Taophila subsericea Heller, 1916

Gómez-Zurita, Jesús, 2011, Revision of New Caledonian species of Eumolpinae described by K. M. Heller (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Zootaxa 3060, pp. 31-46 : 44-45

Taophila subsericea Heller, 1916

( Figs 8–9 , 13–15 , 24 )

Taophila subsericea Heller, 1916:306 .

Type material. Province Nord: Lectotype (designated by Samuelson, 2010), 1Ƥ ( Fig. 8 ): Tao, 24 June 1911, F. Sarasin & J. Roux leg. [pale blue label], 1915/18 [pale blue label], Taophila subsericea typus [red label], Staatl. Museum für Tierkunde, Dresden [white label], Taophila subsericea Heller [white label]. Paralectotype, 13 ( Fig. 9 ): Tao, 24 June 1911, F. Sarasin & J. Roux leg. [pale blue label], 1915/18 [pale blue label], Cotypus [red label], Staatl. Museum für Tierkunde, Dresden [white label].

Other material examined. Province Nord: 13: Poindimié, near the coast, 24–28 November 2001, K.A. Johanson, T. Pape & B. Viklund leg. (IBE-JGZ); 13, 2Ƥ: Col des Roussettes, 21.41455ºS 165.47198ºE 558m., 19 March 2008, J. Gómez-Zurita & A. Cardoso leg. (IBE-JGZ); 23, 2Ƥ: L’Aoupinié (refuge), 21.14780ºS 165.32447ºE 413m., 4 April 2008, J. Gómez-Zurita, J.A. Jurado-Rivera & A. Cardoso leg. (IBE-JGZ); 13, 2Ƥ: L’Aoupinié 700– 900m., 17 March 1994, M. Schöller leg. (MSC); 33, 1Ƥ: L’Aoupinié, 22 March 1994, M. Schöller leg. (MSC); 1Ƥ: Mont Panié, 7 February 1977, J. Balogh leg. ( HNHM); 33: Mt. Mandjélia, 17 February 1977, J. Balogh leg. ( HNHM); 33: Aoupinié, 31 January 1977, J. Balogh leg. ( HNHM). Province Sud: 2Ƥ: Col d’Amieu, 21.61172ºS 165.80805ºE 489m., 7–8 March 2008, J. Gómez-Zurita, J.A. Jurado-Rivera & A. Cardoso leg. (IBE-JGZ); 23: Col d’Amieu, 11 March 2008, J. Gómez-Zurita, J.A. Jurado-Rivera & A. Cardoso leg. (IBE- JGZ); 23, 2Ƥ: Bouirou, ca. Bourail, 21.44627ºS 165.52105ºE 220m., 28 March 2008, J. Gómez-Zurita, J.A. Jurado-Rivera & A. Cardoso leg. (IBE-JGZ); 13, 1Ƥ: Village Bouirou, ca. 20km N Bourail, 500m., 27 February to 2 March 2009, A. Kudrna Jr. leg., BMNH (E) 2009–124 (NHM).

Lectotype designation for this species was made by Samuelson (2010) in his recent revision of the genus Taophila Heller. The lectotype of this taxon is a female from the locality of Tao, in the northeastern coast of Grande Terre. It is accompanied by a male paralectotype from the same locality and collected on the same day. Several Taophila species in New Caledonia are very similar externally, and it is possible that these two specimens belong to different species. However, Samuelson's (2010) opinion, treating Heller's specimens as conspecific is fully supported here. Genitalic descriptions and drawings based on the type material are presented here for the first time based on the author's dissections.

Spermatheca ( Fig. 24 ) broadly V-shaped, with bulb and receptacle of similar length; bulb subcylindrical with regularly rounded apex; receptacle slightly and gradually widening basally, reaching maximum width prebasally; spermathecal duct very thin, joining proximal end of spermatheca. Penis ( Figs 13–15 ) bent in broad obtuse angle at basal fifth, nearly straight and gradually narrowing as seen in lateral view in central part, and strongly curved ventrally in apical fifth; bent apical area progressively enlarged laterally to 1.8x width at middle, and quickly narrowing to obtuse angled apex, armed with minute subquadrangular tooth; ostium occupying short elliptical area of apical enlargement.

Remarks. Samuelson (2010) noted chromatic polymorphism in females of this species. A small proportion of individuals from L’Aoupinié differed from the lectotype by dark colouration, with elytra showing pale orange discal areas and an oblique stripe running from humeri, as well as some small differences in elytral shape and sculpture. Among thirteen females examined here from different localities throughout the island, a singleton from Bourail conformed to the Type in appearance, while all others matched perfectly with the dark morph. It would be reasonable to think that these strikingly different animals belong to two species, but phylogenetic analyses based on multiple genetic markers confirm them to be conspecific (unpublished data).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 9. Type specimens of: 1, Dematochroma lepros (Heller), female holotype; 2, D. humboldtiana (Heller), male lectotype; 3, D. maculifrons (Heller), male holotype; 4, D. terastiomerus (Heller), male lectotype; 5, D. terastiomerus, female paralectotype; 6, D. culminicola (Heller), female holotype; 7, D. difficilis (Heller), male holotype; 8, Taophila subsericea Heller, female lectotype; and 9, Taophila subsericea, male paralectotype. Scale bars represent 2.0 mm.

FIGURES 10 – 19. Dorsal, ventral and lateral views of penis of: 10 – 12, Dematochroma culminicola (Heller); 13 – 15, Taophila subsericea Heller; and 16 – 19, D. difficilis (Heller), arrows indicate different ventral perspectives as shown. Scale bars represent 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 20 – 24. Spermathecae of: 20, Dematochroma lepros (Heller); 21, D. terastiomerus (Heller); 22, D. culminicola (Heller); 23, D. difficilis (Heller); and 24, Taophila subsericea Heller. Arrowheads point at position of insertion of spermathecal gland. All spermathecae shown at the same scale.