Chrysina blackalleri Monzón and García, 2011

Sierra, José Monzón & Morales, Leccinum Jesús García, 2011, Two new species of Chrysina Kirby (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) from Mexico, Insecta Mundi 2011 (195), pp. 1-8 : 1-4

Chrysina blackalleri Monzón and García , new species

( Figures 1, 2 , 5, 7 , 15 , 21 , 25, 31, 37 , 43 )

Type material. Holotype male and allotype female ( Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México ( UNAM)) labeled “ MEXICO: Oaxaca, Sierra de Juarez, La Esperanza, Bosque Mesófilo, A la luz, Alt. 1600 msnm. 1-2/VI/1995, J. Blackaller, A. Pérez y A. Soria cols.” . Paratypes (14 males and 1female) labeled as holotype. Paratypes deposited in the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Collection of Arthropods ( UVGC), Florida State Collection of Arthropods ( FSCA) and the private collections of Julian Blackaller (Veracruz, Mexico), Leonardo Delgado (Veracruz, Mexico) and José Monzón (Guatemala).

Description. Holotype male. Length 23.5 mm; width at elytral humeri 11.0 mm; maximum width (middle of elytra) 12.5 mm. Color of dorsum yellowish green; ocular canthi reddish golden green, antennal segments brown with scape dorsum with a pink shine; elytra with internal and external margins yellowish green, apical umbone pinkish yellowish green; scutellum with lateral margins yellowish green with slight pink reflections; pygidium yellowish green with lateral margins golden. Color of venter dull yellowish green with golden and reddish reflections. Legs with trochanter reddish yellowish green, femora iridescent yellowish green, tibiae pinkish iridescent yellowish green and tarsi pinkish golden green. Head dorsal surface slightly convex with punctures small and dense. Clypeus ( Fig. 5 ) free margins subcircular in dorsal view, surface slightly depressed, margins weakly reflexed; interocular distance 1.6 times wider than antennal club length. Mentum ( Fig. 7 ) subquadrate; anterior depression irregular with deep wide punctures; lateral depressions deep and wide, almost all length; posterior rounded; surface setigerously punctate, punctures moderate and sparse. Pronotum at base 2.4 times as wide as interocular distance; surface similar to frons except punctures sparser. Lateral margin completely beaded except effaced on basal margin in front of scutellum and anterior margin between inner border of eyes. Elytra punctate striate; striae deep, well marked with golden punctures; interstriae moderately convex. Elytron 15.5mm long and 3.1 times as long as pronotum; lateral margin with complete bead. Pygidium completely rugose; apical margin with few and scattered pale setae; surface moderately convex and prominent before apex ( Fig. 21 ). Venter with mesometasternal protrusion long, wider before apex than at base, apex rounded in ventral view ( Fig. 15 ). Metasternum sides densely setigerously punctate; setae dense, fine, long and pale. Legs with protibia clearly tridentate, teeth truncate; dorsal and ventral area of protibia with few large rugose punctures. Genitalia distinct, parameres asymmetrical and fused almost completely; ventral plates long, medially swollen and triangular towards apex; length of genital capsule 8.5 mm ( Fig. 25, 31, 37 ).

Allotype female. Similar to male except as follows: length 24.0 mm; width at elytral humeri 10.0 mm; maximum width (middle of elytra) 13.0 mm; clypeal apex parabolic; interocular distance two times wider than antennal club length; pronotum at base 2.3 times as wide as interocular distance; dorsal surface more convex; tarsi less robust; epipleural border wide; last sternite without apical depression. Inferior genital plates subsymmetrical and moderately convex with sparse long thin pale setae ( Fig. 43 ).

Variation. Males length 21.8 to 25.0 mm; width at elytral humeri 10.0 to 11.0 mm; maximum width (middle of elytra) 12.0 to 13.5 mm. Female length 20.0 mm; width at elytral humeri 10.5 mm; maximum width (middle of elytra) 13.5 mm. Except for size and elytral punctation, all the specimens form a uniform series.

Etymology. It is a great honor to name this species for our friend Julian Blackaller Bages a great insect collector, who has done a great job exploring many of the mountains in Mexico.

Diagnosis. Chrysina blackalleri is a small green Chrysina in the Peruviana group (sensu Hawks 2001). Externally it is similar to C. dianae (Ratcliffe and Taylor) and C. taylori (Morón) but can be easily differentiated by the male genitalia ( Fig. 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33, 37, 38, 39 ). The mesometasternal protrusion is rounded in C. dianae ( Fig. 16 ). It is also externally similar to C. alfredolaui (Hawks) and C. badeni (Boucard) which are members of the Badeni group (sensu Hawks 2001) which have the general male genitalia structure and externally pinkish lateral pronotal bands that makes them easy to separate.

Distribution. This interesting species is known to occur only near the town of La Esperanza, in the Sierra de Juárez, Oaxaca.

Figures

Figures 1-4. Dorsal and ventral habitus of adultChrysina specimens (1.5x).1-2) C. blackalleri male holotype from La Esperanza, Oaxaca, Mexico. 3-4) C. donthomasi male holotype from Laguna de Sánchez, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Figures 5-14. Chrysina spp. structures.5-6) Clypeus of male.5) C. blackalleri. 6)C. donthomasi. 7-8)Mentum of male.7) C. blackalleri.8) C. donthomasi. 9-14) Propleura and underside of male foretibiae.9) C. donthomasi. 10) C. beyeri. 11) C. nogueirai. 12) C. donthomasi. 13) C. beyeri. 14) C. nogueirai.

Figures 15-20.Ventral view of mesometasternal protrusion of male Chrysina spp. 15) C. blackalleri. 16) C. dianae. 17) C. taylori. 18) C. donthomasi. 19) C. beyeri. 20) C. nogueirai.

Figures 21-24.Pygidium of male Chrysina spp.21) C. blackalleri. 22) C. donthomasi. 23) C. beyeri.24) C. nogueirai.

Figures 25-42. Male genital capsule of Chrysina spp. 25-30) Dorsal habitus. 25) C. blackalleri. 26) C. dianae. 27) C. taylori. 28) C. donthomasi. 29) C. beyeri. 30) C. nogueirai. 31-36)Ventral habitus. 31) C. blackalleri. 32) C. dianae. 33) C. taylori.34) C. donthomasi.35) C. beyeri.36) C. nogueirai. 37-42) Lateral habitus. 37) C. blackalleri. 38) C. dianae. 39) C. taylori. 40) C. donthomasi. 41) C. beyeri. 42) C. nogueirai.

Figures 43-46. Female inferior genital plates of Chrysina spp. 43) C. blackalleri. 44) C. donthomasi.45) C. beyeri. 46) C. nogueirai.