Notosacantha cherrapunjiensis, Sekerka, Luká Š, 2008

Sekerka, Luká Š, 2008, Two new species of Notosacantha Chevrolat, 1834 from India (Coleoptera: Cassidinae: Notosacanthini), Zootaxa 1874, pp. 57-62 : 57-59

Notosacantha cherrapunjiensis sp. nov.

Etymology. Named after its locus typicus Cherrapunji in Meghalaya state, NE India.

Diagnosis. Notosacantha cherrapunjiensis belongs to the group of species without elytral costae, only with isolated tubercles. The group comprises five described species: N. circumdata (Wagener, 1881) from Burma, Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra), Malaysia and Thailand; N. clavareaui (Spaeth, 1900) from Sumatra; N. moultoni (Spaeth, 1912) from Malaysia: Sarawak; N. odiosa (Boheman, 1856) from Java and Sumatra; and N. malaysiana Świętojańska, 2004 from Malaysia: Pahang. Notosacantha circumdata and N. moultoni are distinctly larger (length 6–7 mm) and differ in body colouration. Notosacantha circumdata has dorsum bright redish-brown and N. moultoni somewhat pitchy brown. Both species have tubercles of same colour as elytra. Notosacantha cherrapunjiensis has elytra deep red and tubercles somewhat darkened, pitchy brown to black. Notosacantha cherrapunjiensis , N. clavareaui , N. malaysiana and N. odiosa are distinctly smaller (length 4.0– 4.5 mm) than N. moultoni and N. circumdata . Notosacantha odiosa and N. malaysiana differ in black dorsum at most with narrow yellow margin. Notosacantha clavareaui is the most similar but has pale ventrites while N. cherrapunjiensis has head, thorax and basal 1/3 of femora black. Notosacantha clavareaui has also wider frontal plate than N. cherrapunjiensis .

Description. Length of body: 4.98 mm, width of body: 4.26 mm, length of pronotum: 1.18 mm, width of pronotum: 3.38 mm, length/width of body ratio: 1.17, width/length of pronotum ratio: 2.86. Body short-oval, widest in 1/3 of its length ( Figs. 1 , 9).

Frontal plate, mouth parts and anterior part of clypeus rusty. Base of vertex and posterior part of clypeus blackish. Antennae rusty with club somewhat darkened. Prosternal collar pitchy to black with rusty apex. Thorax deep black. Abdomen yellow, slightly darkened at base. Base of femora in 1/4–1/3 pitchy black remaining parts of leg rusty. Pronotum rusty reddish. Scutellum deep reddish with narrow black margin. Elytra deep reddish with tubercles somewhat darkened or pitchy. Explanate margin of pronotum and elytra rusty reddish with yellow outer margin. There is a paler spot in 1/3 of length near marginal row.

Frontal plate moderately broad, with truncate apex and apical cleft extending to the line connecting anterior margin of eyes ( Fig. 1 ).

Pronotum broad, with maximum width close to base. Area above head with few fine punctures. Disc with two oblique anterior impressions, two transverse basal impressions, and slightly marked medial furrow. Basal impression and base of anterior impressions both moderately coarse punctate. Explanate margin with moderate, regularly distributed pores, distinctly coarser than punctures on disc. Pores on extreme margin finer and nearly rounded, similar in pronotal and elytral marginalia. Remaining area of pronotal marginalia with coarse transverse pores, somewhat coarser than pores on elytral marginalia. Whole pronotum shiny, disc microreticulate (especially in anterior impressions).

Base of elytra slightly wider than base of pronotum. Elytral disc without distinct costae, only with isolated obtuse tubercles ( Figs. 1, 2, 3 , 9). Humeral, apical and marginal tubercles very low, hardly visible, present only in rudiments, without distinct branches, completely isolated. Posthumeral and postapical tubercles completely reduced, not visible. Basal, subbasal and principal tubercles low but distinct, with somewhat coarse vicinity, without distinct branches at most with few elevated interspaces between punctures. There is very low, elongate and isolated tubercle on imaginary cross of humeral and lateral costa. Costae in posterior part of elytra completely reduced, only with feeble and darkened elevation on imaginary cross of costa ultima and postapical costa. Punctation of disc moderate, distance between punctures as wide as puncture diameter. Punctation slightly coarser in anterior part of elytra than in posterior. Punctation in marginal row gradually coarser posterad. Punctation of explanate margin irregular with several transverse disseminated pores, especially in the humeral area. Whole elytra shiny, interspaces smooth, fovea of punctures with distinct microreticulation.

Antennae 11-segmented, slim with distinct 5-segmented club. Length ratio: 100:57:65:75:75:84:70:55:

48:38:71. Second antennomere thick, elongate 1.28 times longer than wide. Third antennomere 1.14 times longer than second and 0.87 than fourth. Club 2.8 times longer than pedicel ( Fig. 4 ).

Clypeus triangular, clypeal grooves converging in triangle with sharp top ending in apical cleft of frontal plate. Mid area of clypeus strongly impressed, microreticulate and dull.

Prosternal collar, legs and remaining parts of underside without diagnostic characters.

Distribution. India: Meghalaya state.

Material examined. Holotype: “NE INDIA Meghalaya, SW of Cherrapunjee, 25°13’–15’ N 91°40’ E, 900m, R. Businský lgt. 11.–12.v.2004 ” (at the Departmet of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budĕjovice, Czech Republic).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Notosacantha cherrapunjiensis: 1 — body dorsal, 2 — body lateral, 3 — body apical, 4 — antenna.