Wanatispa rutai, Borowiec & Świętojańska & Sekerka, 2019

Borowiec, Lech, Świętojańska, Jolanta & Sekerka, Lukáš, 2019, Revision of the tribe Cryptonychini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) of New Caledonia, Zootaxa 4690 (1), pp. 1-71 : 63-64

Wanatispa rutai sp. nov.

(Figs 210–216, 239)

Etymology. Dedicated to our friend Dr. Rafał Ruta of University if Wrocław, Poland who collected this species together with Dr. Marek Wanat.

Type locality. New Caledonia, Mt. Paniè , Eastern trail, -20.5886, 164.7702, 1350–1629 m a.s.l.

Diagnosis. Wanatispa rutai sp. nov. differs in pronotum without lateral carina (vs. present at least on basal half in W. cylindricollis sp. nov.); elytra with eigth rows of punctures behind middle and ten apically (vs. ten behind middle and 12 apically in W. cylindricollis ); and frontoclypeus with median keel only in basal half and with deep apical impression (vs. with median keel along whole length and without apical impression in W. cylindricollis ).

Description. Length 14.00– 15.20 mm, width 3.75–3.80.

Head, pronotum and scutellum reddish-brown to black, elytra brown to black with convex and yellow or ochraceous interval 3 (Fig. 210). Antennae black. Ventral side reddish or black, except brown sides of mesoventrite and anterolateral corners of metaventrite. Legs ferrugineous to ferrugineous-brown. Body glabrous except for yellowish hairs on frontoclypeus, short golden brown pubescence on distal antennomeres and golden orange pubescence on tarsal pads and apices of tibiae. Head approximately 1.1 × as long as broad, distance from anterior margin of eye to anterior corner of interocular plate as long as half length of globular part of antennomere I. Interocular plate rectangular, flat, nearly continuous with vertex and separated only by indistinct impression. Surface of interocular plate shiny with several sparse and coarse punctures thus surface appears regular, with deep median sulcus extending to ¾ length of plate, lateral sides not carinate, anterior corners obtuse and not projecting anterad; interantennal process moderately long, extending to ¾ length antennomere I, triangular, strongly flattened laterally with acute apex, dorsal part forming sharp keel, only with narrow sulcus (Fig. 213). Frontoclypeus elongate, 2.4 × as long as broad (including interantennal process), at basal ¼ length almost parallel-sided, then regularly converging anterad, acute apically, without any anterior corners or anterior tubercles, surface flat anteriorly with deep fovea, basally with median keel and sparse, moderate punctures, each puncture with long hair (Fig. 212). Antennae 0.39 × as long as body, slightly compressed apically; antennomere I large, approximately 1.8 × as long as broad; antennomere II moderately long, 1.5 × as long as broad and 0.6 × as long as I; antennomere III as long as II, slim, 1.7 × as long as wide; antennomeres IV–VII and IX–X slightly longer than III; antennomere VIII slightly shorter than III; antennomere XI 1.8 × as long as X, subangulate apically (Fig. 211). Pronotum 1.1 × as long as broad, almost cylindrical, narrowest in anterior corners then slightly widening to base, sides straight, without tubercles or anterolateral projections; anterior margin feebly convex, basal margin distinctly bisinuate; anterior angles obtuse without tubercles, posterior corners with minute, acute tubercle; disc regularly convex, shiny, in front of scutellum with deep pit-like impression, on sides coarsely, sparsely to moderately dense punctate, along middle with only a few punctures. Interspaces on sides irregular, from slightly narrower to distinctly wider than puncture diameter, entire surface with fine and sparse pricks (Fig. 214). Scutellum subcordiform, widest at middle, rounded-obtuse apically. Elytra 3 × as long as broad, widest at base then gradually narrowed posterad. Apex of each elytron emarginate with sharp sutural and lateral angle. Disc with eigth rows in humeral part, eigth rows behind middle and ten rows apically. Interval 3 elevated, forming broad and obtuse costa, other intervals not elevated, linear, only interval 8 slightly elevated in in apical part. Hypomera coarsely and densely punctate, punctures tend to form oblique sulci; prosternum with short prosternal collar separated from prosternal process by narrow and shallow sulcus and punctate on sides, its anterior margin shallowly emarginate in middle, prosternal alae smooth, prosternal process on whole surface flat, finely and sparsely punctate; mesoventrite longitudinally striate, metaventrite with well-marked median sulcus, laterally with coarse but with sparse punctures, anterior process and posterolateral convex area with numerous oblique grooves, central part with fine transverse grooves, interspaces shiny, abdomen shiny, without special sculpture. Legs slim, fore tibiae with deep preapical excavation ventrally, mid and hind tibiae almost parallelsided, apex armed with very minute black spine (Figs 215, 216).

Sexual dimorphism unknown, both examined specimen are females. Apical margin of last ventrite in females rounded with shallow apical emargination.

Type material examined. Holotype: ♀, ‘ NEW CALEDONIA (N) | -20.5886 / 164.7702 | Mt. Paniè E trail / 1350-1629 m | 24.11.2010 rainforest | leg. R. Ruta, M. Wanat [w, p, cb]’ ( WMNH) . Paratype: ♀. ‘ NEW CALEDO- NIA : | NEW CALEDONIA 8931 | 21°10'S x 165°19'E | Aoupine , sawmill, 550m | 1 Feb 2002. | G.B. Monteith. Beating ( QMBA) .