Aplosonyx metallicus Chen

Zhang, Lijie, Li, Wenzhu, Zhang, Yalin & Yang, Xingke, 2008, A new species of genus Aplosonyx Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) from China, with a key to the Chinese known species, Zootaxa 1898, pp. 63-68 : 65-67

Aplosonyx metallicus Chen , sp. nov

(Figs. 1, 2, 3)

Diagnosis: This new species can be distinguished easily from other species by the small body size, black, elytron dark bluish green with apex cupreous, metallic shinning.

Description. Length: 4.6–5.9 mm, width: 2.3–2.5 mm (measured at the base of the elytra). Form. Body oblong, slightly broadened behind the middle. Color. Body black, shining, elytron dark bluish green with apex cupreous, metallic; abdomen black with lateral and apex yellowish brown.

Head. Head together with eyes narrower than pronotum. Vertex convex, covered with distinct and sparse punctures; frontal tubercle distinctly raised, semicircle, with a deep impression posteriorly, surface smooth, shinning, impunctate; eye big, elliptical, strongly convex, average dorso-ventral eye length 0.49 mm, traversal length 0.38 mm; average interocular distance 0.60 mm; frons triangularly convex, covered with few long hairs laterally; clypeus narrow, flattened above; labrum broader than long, lateral margins round, anterior margin concave anteromedially, covered with few long hairs; maxillary palpus long, third palpomere broadened, covered with long hairs, apical palpomere shortest, conical, glabrous. Antenna slender, nearly 3/4 as long as body length, first segment robust, in male, second antennomere shortest, third 1.3 times as long as second, forth much longer, 1.6 times as second and third combined, fifth obviously shorter than fourth, 6–10 produced gradually in length, eleven longer than tenth, apex pointed; in female, third 1.7 times as long as second, forth 1.4 times as long as third, and slightly shorter than second and third combined.

FIGURES 1–3. Aplosonyx metallicus , sp. nov. 1. Habitus of adult. (Scale: 1mm); 2. Aedeagus. 3. Spermatheca.

FIGURES 4–8. Elytron. 4. A. nigriceps ; 5. A. yunlongensis ; 6. A. omeiensis ; 7. A. pictus ; 8. A. tianpingshanensis .

FIGURES 9–10. Pronotum. 9. A. omeiensis ; 10. A. yunlongensis .

Thorax. Pronotum much narrower at base than elytra, transverse, near rectangular, 1.7 times as broad as long, anterior margin rounded posteriorly, lateral margins straight basally, slightly widened before the middle, basal margin distinctly rounded posteriorly; anterior angle thickened, produced forward, posterior angle projected; dorsal surface slightly convex, each side with a transverse shallow depressions which containing two or three large punctures, but some specimens without any large puncture in the depression, elsewhere very finely and sparsely punctate.

Scutellum. Triangular; disc smooth, impunctate.

Elytron. Length 3.8–4.9 mm; dorsum moderately convex, lateral margins slightly broadened behind the middle; humeral angle prominent; surface of elytra with two kinds of punctures, coarse and finer, coarse punctures arranged in 10 irregular longitudinal striae, and finer punctures distributed in interstices of coarse punctures; epipleuron broadened at base, obviously narrowed at basal 1/3, extending to the apex of elytron, with big punctures along the inner margin.

Underside (thorax and abdomen). Underside smooth, covered with very sparse pubescence. Leg robust; pubescence on femur sparse, dense on apex of tibia and underside of tarsus; hind tarsus with the length of first tarsomere slightly shorter than that of second and third combined.

Holotype. Male, China, Sichuan Province, Mt. Emeishan, 18.VI.1955, Coll. Keren Huang, Gentao Jin.

Paratypes (65). Sichuan Province, Mt. Emeishan, 8 males 2 females, the same data with holotype; 6 males, 17.VI.1955, Coll. Keren Huang, Gentao Jin; 7 males 1 female, 24.VI.1955, 1800–2100 m, Coll. Le Wu, Xingchi Yang, Bingrong Ou, Zhonglin Ge, Yunzhen Zi; 1 female, 580–1150 m, 27.VI.1955, Coll. Zhonglin Ge; 1 male, 1150–2100m, 26.VI.1955, Coll. Xingchi Yang; 1 male, 1100–1800 m, 23.VI.1955, Coll. Yunzhen Zi; 1 male, 1100 m, 21.VI.1955, Coll. Zhonglin Ge. Mt. Emeishan, Jiulaodong, 1 male, 1800–1900 m, 10.VIII.1957, Coll. Keren Huang; 1 male 2 females, Jiulaodong, 1800–1900 m, 3–4.VIII.1957; 1 female, 28.VIII.1957, Coll. Youcai Yu; 1800–1900 m, 2 males, 8.VII.1957; 1 female, 8.VII.1957, Coll. Zongyuan Wang; 1800–1900 m, 9 males 1 female, 7–9.VII.1957, Coll. Fuxing Zhu; 1 male 1 female, 8.III.1957, 1 male, 25.V.1957, 1 male, 22.VII.1957, 1 male, 28.VII.1957; 2 males 1 female, Coll. Keren Huang; 4 males, 9.VII.1957, Coll. Zongyuan Wang; 1 male, 12. IX. Coll. Unknown. Mt. Emeishan, Xixiangchi, 1800–2000 m, 2 males, 22.V.1957, Coll. Youcai Yu. Jinding, 1 female, 24.V.1957, Coll. Youcai Yu; Jinding, 3000 m, 1 male, 16.V.1979, Coll. Ping Gao. Huguosi, 550–750m, 26.VI.1957, 1 male, Coll. Fuxing Zhu. Qingyin’ge, 800– 1000 m, 1 male, 21.VIII.1957, Coll. Youcai Yu. All the types of the new species are deposited in the collection of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. R. China ( IZCAS).

Etymology. This new species was named for its metallic shinning elytra.