 1944: 67 (noted), 1950: 379 (noted); Maulik 1937: 146 (host plant); Lepesme 1947: 547 (coconut pest); Dumberton 1954: 18 (list of pests); Speyer 1954: 368 (pest); Howard & Abad 2001: 87 (list of pests); Santiago-Blay 2004: 74 (list of leaf mining beetles [sic!]).

Isopedhispa cocotis: Spaeth 1936: 293 (transfer); Uhmann 1952: 73 (noted), 1954: 8 (faunistics), 1958: 206 (catalogue), 1964: 452 (catalogue); Gressitt 1957: 264 (noted), 1960a: 66 (noted), 1960b: 111 (faunistics); Kalshoven 1957: 9 (noted); Mariau 1999: 233 (noted), 2001: 131 (noted).

Type locality. New Caledonia [without precise locality] .

Description. Length 6.45–7.55 mm, width 2.30–2.70 mm.

Head ferrugineous-brown to brown, pronotum of same colour but often with darker brown patches of diffused borders in area above head and posterolaterally, elytra pale brown to dark brown ( Fig. 93 ). Antennae ferrugineous-brown to brown, antennomere I on dorsal side dark brown. Ventral side and legs ferrugineous-brown to brown. 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 transverse, 1.8 × as wide as long, interocular plate rectangular, almost flat, separated from vertex by deep sulcus, anterior corners of interocular plate forming sharp denticles, anterior and lateral margins elevated. Surface of interocular plate coarsely and densely punctate, appears rugose, with deep median sulcus along whole length and transverse sulcus along anterior margin thus sulci forming T-shaped figure; interantennal process short, approximately as long as ¼ length of antennomere I, flattened laterally, keel-shaped, acute apically, without sulcus dorsally but sometimes with small pit at base of dorsal margin ( Fig. 96 ). Frontoclypeus elongate, 1.7 × as long as broad (including interantennal process), angulate apically, anterior corners forming triangular angulations, surface flat with coarse and dense punctures, along middle runs narrow median keel, whole surface with sparse long hairs ( Fig. 95 ). Antennae 0.35 × as long as body, slightly compressed apically; antennomere I large, approximately 1.5 × as long as broad; antennomere II short, 1.2–1.3 × as long as broad, approximately 0.4 × as long as I; antennomeres III–V elongate, 1.1–1.3 × as long as II; antennomeres VI–X approximately as long as II; antennomere XI only 1.2–1.3 × as long as X, subangulate apically ( Fig. 94 ). Pronotum approximately 1.1 × as broad as long, subpentagonal, in anterior part with triangular projections, sides behind projections deeply concave, rounded posteriorly, anterior margin strongly convex, basal margin bisinuate; anterior angles obtuse with distinct anterior tubercle, basal angles bearing small, sharp tooth ( Fig. 97 ); disc flattened, without impressions, without medial sulcus, anterolaterally and posterolaterally with groups of coarse but moderately dense punctures, in central part of base and along median line with impunctate, smooth and shiny area; interspaces among punctures vary from narrower to larger than puncture diameter. Elytra 2.1–2.3 × as long as broad, subparallel-sided basally and slightly broadened posteriorly and widest somewhat behind middle. Apex of elytra truncate to very shallowly emarginate, with straight and obtuse sutural angle and broadly rounded lateral angle. Disc with 2–5 punctures in scutellar row; eight rows in posthumeral part, ten rows behind middle and ten rows apically; intervals mostly flat, narrower than rows, only interval 5 slightly elevated on whole length, interval 7 slightly elevated apically and humeral interval more or less costate on whole length, intervals 3, 5, 7, 9 forming short costae on slope. Ventral surface mostly shiny, hypomera mostly smooth only close to anterior coxa with several coarse punctures; prosternum smooth with very fine and sparse punctation, between coxae as wide as ⅓ width of coxa, with elevated anterior margin separated from prosternal process by deep sulcus, expanded apex centrally with shallow impression, mesoventrite smooth and shiny, metaventrite along lateral sides with row of coarse and dense punctures, central part mostly smooth and shiny, anterior process with indistinct longitudinal striation; abdomen mostly smooth and shiny only laterally with a few moderate punctures. Legs stout ( Figs 98, 99 ).

Sexual dimorphism moderately manifested, in males apex of mid tibiae with distinct black spine and apex of last ventrite deeply emarginate; in females apex of mid tibiae with minute black spine and apex of last ventrite truncate or shallowly emarginate.

Immature stages. Larva was described by Risbec (1934, 1936, 1944). The species was wrongly listed as having mining larvae by Santiago-Blay (2004).

Host plant. Arecaceae : Cocos nucifera L. ( Maulik 1933; Risbec 1934, 1936, 1944).

Type material examined. Holotype: ♀ ‘I. Cocotier | N. Calédonie | Risbec 1932 [w, hw, cb] || Type [w, p, cb, rounded circular label with red frame] || Plesispa [hw] | cocotis Mlk. [hw] | S. Maulik | TYPE 1933 [hw] [w, p, cb]’ ( BMNH). Paratype: same data as holotype ‘Para- | type [w, p, cb, circular label with yellow frame] || Plesispa [wh] | cocotis Mlk. [hw] | S. Maulik | Cotype 1933 [hw] [w, p, cb]’ ( BMNH).

Additional material examined. NEW CALEDONIA: E of Noumea, 1 spec. (ex Cocos ), Cohic leg. ( BPBM); Pouébo , 15 m, 2.ii.1964, 2 ♀ (ex Cocos nucifera ), R. Straatman leg. ( LS) .

Figures

FIGURES 93–100. Isopedhispa cocotis (Maulik, 1933). 93. Body dorsal, 94. Antenna, 95. Frontoclypeus and prosternum, 96. Head dorsal, 97. Pronotum, 98. Mid leg, 99. Fore leg, 100. Holotype labels.