Torquispa vittigera Uhmann, 1954

Borowiec, Lech, Świętojańska, Jolanta & Sekerka, Lukáš, 2019, Revision of the tribe Cryptonychini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) of New Caledonia, Zootaxa 4690 (1), pp. 1-71 : 58-60

Torquispa vittigera Uhmann, 1954

(Figs 194–202, 237)

Torquispa vittigera Uhmann, 1954: 2 (original description), 1958: 199 (catalogue), 1964: 445 (catalogue); Gressitt 1957: 265 (noted), 1960a: 66 (noted), 1960b: 121 (noted); Würmli, 1976: 400 (revision).

Type locality. New Caledonia, Bourail. Uhmann (1954) mispelled the locality as ‘Ouvrail’ while there is in fact written ‘Ourail’ on lables. Gressitt (1960b) noted that it should refer to a place nowadays named Bourail.

Description. Length 15.90–17.40 mm, width 4.50–4.80 mm.

Head, pronotum and elytra ferrugineous, elytral costa yellowish-orange (Fig. 194). Antennae ferrugineous. Ventral side and legs uniformly ferrugineous. 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 1.3 × as wide as long (excluding interantennal process), interocular plate rectangular, transverse, 1.2 × as wide as long, slightly elevated but with slightly convex dorsal surface, at base deeply impressed, well separated from vertex by deep sulcus, sides of plate in basal ⅔ length elevated but not carinate, anterior margin with triangular emargination, anterior corners obtuse, without tubercles. Surface of interocular plate with several coarse punctures and deep median sulcus along whole length; interantennal process elongate, sexually dimorphic, from slightly shorter to slightly longer than antennomere I, strongly flattened laterally, keel-shaped, with short sulcus only at base of dorsal surface (Figs 197, 198). Frontoclypeus 2.4–2.6 × as long as broad (including interantennal process), central plate triangular, acute apically, anterolateral corners with slightly convex subangulate tubercles, central plate along whole length impressed, in anterior half smooth and shiny, in middle and at base slightly irregular, with setose punctures and folds (Fig. 196). Antennae 0.37 × as long as body, slightly compressed apically; antennomere I large and elongate, approximately 1.5 × as long as broad; antennomere II short, slightly longer than wide, 1.8 × as long as I; antennomere III short, as long as II; antennomeres IV–X approximately 1.3 × as long as III, last segment 1.6 × longer than X, subangulate apically (Fig. 195). Pronotum approximately 1.1 × as long as broad, sides behind lateral tubercles almost parallel in front of tubercles moderately converging anterad, anterior margin moderately convex, basal margin distinctly bisinuate; sides in ¼ length with large conical tubercles, anterior angles angulate without small tubercles, basal angles straight, without tooth (Fig. 199); disc at top flattened, in front of scutellum with deep, round impression, between tubercles with shallow transverse impression, also laterally with shallow and elongate impressions, without or with rudiments of medial sulcus, surface appears slightly irregular but shiny, punctation of pronotum coarse but disposed irregularly, punctures mostly grouped behind and between lateral tubercles and in front of basal impression, areas laterally and behind basal impression mostly smooth, also along middle of pronotum runs narrow impunctate stripe. Elytra 2.7–2.8 × as long as broad, subparallel-sided on almost whole length then regularly narrowed and rounded posterad. Apex of elytra truncate, only sutural angle slightly elongate and forming straight denticle, lateral angle regularly rounded. Disc without scutellar row; six rows in posthumeral part, seven rows behind middle and eigth rows apically but additional punctures on slope disturbed regularity of rows; interspaces mostly narrow, linear, only interval 3 forming broad and obtuse costa on whole length, also interval 5 in middle more or less elevated and apically forming short and sharp costa. Ventral surface shiny, hypomera with row of coarse punctures along middle; prosternum with distinct prosternal collar separated from prosternal process by deep and impunctate sulcus, anterior margin of collar shallowly emarginate, prosternal alae smooth and shiny, intercoxal area and expanded apex flat, smooth and shiny, mesoventrite smooth and shiny, without grooves or striation, metaventrite only along sides with a few moderately coarse punctures or impunctate, central part mostly smooth and shiny, anterior process with shallow sparse striation, also posterolateral convex angles and central plate with very fine oblique striation, impunctate; abdomen mostly smooth and shiny, only posterior margins of ventrites II–IV with fine and sparse pricks and posterior half of last ventrite with fine and sparse punctation. Legs moderately stout, sexually dimorphic (Figs 200, 201).

Sexual dimorphism distinct, in males interantennal process slightly longer than antennomere I and curved, reminiscent of rhinoceros horn (Fig. 197), apices of mid and hind tibiae with long spine, and abdominal ventrite V broadly emarginate. In females interantennal process as long as ¾ length of antennomere I (Fig. 198), mid and hind tibiae with minute spine and apex of last ventrite broadly rounded.

Host plant. According to the label data specimens were collected on Basselinia sp.

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂, ‘ Coll. R. I. Sc. N. B. | Nouvelle Calédonie | Nlle- Calédonie [hw on white label glued to the pink one] | ex coll. Fauvel [pink, p, cb] || ♂ [w, p, cb] || Holo- [hw] | Typus | ♂ [hw] [r, p, cb] || E. Uhmann det., 195[p]3[hw] | Torquispa ♂ [hw] | vittigera Uhmann [hw] [w, p, cb]’ ( IRSNB) . Paratype: ♀, ‘ Coll. R. I. Sc. N. B. | Nouvelle Calédonie | Ourail [hw] | coll. Gambey [this and the previous hw on white lable glued to the pink one] | ex coll. Fauvel [pink, p, cb] || ♀ [w, p, cb] || Allo- [hw] | Typoid | ♀ [hw] [r, p, cb] || E. Uhmann det., 195[p]3[hw] | Torquispa ♀ [hw] | vittigera Uhmann [hw] [w, p, cb]’ ( IRSNB) .

Additional material examined. NEW CALEDONIA: Mt. Koghi , 500–800 m, 23.–27.x.1967, 1 ♀, J. & M. Sedlacek leg. ( LS) , 900 m, 7.xii.1963, 1 ♂ (ex palm), R. Straatman leg ( LS) ; Mt. Panié , 260–360 m, 11.xii.1983, 1 spec., J. Chazeau leg. ( MNHN) , 950–1300 m, 14.–16.v.1984, 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ (ex small palm), G. Monteith & D. Cook leg. (1 ♂ LS, 2 QMBA); ‘ Ourail’ [= Bourail], 1 ♀ ( MNHN, ex coll. Gambey); Perlou, 300 m, 6.iv.1981, 1 ♂ (ex Basselina sp.), J. L. Gressitt leg. ( BPBM) ; Pic dʼAmoa , N slope, 20°57′S, 165°17′E, 500 m, 2.v.2005, 1 ♂, G. Mon- teith leg. ( QMBA) ; Valle de Thy , 250–500 m, 28.–29.iii.1981, 1 ♀ (ex Burretiokentia sp.), J. L. Gressitt & G. M. McPherson lgt. ( BPBM) ; ‘ Nlle Calédonie | gràsser goutter’, 27.i.1952, 1 ♀ ( MNHN) .