Miritius Bechyné & Bechyné, 1965

Morais, Ana Carla C., Ribeiro-Costa, Cibele S. & Linzmeier, Adelita M., 2016, On the taxonomy of the Brazilian flea beetle genus Miritius Bechyné & Bechyné (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini: Monoplatina) with description of two new species, Zootaxa 4067 (3), pp. 334-344 : 335-336

Miritius Bechyné & Bechyné, 1965

( Figs 1–36 )

Description. Body 3–4.5 mm long and 1.3–2 mm wide, pubescent, elongated, flat to moderately convex in lateral view. Color light brown to dark brown with markings dark brown on elytra with patterns characteristics to each species ( Figs 1 , 11 , 22 , 29 ); silver or golden pilosity.

Head hypognathous, elongated, perpendicular, slightly convex in lateral view. Vertex densely covered with large setiferous pores, slightly convex, with golden or silver pubescence. Supraorbital pore indistinguishable or nearly indistinguishable among them. Antennal calli slightly longer than wide, oblique, separated by midfrontal sulcus. Antennal orbit narrow, as wide as the width of antennal socket. Interantennal space narrow, shorter than or as wide as the width of antennal socket. Antennal socket rounded, slightly wider than long. Frontal and anterofrontal ridge narrow. Eyes large, rounded, protruding laterally. Interocular space wider than or as wide as the length of eye. Frontoclypeal suture absent or slightly evident. Frontoclypeal region slightly concave in lateral view, with two setiferous pores medially bearing a long seta. Gena shorter than or as long as the length of eye, pilosity sparse. Clypeus depressed, smooth, with a long setae close to each angle. Labrum with six setiferous pores, four with long setae and two with short setae. First and second maxillary palpomeres longer than wide, dilated at apex; first palpomere shorter than second; third palpomere thinnest, conical. First labial palpomere wider than long; second palpomere 2x longer than wide; third palpomere thin, conical. Antennae with 11 antennomeres, reaching 2/ 3 the length of elytra.

Pronotum ( Fig. 14 ) rectangular, densely punctate, constricted medially, wider anteriorly. Anterior margin straight, posterior margin nearly straight to sinuous, lateral margin very thin, sinuous. Anterior and posterior angles with one setiferous pore bearing a long seta; pilosity dense and short. Antebasal impression semicircular, deepest laterally. Pronotal disc raised, in lateral view.

Scutellum triangular densely pubescent, longer than wide. Elytra wider than thorax, punctured, with dense pilosity. Punctures forming nine striae (not counting short scutellar and marginal striae). Pilosity composed by short, denser bent hairs and black, longer, sparse and raised hairs on interstriae. Basal calli generally well developed. Humeral calli well developed. Epipleura wide, inclined, nearly horizontal, narrowing at elytral apex, nearly reaching it. Prosternal surface shiny. Prosternal intercoxal process narrow, extended and widened posteriorly beyond procoxa, ending in a triangular shape; posterior end about three times the width of intercoxal region ( Fig. 4 ). Procoxal cavity closed posteriorly. Mesosternum slightly shorter than prosternum, T-shaped, with apex Ushaped. Metasternum smooth, bright and sparsely pilose, convex in lateral view ( Fig. 5 ).

Pro- and mesofemora subcylindrical, tibiae slightly expanded toward apex, with numerous denticles at apex, pubescent. Pro- and mesotarsomeres similar, first slightly dilated, second shorter than first, third bilobated, as long as first, fourth tarsomere as long as second and third together, claws appendiculate. Metafemur longer than wide, claws appendiculate ( Fig. 15 ).

Abdomen shining, sparsely pubescent, with five visible ventrites. Ventrite V with distinct sexual dimorphism: males with small protruding ventral lobe medially on posterior margin and a perpendicular line, females with apex conical. Ventrite I in males with or without a rounded or drop-shaped structure medially. Median lobe of aedeagus simple and convex with a sclerite C-shaped in internal sac in some species. Tignum long, thin, with a central canal, posterior area wide. Vaginal palpi elongated, parallel; base and apical third strongly sclerotized, merged; apex oblique and slightly sinuous, each bearing about eighth setae at apex. Spermatheca curved; pump apex with a flat projection.

Comments. Among Monoplatina genera, Miritius is most similar to Hypolampsis Clark1860 (= Ceolocephalus Clark, 1860). They have similar body size and proportions, pronotal form and antebasal impression patterns, and generally similar pilosity, color and tarsomeres. Hypolampis, besides the difficulty in its definition due to the dissimilarty among the species, contains species never brightly colored and without distinct markings on elytra, rather its species are fuscus and mostly pubescent, the posterior tibiae are longitudinally grooved without any kind of pre-apical projection on its margin ( Clark 1860). Miritius differs from Hypolampsis by the elongated and perpendicular head, short antennae with antennomeres 3 to 6 long and 7 to 11 short and slightly thickened ( Bechyné & Bechyné 1965), by the specific patterns of markings dark-brown on elytra, antennal calli slightly longer than wide, obliquely separated by midfrontal sulcus and presence of a sclerite in internal sac of aedeagus (in some species). Miritius as well as Hypolampsis are not brightly colored.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 10. Miritius egleri Bechyné & Bechyné, 1965. 1 Dorsal habitus 2 Lateral habitus 3 Head, frontal view 4 Prosternum 5 Mesosternum and metasternum 6 Spermatheca 7 Vaginal palpi 8 Tignum 9 Aedeagus ventral view 10 Aedeagus lateral view.

FIGURES 11 – 21. Miritius claudius Morais & Linzmeier sp. nov. 11 Dorsal habitus 12 Lateral habitus 13 Head, frontal view 14 Pronotum 15 Metafemur 16 Metatarsomeres 17 Spermateca 18 Tignum 19 Vaginal palpi 20 Aedeagus ventral view 21 Aedeagus lateral view.

FIGURES 22 – 28. Miritius benevidensis Bechyné & Bechyné, 1967. 22 Dorsal habitus 23 Lateral habitus 24 Head, frontolateral view 25 Abdomen 26 Metatibia and metatarsomeres 27 Aedeagus ventral view 28 Aedeagus lateral view.

FIGURES 29 – 36. Miritius abdominalis Morais & Linzmeier sp. nov. 29 Dorsal habitus 30 Lateral habitus 31 Head, frontal view 32 Abdomen, ventral view 33 Vaginal palpi and tignum 34 Spermateca 35 Aedeagus ventral view 36 Aedeagus lateral view.