Brachiacantha parva (Mulsant) Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014

Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVI: systematic revision of Brachiacantha Dejean (Coccinellinae: Hyperaspidini), Insecta Mundi 2014 (390), pp. 1-76 : 42-43

33. Brachiacantha parva (Mulsant) , new status, new combination

Cleothera billoti parva Mulsant, 1850: 620 .

Hyperaspis ab. parva: Korschefsky 1931: 185 .

Hyperaspis billoti parva: Gordon 1987: 28 .

Description. Male lectotype. Length 2.5 mm, width 1.9 mm; body elongate oval. Color brown except head yellow; pronotum yellow with large, basomedian brown macula truncately projected medially, apex slightly indented with yellow at middle; elytron with 5 small, yellow spots arranged in rows of 2 each with apical spot, all spots more or less round except scutellar spot transversely oval and humeral spot triangular ( Fig. 187 ); ventral surface brown except mouthparts, hypomeron, prosternum, and legs yellow; abdominal ventrites brownish yellow. Head punctures small, separated by less than to twice a diameter, each puncture as large as 1 eye facet; pronotal punctures larger than on head, separated by a diameter or less; elytral punctures as large as on pronotum, separated by 1 to 2 times a diameter. Clypeus truncate apically, lateral angle abruptly rounded, surface sparsely pubescent. Eye canthus short, about 5 eye facets long, slightly angled forward, abruptly rounded apically, yellow. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, sides rounded, anterior angle broadly rounded, basal angle abruptly rounded, basal margin without bordering line. Epipleuron narrow, grooved, groove sparsely punctured, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia with short, triangular tooth, narrowly flanged between tooth and sponda; sponda shallow, small, extended beyond protibial margin. Carinae on prosternal process obscured, not examined. Basal abdominal ventrite with postcoxal line curved throughout, extended forward at apex; ventrites 1–4 with sparse, short pubescence, ventrites 1–5 with coarse punctures in median 1/3, punctures becoming small, dense laterally; ventrite 5 broadly, deeply emarginate apically; ventrite 6 finely, densely punctured, broadly emarginate medially at apex. Genitalia with basal lobe as long as paramere, gradually narrowed from base nearly to truncate apex, slightly narrowed immediately before apex; paramere Psc, slender, abruptly bent before apex ( Fig. 188, 189 ); sipho short, robust, curved in basal 1/2, with lateral alae in apical 1/6, basal capsule large, inner arm short, wide, outer arm elongate, wide ( Fig. 190, 191 ).

Female. Unknown.

Variation. Unknown.

Type locality. Brazil.

Type depository. UMZC (lectotype designated by Gordon 1987).

Geographical distribution. Brazil.

Specimens examined. l. Brazil. The lectotype. ( UMZC).

Remarks. Brachiacantha parva is separable from other taxa having the same dorsal color pattern only by the elongate, apically truncate basal lobe of the male genitalia.

Mulsant (1850) described Cleothera billoti as having three color varieties, or aberrations. The type of C. billoti , stated to be in the Pilate collection, cannot be located. The type of Cleothera billoti groenlandica is a Brachiacantha species in the Copenhagen collection, and the type of C. bourdini (collection not stated by Mulsant) has not been found. As stated by Gordon (1987) the single specimen of C. billoti parva in the Crotch collection (Cambridge) bears a label with the “ TYPE ” crossed out, on the underside of that label is “Chev ex Mulsant.”

Because this specimen matches Mulsant’s description of C. parva, Gordon (1987) considered it to be the lectotype.

Although Mulsant (1850) stated that all of his type specimens were from Brazil, Korschefsky (1931) listed “ billoti ” as occurring in Mexico and several Central American countries. This was based on erroneous identifications made by Gorham (1894) when he applied the name “ billoti ” to taxa (probably several species) of Hyperaspini from those countries.

Figures

Figures 175–191. 175–180. Brachiacantha debbie. 175) Habitus. 176) Phallobase ventral. 177) Phallobase lateral. 178) Sipho. 179) Enlarged siphonal apex. 180) Female genitalia. 181–186. Brachiacantha monica. 181) Habitus. 182) Phallobase ventral. 183) Phallobase lateral. 184) Sipho. 185) Enlarged siphonal apex. 186) Female genitalia. 187–191. Brachiacantha parva. 187) Habitus. 188) Phallobase ventral. 189) Phallobase lateral. 180) Sipho. 191) Enlarged siphonal apex.