Cassida cordula Boheman, 1854

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 : 49

Cassida cordula Boheman, 1854

( figs. 8 , 305–306 )

Cassida Cordula Boheman, 1854: 482, 1856: 145 , 1862: 349; Gemminger & Harold, 1876: 3653; Borowiec, 1999: 245; Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2001: 156.

Cassida (Odontionycha) cordula: Spaeth, 1914 b: 93 .

Description. L: 5.20–5.25 mm, W: 4.00–4.20 mm, Lp: 1.80–1.85 mm, Wp: 3.00 mm, L/W: 1.24–1.31, Wp/Lp: 1.62–1.67. Body oval, sides distinctly converging posterad ( fig. 305 ).

Uniformly yellow, including ventrites, legs and antennae, only apex of last antennal segment slightly infuscate ( figs. 305, 306 ).

Pronotum elliptical, with maximum width in the middle, sides slightly angulate. Surface of disc finely, shallowly punctate, punctures much finer than those of elytral disc. On sides of pronotal disc punctures moderately dense, distance between them from as wide as to twice wider than puncture diameter, on top of disc sparser, in area above head surface almost impunctate ( fig. 305 ). Surface between punctures mostly regular, only on sides slightly irregular. Explanate margin of pronotum impunctate, its surface slightly irregular.

Base of elytra only slightly wider than base of pronotum, humeral angles strongly protruding anterad, angulate. Disc regularly convex in profile, without impressions ( fig. 306 ). Punctation coarse, extremely dense, punctures almost touching each other, surface of elytral disc appears rugose. Explanate margin strongly declivous, with punctures as coarse and dense as but less impressed than on disc.

Eyes large, gena short, distance between under margin of eye and lateral angle of labrum more than twice shorter than eye length. Clypeus very broad, approximately 1.3 times as wide as long. Clypeal grooves well marked, converging in distance from eye margin with deeply concave sides, triangular apically. Labrum shallowly emarginate. Antennae short, segments 9–10 almost as long as wide. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:53:65:68:62:50:76:5 6:62:59:94. Segment 3 approximately 1.23 times longer than 2 and only slightly shorter than 4.

Prosternum narrow in the middle, expanded apically, area between coxa flat without special sculpture, expanded apex convex in the middle, impressed laterally with few moderately coarse punctures.

Claws with moderately large basal tooth.

Distribution. South Africa: W Cape ( fig. 8 ).

Remarks. A member of the Cassida litigiosa species–group. It is well characterized by very coarse and dense elytral punctation with elytral surface appearing rugose but with fine and sparse pronotal punctation ( fig. 305 ). Only C. foveolatipennis has as coarse elytral punctation as in C. cordula but differs in more circular body, elytral punctation slightly sparser, with surface of elytra appearing regular, not rugose ( fig. 331 ).

Type examined. Holotype: [ SOUTH AFRICA]: Pr. b. Sp., 1, Lichtenberg ( ZMHU).

Other specimens examined. SOUTH AFRICA: Cape, Cape Town, NW Table Mountain , 400 m, 31 I 1995, 1 ( MNHW) .

Figures

FIGURE 8. Distribution of Cassida capensis (black circles) Cassida cordula (black square) and Cassida emontinensis (black diamond). FIGURE 9. Distribution of Cassida distinguenda (black circles), Cassida diversepunctata (black diamond) and Cassida drakensbergensis (black square).

FIGURES 305–306. Cassida cordula. 307–308. Cassida wittmeri. 305, 306. Dorsal; 307, 308. Lateral.

FIGURES 331–332. Cassida foveolatipennis. 333–335. Cassida pudens. 331, 333–334. Dorsal; 332, 335. Lateral.