Cyrea melinda Canepari and Gordon, 2016

Canepari, Claudio, Gordon, Robert D. & Hanley, Guy A., 2016, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVII: Systematic revision of the genera Cyrea Gordon and Canepari and Tiphysa Mulsant (Hyperaspidinae: Brachiacanthini), Insecta Mundi 2016 (486), pp. 1-180 : 110-111

97. Cyrea melinda Canepari and Gordon , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 2.4 mm, width 1.8 mm; body elongate, slender, essentially parallel sided. Dorsal surface with head alutaceous, dull, pronotum weakly alutaceous, slightly shiny, elytron smooth, shiny. Color yellow except pronotum with short, narrow, dark brown basomedian macula, macula deeply emarginate medially, obscure, pale brown spot present on each side of middle of pronotum; elytron dark brown with 5 large yellow spots arranged in rows of 2 each with apical spot, humeral spot widely triangular, narrowly connected to mediolateral spot, scutellar spot rounded, mediolateral spot irregularly triangular, somewhat projected inward, discal spot broadly oval, apical spot transversely rectangular, apical margin of spot entire; ( Fig. 538 ); ventral surface with head, prosternum, meso- and metaventrites dark brown; abdomen dark brown except lateral 1/3 yellowish brown. Head punctures fine, separated by less than a diameter, each puncture about as large as an eye facet; pronotal punctures slightly larger than head punctures, separated by less than to about twice a diameter, elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by less than to 3 times diameter; metaventral punctures much larger than on elytron medially, separated by a diameter or less, becoming larger and separated by less than a diameter toward lateral margin. Clypeus slightly emarginate apically, nearly truncate, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 5 eye facets long, angled forward, apically rounded, black. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin weakly curved, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, feebly grooved, slightly descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia with narrow oblique angle, basal tooth absent, sponda distinctly extended beyond protibial margin. Carinae on prosternal process narrowly separated at apex, convergent toward base, joined at basal 1/5 of prosternum, connected to base by single carina. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite without setal tuft. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite rounded throughout, extended forward at apex, with central groove or depression from base to apex of abdomen, basal ventrite with sparse, short pubescence and fine, sparse punctures; ventrites 2-6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense; 5th ventrite with apex shallowly emarginate; 6th ventrite with apex shallowly emarginate with small, median projection. Apical tergite finely, densely punctured, apex emarginate. Genitalia with basal lobe longer than paramere, slender, symmetrical, sides convergent from base to apical 1/5, curved to abruptly rounded apex in apical 1/5; paramere Psc, wide throughout, apex abruptly truncate ( Fig. 539, 540 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 1/2, without visible alae, basal capsule distinctly sclerotized, inner arm short, very narrow, curved upward to acute apex, outer arm wider and longer than inner arm, with accessory piece, basal border not emarginate ( Fig. 541, 542 ).

Female. Unknown.

Variation. Length 2.0 to 2.3 mm, width 1.5 to 1.8 mm. Elytron may have the humeral and mediolateral spots barely perceptibly connected along the lateral margin, or broadly connected, one paratype has the lateral spots completely connected from humeral to apical spot.

Type material. Holotype male; ( Argentina) Cordoba , Alta Gracia, III.959, Daguerre. ( USNM) . Paratypes; 3, same data as holotype ( USNM) .

Geographical distribution. Argentina.

Remarks. Only males are known for this species, and are distinctive because of the central abdominal groove and unusual male genitalia. The genitalia are not of the typical Psc type because the parameres are severely truncated apically, giving them a different appearance. However, they are more similar to the Psc type than to any other type within the genus, so are placed here.

Figures

Figures 538-553. Cyrea spp. 538-542) Cyrea melinda. 538) Habitus. 539) Phallobase ventral. 540) Phallobase lateral. 541) Sipho. 542) Enlarged siphonal apex. 543-548) Cyrea dora. 543) Habitus. 544) Protibia. 545) Phallobase ventral. 546) Phallobase lateral. 547) Sipho. 548) Enlarged siphonal apex. 549-553) Cyrea allison. 549) Habitus. 550) Phallobase ventral. 551) Phallobase lateral. 552) Sipho. 553) Enlarged siphonal apex.