Dorynota (Dorynota) cornigera ( Boheman, 1854 )

Simões, Marianna V. P. & Sekerka, Lukáš, 2015, Review of the Neotropical Leaf Beetle SubgenusDorynota s. str. Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Dorynotini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (2), pp. 231-254 : 236-238

Dorynota (Dorynota) cornigera ( Boheman, 1854) ( Figs. 9–10 , 44 )

Batonota cornigera Boheman, 1854: 162 (type locality: ‘Brasilia’).

Batonota bellicosa Boheman, 1854: 159 (type locality: ‘Brasilia’). New synonymy.

Type Material. Batonota cornigera , lectotype (designated by Borowiec 1999), pinned: ‘ Brasil. [w, p, cb] ∥ Mhn. [w, p, cb] ∥ Type. [w, p, cb] ∥ LECTOTYPE ∣ des. L. Borowiec [r, p, cb]’ ( SMNH). Batonota bellicosa , holotype, pinned: ‘14262 [w, p, sl] ∥ bellicosa ∣ Boh.* ∣ Brasil. Sello. [g, hw, cb, bb] ∥ HOLOTYPE ∣ des. L. Borowiec [r, p, cb] ∥ HOLOTYPUS ∣ Batonota ∣ bellicosa ∣ Boheman, 1854 ∣ des. L. Borowiec [r, p, cb, bb]’ ( ZMHB) .

Additional Material Examined (37). ARGENTINA: Misiones: XI.1941, A. Maller lgt. (1 specimen, MNRJ) ; BRAZIL: without additional locality data (2 specimens, DBET; 3 specimens, MMUE) ; XII.1964 (2 specimens, MNRJ) ; Goiás: Jatahy (1 specimen, MMUE) ; Mato Grosso: without additional locality data (1 spec., LSC; 1 specimen, ZMHB) ; Minas Gerais: Pedra Azul , XII.1970, F.M. Oliveira lgt. (1 specimen, MNRJ) ; Poços de Caldas, Morro de Ferro Poços de Caldas ( Morro de Ferro ), I. XI.1970, J. Becker lgt. (1 specimen, MNRJ) ; Rio de Janeiro: without additional locality data (1 specimen, DBET) ; Corcovado , I.1962, Alvarenga & Seabra lgt. (1 specimen, MNRJ) ; Rio Grande do Sul: without additional locality data (1 specimen, MMUE) ; Porto Lucena , (1 specimen, MMUE) ; São Paulo: without further locality data (1 specimen, DBET, 1 specimen, ZMUC) ; Rosana ( Porto Primavera ), 11.XII.1998, A. Brescov lgt. (1 specimen, MZUSP) ; Santa Catarina: Curupá ( Hansa ), XI.1939 (2 specimens, MNRJ) ; Joinville (2 specimen, MMUE) ; Pinhal , XII.1953, A. Maller lgt. (1 specimen, MNRJ) ; Rio Vermelho , XII.1948, Dirings lgt. (2 specimens, MZUSP) ; I.1949, A. Maller lgt. (2 specimens, AMNH) ; Rio Vermelho , III.1952 (1 specimen, MNRJ) ; XII.1955, A. Maller lgt. (1 specimen, MNRJ) ; Rio Negrinho , XI.1925, A. Maller lgt. (1 male, 1 female, MNRJ) ; PARAGUAY: without additional locality data (2 specimens, DBET) ; Cordillera: San Bernardino, W. Elsenlohr V. [endor] (1 specimen, DBET) , P. Sladhorn lgt. (1 specimen, LSC) .

Diagnosis. Dorynota cornigera is a very variable species with regards to coloration, but can be easily distinguished by the presence of conspicuous acute humeral angles. Dorynota hastifera and some specimens of D. pugionata possess the humeral angles shaped as such, but they also have punctate elytral intervals, while in D. cornigera they are impunctate.

Remarks. Boheman (1854) described D. cornigera and D. bellicosa from an unknown number of specimens. However, length and variation of D. cornigera were provided, and he cited ‘A Dom. Com. Mannerheim et e Mus. Imp. Wienn. ad describendum communicata’, therefore he must have had at least two specimens. Borowiec (1999) studied Boheman’ s material that is deposited at the SMNH and found a single specimen of this species, which he designated as the lectotype. Other specimens, if found, shall be designated as paralectotypes.

Dorynota bellicosa was also described from an unknown number of specimens. However, as Boheman gave a single length measurement and stated ‘Dom. Sellow. Mus. Reg. Berol.’, we assume he must have had a single specimen, as in many other species described by him. The ZMHB holds a single specimen of this species, and only one specimen is mentioned in the historical collection`s catalog. Therefore, it is considered as the holotype .

Boheman (1854) compared D. cornigera and D. bellicosa to D. pugionata , based on general body appearance and the presence of a long dorsal spine. From reading the primary descriptions, the main characters used to separate D. cornigera and D. bellicosa were size and body coloration, with D. bellicosa presenting being a darker form with partly black ventrites and D. cornigera a pale form with yellowish ventrites. We examined types of both nominal taxa, as well as 37 additional specimens, and concluded that both taxa are conspecific. Dorynota bellicosa represents an extreme form, differing from D. cornigera by the dark yellowish brown elytra and somewhat sparser and slightly smaller elytral punctation. The examined series of specimens display great variability in dorsal as well as ventral color. The dorsum is always with a variegated pattern ranging from yellow to brown or evenly black with lateral slopes and margin darker than the central part of the disc. Coloration of the pronotum is also variable, and the black pattern can be completely reduced in extreme forms. Punctation of the elytra is also variable, as noticed by Monrós and Viana (1949), and is dependent on the size of the specimen. Small specimens with a smaller elytral surface have more condensed punctation, while large specimens with a larger surface have sparser punctation.

As both taxa were described in the same publication, we chose to retain the name D. cornigera as valid for this taxon, since it has been applied correctly and D. bellicosa was unknown to subsequent cassidine workers (following the First Reviser Principle, Article 24.2.1. of the Code ( ICZN 1999)).

Distribution. Argentina (Entre Ríos, Salta, Chaco), Brazil (Distrito Federal, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, São Paulo), Paraguay (Asunción) (Borowiec and Świętojańska 2014). Three new state records in Brazil (Mato Grosso, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul) and new province records in Argentina (Misiones) and Paraguay (Cordillera) ( Fig. 44 ).

Figures

Figs. 9–14. Dorynota (s. str.) species. 9) D. cornigera, lectotype, dorsal view; 10) D. cornigera, lateral view and labels; 11) D. hastifera, holotype, dorsal view; 12) D. hastifera, lateral view and labels; 13) D. monoceros from Brazil (Bahia), dorsal view; 14) D. monoceros, lateral view.

Fig. 44. Geographic distribution of five Dorynota (s. str.) species.