Calligrapha intermedia Jacoby, 1882

Gómez-Zurita, Jesús, 2018, Systematic revision of Central American Calligrapha Chevrolat of the subgenus Erythrographa subgen. nov. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Chrysomelinae), Zootaxa 4531 (1), pp. 1-58 : 21-24

Calligrapha intermedia Jacoby, 1882

( Figs 6a , 7a, 7b , 8 )

Calligrapha intermedia Jacoby, 1882 . Biol. Centr.-Amer., vol. vi, pt. 1, p. 200.

Calligrapha intermedia: Blackwelder, 1946 . U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 185, p. 674.

Calligrapha intermedia: Wilcox, 1975 . Checklist Chryomelidae, p. 66.

Calligrapha intermedia: Montelongo & Gómez-Zurita, 2014 . Zool. Scr. 43, p. 607.

Calligrapha intermedia: Benítez-García et al., 2017 . Rev. Mex. Biodiv. 88, p. 339.

Martin Jacoby described this species simultaneously referring to two specimens in his possession, both coming from A. Sallé's collection and originary from Panistlahuca (sic.), in Mexico (Jacoby 1882). One of the specimens is currently at NHM (London, UK) and the other at MCZ (Cambridge MA, USA). Both differ in several important respects, some of them already pointed out by the original author, and the traits selected in the formal description were sometimes representative of one of the specimens and sometimes of the other. For example, the configuration described for the humeral spot seems to reflect better the specimen at NHM, but that of shape and punctation of pronotum, the spots enclosed by humeral lunule, and the presence of subhumeral spot, clearly describe the specimen at MCZ. The alternative states for these traits, except the configuration of the spots enclosed by humeral lunule, were mentioned as variation in the species and, at least in the case of pronotal differences, attributable to sexual dimorphism (Jacoby 1882). Even though the specimen in Cambridge shows traits that are more consistent with the few other specimens examined for this revision, most notably the presence of subhumeral spot, the one in London was selected by the author to represent the species in Biologia Centrali-Americana (plate XI, fig. 19; Jacoby 1882), and respecting this choice, the latter syntype is selected here as the lectotype of C. intermedia Jacoby.

Lectotype, by present designation: Panistlahuca [San Miguel Panixtlahuaca] / Mexico, Sallé Coll. / 642 [pale blue] / C. intermedia [pale blue] / Type. Sp. figured / Godman-Salvin Coll., Biol. Centr.-Amer. ( NHM). The specimen lacks the last two tarsomeres of the left protarsus and the claws in left mesotarsus.

Paralectotype, by present designation: Panistlahuca / Mexico, Sallé Coll. / 1st Jacoby Coll. / Type 17433 [red] / Jan–July 2004 MCZ database ( MCZ) .

Habitus ( Fig. 6a ). Length: 9.29 mm (lectotype), 8.50 mm (paralectotype); width: 5.98 mm (lectotype), 5.42 mm (paralectotype). Head and pronotum dark brown with slight bronzy tinge; scutellum, elytral markings, epipleura, ventral surfaces and apex of mandibles dark brown; apical margin of clypeus, labrum, mandibles, mouth appendages, antennae and legs brownish orange, but femora frontally and posteriorly with large darkened spot; ground of elytra creamy yellow.

Body elongate oval, moderately convex. Head large, broad, deeply inserted in pronotum; surface with fine microreticulation, rather densely punctured, with finer, sparse punctation medially; supraocular furrow deep, weakly sinuous from antennal calli to above upper eye border, divergent from eye; frontal suture very finely impressed, confluent apically with broad U-shaped clypeal suture, more feebly impressed medially. Clypeus wide, weakly convex, markedly depressed in front, densely and strongly punctured at sides and apex. Labrum relatively long, with very fine microsculpture and median transverse row of about eight fine punctures with long medially convergent pale yellowish setae; anterior border of labrum weakly emarginate. Mandibles large, strong, protruding beyond anterior border of labrum by 1/3 of their length; sides feebly concave and with strong lateral punctures bearing long golden setae. Last maxillary palpomere longer than wide, subtrapezoidal, wider at apex than basally, with sides weakly convex and apex obliquely truncate, also feebly convex; previous palpomere broader at apex than basally, slightly wider at apex than base of last palpomere, regularly curved at external border, strongly bent and shorter at inner border. Antennae slender, slightly clavate, reaching humeri; scape thick and long, slightly bent posteriorly; pedicel relatively long, slightly longer than half length of scape, club-shaped, smooth, nearly glabrous; third antennomere long and slender, about 1.6x longer than pedicel, club-shaped, smooth with sparse short setae and few longer setae near apex; fourth antennomere subequal to pedicel, narrower, and 1.3x longer than fifth antennomere; antennomeres 5–11 progressively longer (sixth antennomere slightly shorther than fourth), and 5–8 progressively thicker but longer than wide (eigth antennomere 0.69x as wide at apex as long); surface of antennomeres 6–11 finely granulate and densely pubescent. Pronotum markedly transverse (W/L = 1.98), narrower at base than base of elytra, broadest behind middle; basal border with convex median lobe, unmargined; posterior angles slightly obtuse and sides weakly convex, more pronouncedly curved at apical third, towards anterior angles, finely margined, with margins visible from above, except near anterior angles owing to lateral convexity of pronotum; anterior angles broad, round, moderately protruding; anterior border weakly convex and finely margined; surface with strong, irregularly sparse punctures on disc, sometimes confluent, and denser, stronger punctures toward sides, and dense, confluent elongate punctures along basal border except in periscutellar area. Hypomera convex, finely microsculptured, unpunctured, with few transversal wrinkles basally; hypomeral suture strongly marked, deep, from near basal angle of pronotum to ventral basal border of anterior angles, weakly divergent from lateral border of pronotum at basal 3/4. Prosternum relatively long, with anterior border concave and finely margined, very strongly punctured with longitudinally elongate punctures, denser near procoxae; prosternal process narrow, sloping behind and gradually expanding to slightly round apex, slightly surpassing posterior coxal border. Surface of mesepimera finely microreticulate, with weakly impressed punctures, denser at posterior angle. Metanepisterna with strong, separate punctures, slightly longitudinally elongated at apical half. Metaventrite finely leathery, sparsely and finely punctured, with stronger punctation close to anterior angles and lateral borders; sides margined, with premarginal row of strong punctures. Scutellum small, with fine microreticulation, unpunctured, shaped as elongate triangle (W/L = 0.91) with round posterior apex. Elytra long, with humeri marked, parallel-sided behind humeri and regularly curved at apical 1/3; surface very finely microsculptured, with sparse dot-like punctures in pale areas and in dark areas of apical half; punctation stronger around and within dark markings in basal half of elytra; premarginal line of fine punctures present, confused in subhumeral area and with strong punctures over midlateral spot; scutellar row of 14–15 punctures, geminate at level with scutellum. Pattern of dark markings on elytra consisting of: (i) sutural stripe strangled narrowly at base, confluent with base of elytra and fully surrounding scutellum, reaching sutural angle, but abruptly narrowed before apex; (ii) basal end of subsutural stripe slightly anterior to apex of scutellum, entirely confluent with sutural stripe, gradually narrowing toward apex, except for weak enlargement at apical declivity and broad preapical lobe before abrupt apical narrowing; (iii) arcuate band relatively short, placed behind middle of elytron, broadly confluent with subsutural stripe laterally, gently curved with slightly divergent and free basal and apical ends; apically produced as recurved volute ending at level with median concavity of band; (iv) humeral spot large, elongate, gradually expanded towards apex, produced as broad transverse lobe directed at right angle towards lateral border of elytron; spot feebly curved following elytral margin at side, free from basal margin of elytron basally and apically ending at level with basal confluence of arcuate band with subsutural stripe; (v) humeral lunule long and rather uniformly wide, broadly sigmoidal, entirely confluent laterally with humeral spot except at apical quarter, slightly convergent towards suture; preapically confluent through dark suffussions with basal quarter of arcuate band externally; (vi) two spots enclosed by humeral lunule; basal spot large, round, with anterior margin at level with base of subsutural stripe, almost free except for a puncture wide dark connection with prebasal area of humeral lunule; apical spot larger, transverse, broadly confluent externally with internal concavity of humeral lunule, subtrapezoidal on left elytron of type and U-shaped on right elytron; (vii) midlateral spot narrow and elongate, covering seven punctures of premarginal line, loosely connected by dark suffussions medially to dark margin of elytron; (viii) spot of apical declivity large, longitudinally elongate, with apical end oriented towards sutural angle and weakly divergent basally from suture, broadly confluent apically with slight enlargement of subsutural stripe at apical declivity; (ix) apical spot large, irregular, with posterior margin parallel to apical border of elytron; (x) 6–7 large additional spots at apical half on lateral declivity of disc of elytra, with differences between elytra of type. Femora long, enlarged medially, with sparse, fine punctures and very fine short hairs. Tibiae slender, nearly as long as corresponding femora, sparsely punctured, except at granulose apex, covered by short, dense golden setae; delicately carinated longitudinally at interior angles and furrowed externally at basal 1/3. Tarsi long and slender, shorter than corresponding tibiae. Abdominal ventrites with rather strong and dense punctation basally and at sides, and regular median transverse row of punctures on ventrites 2–4; surface of median posterior end of ventrites smooth, except apical segment, entirely strongly punctured, particularly at sides. Penis stout ( Figs 7a, 7b ), with sides almost parallel in ventral side, slightly widened at level with ostium, nearly as thick in lateral as in ventral view, with maximum ventral curvature distal to basal orifice, weakly curved in apical part, tapering to apex at level with ostium dorsally in lateral view; apical border weakly convex at middle and regularly curved at sides, towards lateral, posteriorly oriented teeth, slightly surpassing lateral borders of penis laterally; basal dorsal flap of ostium weakly bilobate; distal end of flagellum membranous dorsally and sclerotized ventrally, two-armed with slightly divergent ends.

Distribution. Given the paucity of specimens belonging to this species found in collections, it is still preliminary to define the range of this species. However, the few records available are coherent with the distribution in southwestern Mexico, with additional localities in the States of Guerrero and Morelos, not far from the type locality, Panixtlahuaca, in Oaxaca ( Fig. 8 ). At present, C. intermedia Jacoby has to be considered an endemic Mexican species, Neotropical and characteristic of the southern, Pacific part of the Mexican Transition Zone ( Morrone 2006).

Material examined (five specimens).

MEXICO.

IBE-JGZ: (1) two specimens: [IBE-JGZ-C548, IBE-JGZ-C549] Mexico, Morelos, Puente de Ixtla, La Tigra 18°30'57''N 99°19'53.7''W, 25/05/12, María Magdalena Ordóñez Reséndiz leg., Calligrapha intermedia Jacoby J. Gómez-Zurita det. 2012. MCZ: (1) one specimen: Chilpancingo, Gro. Mex. 3800’, 30 July 1962, H.E. Evans collector, Calligrapha intermedia Jac. J. Gómez-Zurita det. 2010. NMNH: (1) one specimen: Mexico, Progreso, Valle Hidalgo, July 27, 1963, Alfred B. Lau, Calligrapha intermedia Jacoby J. Gómez-Zurita det. 2011.

UNKNOWN SOURCE. MCZ: (1) one specimen: 40.

Variation. As already mentioned above, and as already noted by the author (Jacoby 1882), this species shows some remarkable variation in relevant characters. For example, the lectotype shows a tridigitate apex of the humeral spot, because of lateral fusion of apical spot enclosed by humeral lunule with the humeral lunule, similar to the configuration of this marking observed in C. tortilis Stål and C. suffriani Jacoby. However , the paralectotype, and to some extent the specimen without data also at MCZ, both have the larger spot enclosed by humeral lunule not markedly transverse and very close, but free from the lunule. The apically tridigitate humeral marking is recognizable in the specimens from Chilpancingo (MCZ) and from Puente de Ixtla (IBE-JGZ). The lectotype has a characteristic, convoluted apical end of the arcuate band, very similar to this defining trait of C. tortilis Stål. This feature is missing in all the other specimens analyzed. The lectotype lacks any trace of subhumeral spot, but this feature is conspicuous in the paralectotype, as a medium sized elongate spot contiguous to the external border of the humeral spot, and this feature is also present in the specimen from Chilpancingo and the two specimens from Puente de Ixtla, where it is larger and fused laterally to humeral spot, but still recognizable. The configuration of the midlateral spot is also polymorphic, from nearly missing in the paralectotype to a midlateral spot fused to elytral margin and progressively narrowing behind, as seen in the specimen without data at MCZ and the two specimens from Puente de Ixtla. Punctation on pronotum is variable and possibly not related to sexual differences, as signalled by Jacoby (1882): the specimens from Puente de Ixtla are one male and one female, and have very similar punctation on pronotum, closer in appearance to the lectotype.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Dorsal and lateral views of the lectotype of Calligrapha intermedia Jacoby (a), the holotype of C. tortilis Stål (b), and the lectotype of C. suffriani Jacoby.

FIGURE 7. Ventral and lateral views, and dorsal view of apex of the penises of Calligrapha intermedia Jacoby (a, b) and C. suffriani Jacoby (c, d). Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 8. Distribution of Calligrapha intermedia Jacoby, C. suffriani Jacoby and C. tortilis Stål.