Brachiacantha loricata (Mulsant) Gordon & Canepari & Hanley, 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 : 26-28

17. Brachiacantha loricata (Mulsant) , new combination

Cleothera loricata Mulsant, 1850: 544 .

Hyperaspis loricata: Crotch 1874: 217 ; Korschefsky 1931: 191; Blackwelder 1945: 447.

Cyra loricata: Duverger 2001: 226 ; Milléo and Almeida 2007: 421.

Description. Male. Length 3.4 mm, width 2.7 mm; body elongate oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head and pronotum alutaceous, dull, elytron smooth, shiny. Color black except pronotum yellow with large, basomedian black macula extended 3/4 distance to anterior pronotal margin, apex of macula evenly arcuate; elytron reddish yellow with sutural margin widely bordered with black, black area widened anterior to middle, triangular, narrowed to apex. apical margin narrowly bordered with black, with 2 large black spots in lateral 1/2, 1 spot posterior to humeral callus, 1 spot on apical declivity ( Fig. 95 ); ventral surface dark brown with antenna, mouthparts reddish yellow, legs yellow except basal 2/3 of femora brown; abdomen yellowish brown except median 1/3 dark brown. Head punctures small, dense, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture slightly larger than an eye facet; pronotal punctures larger than head punctures, separated by less than to about a diameter, elytral punctures as large as on pronotum, separated by less than to 2 times diameter; metaventral punctures larger than on elytron, separated by a diameter or less. Clypeus slightly emarginate apically, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, slightly angled forward, apically rounded, yellow, extreme apex brown. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin weakly rounded, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, grooved, slightly descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia narrowly flanged, flange less than width of remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, smooth, basal tooth short, length about 1/10 width of tibia at base, sponda extended beyond protibial flange ( Fig. 96 ). Carinae on prosternal process narrowly separated at apex, convergent toward base, joined at basal 1/3 of prosternum, single carinae extended to base of prosternum. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite flattened along posterior ventrite margin, extended forward apically, ventrite with sparse, long pubescence and small, dense punctures; ventrites 2–6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense; ventrite 3 without cusp on each side of middle; 5th ventrite slightly depressed in median 1/3, apex slightly emarginate; 6th ventrite medially depressed, apex shallowly emarginate. Apical tergite finely, densely punctured, apex weakly emarginate. Genitalia with basal lobe about as long as paramere, symmetrical, sides slightly convergent from base to apical 5/6, apical 1/6 with sides curved to abruptly rounded apex; paramere Psc, wide, curved, slightly widened from base nearly to rounded apex, lower apical angle slightly produced ( Fig. 97. 98 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 2/3, with lateral alae at apical 1/6, basal capsule lightly sclerotized, inner arm long, narrowed medially, apex broadly bifid, outer arm slightly wider and longer than inner arm, with accessory piece, basal border broadly, deeply emarginate ( Fig. 99–101 ).

Female. Similar to male except head black with narrow clypeal apex reddish brown, pronotum black except narrow apical border and lateral 1/5 reddish yellow. Genitalia with spermatheca long, slender, widened in basal 1/4, slender medially, cornu bulbous; bursal cap rectangular with 3 sclerotized arms, median arm faint, outer arms triangular, widened basally, apical strut long, widened from base to apex ( Fig. 102 ).

Variation. Length 3.0 to 3.4 mm, width 2.4 to 2.7 mm. Elytral spots variable in size and shape, apical spot varies from irregularly round to transversely oval, width of black sutural border varies from narrow to wide.

Type locality. Brazil, Capitolinerie de Rio Grande.

Type depository. MNHP (lectotype here designated).

Geographic distribution. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru.

Specimens examined. 20. Argentina. Formosa, Grau Guardia ; Prov. Salta, 3 km W Cabrera Corral Dam ; Prov. Tucuman; Salta ; Salta Prov., Tartegal; Santiago del Estero. Brazil. Type locality ; Corcovado, Guanabara, Rio de Jan . Paraguay. San Pedro, Corori-Rio Ypane . Peru. Satipo. ( CSCA) ( USNM) ( ZMHB) .

Remarks. Brachiacantha loricata is another member of the juanita group with the protibial tooth very much reduced. It was not recognized as a member of Brachiacantha by Mulsant (1850) and described as a Cleothera (Cyra) . It is slightly similar to B. argentinica , but has its own recognizable color pattern by which it may be identified. Female genitalia place it in the juanita group, but the genitalia differ from those of other species in that group by the wide, triangular lateral arms of the bursal cap.

The female lectotype in the MNHP is labeled “Museum Paris Capitolinerie de Rio Grande/146/ Cleothera loricata Muls. , auct. det.”

This species was the first of many after the subgeneric name Cyra in Mulsant’s 1850 revision. Therefore it was unfortunately selected as the type species of that genus by Duverger (2001), and again by Milléo and Almeida (2007).

Figures

Figures 88–107. 88–94. Brachiacantha octopustulata. 88) Habitus. 89) Phallobase ventral. 80) Phallobase lateral. 91) Sipho. 92) Enlarged siphonal apex lateral. 93) Enlarged siphonal apex dorsal. 94) Female genitalia. 95–102. Brachiacantha loricata. 95) Habitus. 96) Phallobase ventral. 97) Phallobase lateral. 98) Sipho. 99) Enlarged siphonal apex lateral. 100) Enlarged siphonal apex dorsal. 101) Enlarged siphonal apex dorsal. 102) Female genitalia. 103–107. Brachiacantha lynn. 103) Habitus. 104) Phallobase ventral. 104) Phallobase lateral. 106) Sipho. 107) Enlarged siphonal apex.