Paraplotes taiwana Chûjô, 1963

Lee, Chi-Feng, 2015, The genus Paraplotes Laboissière, 1933 in Taiwan, a speciose group with brachelytrous females (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae), Zootaxa 3904 (2), pp. 223-248 : 233-236

Paraplotes taiwana Chûjô, 1963

( Figs 39–50 , 81, 86 )

Paraplotes taiwana Chûjô, 1963: 25 .

Type locality. Hualien county, Juisui (ffiffi), 23°31’N, 121°24’E, 300 m.

Type material (n= 1). Chûjô (1963) described this species based on a single specimen collected from Juisui by Baba, but the depository was not mentioned. Much effort was expended to locate the type (such as Nara Women's College, Nara Pref., Shiga Lake-Biwa Museum, Shiga Pref. and Tainai Insect House, Niigata Pref. where some of Baba? collections were preserved) but these efforts failed. Most Chûjô types were deposited at Kyushu University, but this type was not among them. Recently, late Dr. Satô donated much of his collection to the NMNS including some Chûjô specimens. One specimen included the same data as the holotype. Thus, this specimen is assumed to be the holotype (♂), labeled: “Juisui (Naka spa) E. FORMOSA 28.XI.1962 Coll. K. BABA / NMNS ENT 5503- 8816”.

Additional specimens examined (n= 190). Hualien: 1♂, Fuyuan, 27.V.1997, leg. C. W. & L. B. O’Brien ( NMNS), 1♂, same but with “ 28.V.1997 ” ( NMNS); Taitung: 1♂, Guanshan, 31.X.2009, leg. P.-F. Wang ( TARI); 6♂♂, 7♀♀, Liyuan, 24.VII.2013, leg. C.-F. Lee ( TARI); 28♂♂, 17♀♀, Motien, 23.V.2011, leg. C.-F. Lee; 1♂, Shinkangshan, 24.III. –19.V.2009, leg. W. T. Yang & K. W. Huang ( NMNS); 2♂♂, same but with “ 19.V. –25.VI.2009 “ ( NMNS); 1♂, same but with “ 25.VI. –26.VIII.2009 ” ( NMNS); 8♂♂, Shouka, 18.V. –26.VI.2009, leg. W. T. Yang & K. W. Huang ( NMNS); 2♀♀, Taimali, 15.I.2009, leg. C.-F. Lee ( TARI); 23♂♂, 2♀♀, Tulanshan, Sampling plots # I, 25.VI. –26.VIII.2009, leg. W. T. Yang & K. W. Huang ( NMNS); 7♂♂, same but with “ 26.VIII. –22.IX.2009 ” ( NMNS); 2♂♂, same but with “ 22.IX. –20.X.2009 ” ( NMNS); 1♂, 2♀♀, same but with “ 20.X. –8.XII.2009 ” ( NMNS); 1♂, same but with “ 27.IV. –18.V.2010 “ ( NMNS); 4♂♂, 1♀, same but with “ 14.IX–23.XI.2010 “ ( NMNS); 2♂♂, same but with “ 23.XI. –28.XII.2010 “ ( NMNS); 3♂♂, same but with “ 1- 30.V.2011 “ ( NMNS); 3♂♂, 1♀, same but with “ 30.V. –26.VII.2011 “ ( NMNS); 3♂♂, same locality and collectors, sampling plots # II, 19.V. –25.VI.2009 ( NMNS); 2♂♂, 2♀♀, same but with “ 26.VIII. –22.IX.2009 ” ( NMNS); 2♂♂, same but with “ 22.IX. –20.X.2009 ” ( NMNS); 1♂, same but with “ 20.X. –8.XII.2009 ” ( NMNS); Pingtung: 1♀, Jinshuiying, 1.VIII.2011, leg. J.-C. Chen ( TARI); 1♀, same locality, 16.VIII.2011, leg. J.-C. Chen ( TARI); 2♀♀, same locality, 12.IV.2012, leg. C.-F. Lee ( TARI); 3♂♂, Lilungshan, 2.III.2012, leg. J.-C. Chen ( TARI); 1♂, same licality, 13.III.2012, leg. J.-C. Chen ( TARI); 1♂, Nanjenshan, 7.V.2010, leg. M.-L. Jeng ( TARI); 3♂♂, Peitawushan, 23.VI.2011, leg. J.-C. Chen; 1♂, Shuangliu, 5.II.2008, leg. S.-F. Yu ( TARI); 4♂♂, Tahanshan, 18.VII.2007, leg. S.-F. Yu ( TARI); 1♂, same locality, 20.VII.2007, leg. M.-H. Tsou ( TARI); 1♂, same locality, 14.VII.2011, leg. Y.-T. Wang ( TARI); 1♀, same locality, 6.I.2012, leg. Y.-C. Chung ( TARI); 1♂, same locality, 31.III.2012, leg. W.-C. Liao ( TARI); 2♂♂, 19.VII.2012, leg. C.-F. Lee ( TARI); 1♂, same locality, 1.X.2012, leg. J.- C. Chen ( TARI); 1♂, 2♀♀, same locality, 14.III.2013, leg. Y.-T. Chung ( TARI); 1♂, same locality, 25.III.2013, leg. B.-X. Guo ( TARI); 12♂♂, 9♀♀, same locality, 26.III.2013, leg. C.-F. Lee ( TARI); 1♂, same locality, 4.IV.2013, leg. J.-C. Chen ( TARI); 1♂, same locality, 30.VII.2013, leg. Y.-T. Chung ( TARI); 1♂, 6.VIII.2013, leg. Y.-T. Chung ( TARI); 1♂, same locality, 29.X.2013, leg. Y.-T. Chung ( TARI).

Description. Male: Length 4.1–4.6 mm, width 2.4–2.6 mm. Yellowish-brown or dark yellowish-brown, antenna, coxa, base of femur, and tarsi darkened; meso- and metathoracic ventrites blackish brown; elytra bluish- or purplish- metallic ( Figs 39–41 ). Antenna relatively short, about 0.6X as long as body; ratios of length to width of antennomeres III to XI about 1.0: 1.1: 1.0: 1.0: 1.0: 0.9: 1.1: 1.3: 1.4. Pronotum strongly transverse, 2.5–2.7X wider than long, anterior margin moderately concave; sides anteriorly widened. Elytra long, about 1.3–1.4X longer than wide; disc with fine punctures. Aedeagus ( Figs 45–47 ) extremely slender, 5.3X longer than wide, sides parallel, apex moderately rounded; in lateral view moderately curved, apically tapering; tectum sclerotized; apicolateral scerlites small; lateral spiculae two-paired; median spicaula long, about 0.8X as long as aedeagus.

Female: Length 4.9–5.1 mm, width 2.9–3.5 mm. Similar to males, but abdomen blackish-brown; elytra relatively wider, about 1.1–1.2X longer than wide ( Figs 42–44 ); hind wings reduced strongly or moderately, from 0.21X (in Tahanshan: Fig. 86 c), to 0.27 (in Tulanshan: Fig. 86 a) as long as those of males, some anally reduced, others apically reduced. Gonocoxae ( Fig. 48 ) connected with one slender sclerite, basally widened, base rounded; connection between gonocoxae and sclerite wide. Ventrite VIII ( Fig. 49 ) apically widened, surface with dense setae along apex, as well as apical margin, spiculum slender, basal margin truncate. Spermathecal receptaculum ( Fig. 50 ) a little wider than pump; pump strongly curved, apex widely rounded; spermathecal duct short, slender, shallowly projecting into receptaculum.

Differential diagnosis. Paraplotes taiwana is similar to P. takakaensis with the slender aedeagus and the rounded apex of aedeagus ( Figs 45–47 , 51–53 ) but P. t a i w a na has larger apico-lateral sclerites and two paired lateral spiculae of the aedeagus ( Figs 45–47 ).

Distribution. Widespread in Southeast Taiwan (Hualien, Taitung, and Pingtung counties) ( Fig. 79 ).

Figures

FIGURES 39 – 44. Habitus of Paraplotes taiwana Chûjô. 39. Male, dorsal view; 40. Male, ventral view; 41. Male, lateral view; 42. Female, dorsal view; 43. Female, ventral view; 44. Female, lateral view.

FIGURES 45 – 50. Diagnostic characters of Paraplotes taiwana Chûjô. 45. Aedeagus, dorsal view; 46. Aedeagus, lateral view; 47. Aedeagus, ventral view; 48. Gonocoxae; 49. Ventrite VIII; 50. Spermatheca.

FIGURES 81 – 91. Hind wings. 81: male; 82 – 85: females. 81, Paraplotes taiwana, Tulanshan; 82, P. cheni, a & b, different individuals from same population; 83, P. j e ng i, a – c, different individuals from same population; 84, P. meihuai, a – c, different individuals from same population; 86, P. taiwana, a: Tulanshan, b: Motien, c: Tahanshan; 87, P. tatakaensis; 88, P. ts oui, a: Chihlanshan, b: Lalashan, c: Taipingshan; 89, P. tsuenensis, a & b, different individuals from same population; 90, P. y ao i, a: Machiatsun, b: Tengchih, c: Tona, d & e: Taoyuan; 91. P. yuae, a: Wushihken; b: Anmashan, c: Wuchihshan.

FIGURES 51 – 54. Diagnostic characters of Paraplotes tatakaensis Lee, sp. nov. 51. Aedeagus, dorsal view; 52. Aedeagus, lateral view; 53. Aedeagus, ventral view; 54. Gonocoxae.

FIGURES 79 – 80. Distribution map of Paraplotes species of Taiwan, solid line: 1000 m, broken line: 2000 m. 79. Widespread species, brown dots: P. tsoui, green dots: P. y ua e, pink dots: P. jengi, red dots: P. y a oi, blue dots: P. taiwana; 80. Localized species, brown dots: P. tahsiangi, pink dot: P. tsuenensis, green dots: P. tatakaensis, red dots: P. meihuai, blue dot: P. cheni.