Cassida luxuriosa Spaeth, 1940

Borowiec, Lech & Świętojańska, Jolanta, 2022, A monograph of the Afrotropical Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Part 6. Revision of the tribe Cassidini 3, the genus Cassida L., Zootaxa 5171 (1), pp. 1-250 : 105-106

Cassida luxuriosa Spaeth, 1940

( figs. 24 , 284–286)

Cassida luxuriosa Spaeth, 1940: 263 ; Borowiec, 1999 a: 263.

Cassida cruenta Shaw, 1961: 28 , not Fabricius, 1792: 293; Borowiec, 1994 b: 156 (as syn.).

Description. L: 4.25–4.60 mm, W: 3.25–3.70 mm, Lp: 1.45–1.80 mm, Wp: 2.40–2.90 mm, L/W: 1.24–1.31, Wp/ Lp: 1.61–1.66. Body oval (figs. 284, 285).

Pronotum and scutellum pale yellow. Elytra pale yellow (fig. 284), or yellow and elytral disc on slope with large, reddish, ring–shaped figure (fig. 285), sometimes the ring is divided into separate eight spots, reddish to brown. Head, ventrites and legs yellow. Antennal segments 1–7 yellow, apical four segments black.

Pronotum elliptical, with maximum width behind the middle, anterior margin regularly convex, sides broadly rounded, no basal corners. Disc indistinctly bordered from explanate margin except short lateral impression. Surface of disc shiny, with very fine and sparse punctation. Explanate margin broad, impunctate, shiny, transparent with well visible honeycomb structure.

Base of elytra moderately wider than base of pronotum, humeral angles moderately protruding anterad, angulate. Disc slightly irregularly convex in profile (fig. 286), with distinct postscutellar and principal impressions and obtuse H–shaped figure, second interval slightly convex, on sides of disc few low, transverse folds. Punctation moderately coarse arranged in completely regular rows, moderately dense to dense, distance between punctures from as wide as to twice wider than puncture diameter, on sides of disc rows interrupted by elevated folds. Marginal row distinct, its punctures only twice coarser than punctures in central rows. Intervals mostly flat, mostly as wide as rows only second interval in anterior part twice wider than rows, surface shiny, marginal interval in humeral part as wide as submarginal row interval and two rows combined in posterior half as wide as submarginal interval, no humeral but distinct lateral fold. Explanate margin moderately broad, moderately declivous, in the widest part four times narrower than disc, surface shiny with moderately coarse and dense punctation, transparent with well visible honeycomb structure.

Eyes large, gena very short but visible. Clypeus very broad, approximately 1.3 times as wide as long. Clypeal grooves fine but well marked, runs close to margin of eye, apically converging in triangle, surface of clypeus flat, shiny with few very small punctures. Labrum broadly minutely emarginate. Antennae moderately slim, segments 9–10 slightly longer than wide. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:50:61:64:64:46:64:57:57:64:114. Segment 3 approximately 1.2 times as long as segment 2 and approximately as long as segment 4.

Prosternum moderately broad in the middle, strongly expanded apically, area between coxa impressed, along sides with row of punctures, central part of expanded apex convex, shiny with few punctures, lateral parts impressed flat with several dense punctures.

Claws simple.

Distribution. Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya ( fig. 24 ).

Remarks. A distinct species with no close relatives among African members of the genus Cassida . Typical forms with a reddish ellipsoidal figure on elytral slope (fig. 285) are distinct from all African species. Immaculate forms (fig. 284) differ from all small, uniformly yellow species in the fine, sparse punctation of elytra with distance between punctures at least on top of disc partly as large as or larger than puncture diameter and intervals on sides of disc partly as wide as, to wider, than rows (fig. 286).

Types examined. Holotype of Cassida luxuriosa Spaeth, 1940 : [ DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO ( ZAIRE)]: Lulua, Tshibamba, II 1932, F.G. Overlaet (MRAC); holotype of Cassida cruenta Shaw, 1961 : [ DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO ( ZAIRE)]: Upemba Nat. Park, Lufwa, 1700 m, 16 III 1948, Miss. de Witte (MRAC).

Other specimens examined. CAMEROON: Djuttitsa , 23 III 1977, 1 ( MNHW) .

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (ZAIRE): Elisabethville, XI 1911, 1, Miss. Agric. ( MRAC) .

KENYA: Kwale, VI 1948, 1, van Someren ( MNHW) .

Figures

FIGURE 24. Distribution of Cassida irregularis (black circles), Cassida irrorata (black diamonds) and Cassida luxuriosa (black squares).