Cassida elgonensis, Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2022

Borowiec, Lech & Świętojańska, Jolanta, 2022, A monograph of the Afrotropical Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Part 6. Revision of the tribe Cassidini 3, the genus Cassida L., Zootaxa 5171 (1), pp. 1-250 : 63-64

Cassida elgonensis sp. nov.

( figs. 13 , 103–104 )

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7D0441CB-684D-4179-80E0-1607B8DD7285

Description. L: 5.10 mm, W: 3.80 mm, Lp: 1.80 mm, Wp: 3.20 mm, L/W: 1.34, Wp/Lp: 1.78. Body oval, sides only slightly rounded ( fig. 103 ).

Pronotum yellow, sides of disc at base with reddish spot. Scutellum yellow. Elytral disc mostly yellow, only submarginal interval reddish, and elevated intervals 2 in 2/3 length and 4 in half length with reddish yellow stripe. Explanate margin yellow with broad red humeral and posterolateral spots and narrow sutural spot ( figs. 103, 104 ). Clypeus yellow. Thorax and central part of abdomen black, sides of abdominal sterna and apex of last sternite yellow. Legs yellow, except black coxa. Antennal segments 1–7 yellow, segment 8 at base yellowish brown, remainder part black, segments 9–11 black.

Pronotum elliptical, approximately 1.8 times wider than long, with maximum width slightly behind the middle, sides subangulate. Disc moderately convex, indistinctly bordered from explanate margin, its surface coarsely and densely punctate, distance between punctures mostly smaller than puncture diameter, only in area above head punctures smaller and sparser than in central part of disc. Surface of disc glabrous, but seems slightly irregular. Explanate margin of pronotum broad, subhorizontal, impunctate, glabrous, its surface slightly irregular.

Scutellum triangular, without punctures or sulci. Base of elytra only slightly wider than pronotum, humeral angles angulate. Disc almost regularly convex, depressed behind H–shaped postscutellar elevation ( fig. 104 ), without tubercles, in postscutellar point with high H–shaped figure. Postscutellar impressions distinct, bordered externally by anterior branches of the H–shaped figure. Punctation of disc regular, punctures coarse and dense, in rows almost touching each other. Punctures in marginal row coarser than on sides of disc, but shallow, only in red parts of margin deep. Intervals narrow, mostly narrower than rows, on sides of disc almost linear, only elevated interval 2 and elevated central part of interval 4 as wide as to slightly narrower than rows. Marginal interval broad, distinctly wider than submarginal row.

Clypeus narrow, approximately 1.1 times wider than long, flat, smooth and glabrous, clypeal lines distinct, converging in triangle. Antennae stout, distal segments slightly wider than long. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:77:88:84:69:62:55:62:68:62:135. Segment 3 only 1.1 times longer than segment 2, and almost as long as segment 4.

Prosternal collar very short, prosternal process strongly expanded apically, its surface irregularly wrinkled and punctate.

Claws simple.

Distribution. Kenya: E slope of Mt. Elgon ( fig. 13 ).

Remarks. A member of the Cassida lacrymosa species–group. At first glance it is very similar to C. pernix Spaeth and C. ghesquieri Spaeth , especially in the reddish elytral disc, red humeral and posterolateral elytral spots and strongly punctate pronotal disc. Both relatives differ in stouter body, base of elytra as wide as pronotum, thus the body outline looks almost circular (figs. 105, 329) while in C. elgonensis the body is oval, with only slightly rounded sides ( fig. 103 ). The postscutellar H–shaped elevation in C. pernix is distinctly lower than in C. elgonensis , and interval 2 is less convex. Ventrites in C. pernix are uniformly yellow, while in C. elgonensis they are mostly black. Cassida qhesquieri has the postscutellar elevation distinctly higher than in C. elgonensis (fig. 330).

Type examined. Holotype: [ KENYA]: Kitale, Uasin Gishu, 2100 m, 1932–33, Mission de l’Omo , C. Arambourg, P.A. Chapuis & R. Jeannel ( MNHN).

Figures

FIGURE 13. Distribution of Cassida delenifica (black squares), Cassida flavosignata (black circles) and Cassida elgonensis (black diamond).

FIGURES 103–104. Cassida elgonensis. FIGURES 105–106. Cassida pernix. 103, 105. Dorsal; 104, 106. Lateral.