Mniophila bosnica Apfelbeck, 1914

Damaška, Albert František, Fikáček, Martin, Daňková, Klára, Čičovský, Daniel, Smyčková, Marie, Koštíř, Vojtěch & Munclinger, Pavel, 2024, From Europe to Caucasus: cryptic diversity and unexpected biogeographic history of a Western Palaearctic moss-inhabiting flea beetle (Chrysomelidae: Mniophila), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 201 (4), pp. 1-25 : 8-10

Mniophila bosnica Apfelbeck, 1914

( Fig. 7 , 13D )

Mniophila bosnica Apfelbeck 1914: 446.

Mniophila muscorum var. bosnica Apfelbeck, 1914 ; Heikertinger 1930: 1346.

Type locality: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zvijezda .

Distribution: South-western Balkans.

Material eoamined: Types: Lectotype (male, ZMBH, hereby designated):(i) J.Apfelb. (ii) Typus bosnica Apf .. (iii) LECTOTYPE Mniophila bosnica Apfelbeck, 1914 , A.F. Damaška des. 2022. Paralectotypes (one male, one unknown). Other material examined: See the Supporting Information, Appendix S3.

Differential diagnosis: The species differs from other European Mniophila species by the following combination of characters: (i) elytral puncturation weak and irregular (in contrast to in M. haveli sp. nov. and M. muscorum which have elytral puncturation arranged in regular rows); (ii) body almost rounded, elytra strongly widened in basal half (in contrast to M. wroblewskii with a more slender body); (iii) apex of aedeagus dull (other European species have the apex of the aedeagus at least slightly pointed).

Redescription: Habitus. Body rounded, strongly convex in lateral view, 1.4–1.6 mm long, maximum 1.0– 1.1 mm wide, 0.8 mm high. Ventral and dorsal surfaces black or black with bluish metallic lustre, antennae and legs yellowish to reddish brown. Head. Hypognathous, triangular, black with bluish or greenish metallic lustre. Supraorbital and orbital sulci deep, suprafrontal sulcus sharply angled, distinctly developed. Frontal calli well delimited anteriorly, triangular, divided in the frontal space. Vertex chagrined, slightly pilose. Frontal ridge wide, feebly projecting, frontolateral space wide with distinct setiferous puncturation, chagrined. Clypeus black, sharply cut. Labrum brownish black with yellowish brown margin, widely incised in the middle of apical margin. Eyes black, round. Antennae yellowish brown, reaching one-quarter of elytra. Antennomeres I and II dull, slightly elongate. Antennomeres III – V slightly elongated, each four-fisshs as long as antennomere II. Antennomere VI slightly shorter than V, antennomere VII elongated, as long as II, slightly protruded anteriorly. Antennomere VIII short, bulbose, antennomeres IX–XI nearly as long as II, widened. Thorax. Pronotum wide, convex, extremely feebly punctured by scaưered small punctures, impunctate in some specimens. Anterolateral pronotal edges feebly developed, dull. Elytra convex, 1.4× wider than pronotum, widened in anterior half of elytral length. Elytral punctures moderately deep, irregularly arranged. Elytral margin sharp, epipleura widened in basal half. Anterior metaventral process as wide as two-thirds of mesocoxal cavity, emarginated by a row of punctures, covered by scaưered long setae. Legs yellowish to reddish brown, tibiae slightly curved laterally. Mesofemora widened, metafemora strongly widened. Metatarsomere I almost as long as metatarsomeres II and III combined. Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites I and V each longer than abdominal ventrites II – IV combined, bearing setiferous punctures. Abdominal ventrites II – IV with transverse rows of long yellowish setae. Genitalia. Median lobe of aedeagus wide, parallel-sided in ventral view, strongly curved (C-shaped) in lateral view. Apex of aedeagus abruptly narrowed, wide. Spermatheca slender, receptacle curved laterally, spermathecal pump nearly as long as half of the receptacle, duct J-shaped, reaching one-third of the receptacle length. Vaginal palpi short, slightly opened ( V shaped), tignum wide.

DNA sequences: See the Supporting Information, Appendix S3.

Figures

Figure 7. Mniophila bosnica. A, habitus in dorsal view; B, habitus in lateral view; C, habitus in ventral view; D, median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view; E, median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view; F, median lobe of aedeagus in dorsal view; G, detailed view of the aedeagus apex (up: ventral view; below: dorsal view); H, spermatheca; I, vaginal palpi; J, tignum.

Figure 13. Comparison of the head morphology of different Mniophila species. A, M.muscorum; B, M.haveli; C, M. wroblewskii; D, M. bosnica; E, M. turcica; F, M. caucasica; G, M. transcaucasica; H, M.taurica.