Liroetis alticola Jiang, 1988

Bezděk, Jan, 2021, Redefinition of Liroetis, with descriptions of two new species and an annotated list of species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 61 (2), pp. 529-614 : 589

Liroetis alticola Jiang, 1988

( Figs 265–271 , 291 , 299, 305 )

Liroetis alticola Jiang, 1988: 194 , 198 (original description).

Liroetis alticola : JංൺඇǤ (1992): 658; Bൾൾඇൾඇ (2010): 478 (catalogue); YൺඇǤ et al. (2015): 248 (key), 248 (noted).

Type locality. ‘[ China:] Yunnan: Deqen’.

Type material examined. Pൺඋൺඍඒඉൾ: 1 J ( Figs 265–269 ), ‘[Yunnan, Deqin, Meili / Xueshan East slope 4100 m / Chinese Academy of Sciences] [in Chinese, w, combined p and h] // [1982.VII 30 / Collector: Huai-Cheng Chai] [in Chinese, w, combined p and h] // PARATYPE [y, p] // [No. 23] [in Chinese, w, h] // IOZ(E)1966990 [w, p] // Liroetis alticola / Jiang [w, p]’ ( IZAS).

Material examined. CHINA: Yඎඇඇൺඇ: N Weixi, Luozhua, 7.75 km E of Nianjua Mt., 27°44′09″N 98°57′03″E, 4080 m, 15.vi.2015, 1 J 1 ♀, Belousov, Kabak & Davidian leg. ( PRCS).

Diagnosis. Colouration. Head black with frontal tubercles and anterior part of vertex brownish. Pronotum yellowish brown with three black spots and two very small brownish spots laterally in transverse row; middle black spot heart- -shaped, lateral black spots comma-like. Scutellum black. Elytra yellowish brown with large black spot on humeral callus and three smaller black spots in transverse row on each elytron in three quarters of elytral length. Antennae and legs black. Meso- and metaventrite black, abdomen yellow with more or less distinct dark triangular spots laterally on each abdominal ventrite (only poorly indicated in paratype).

Body length. JJ: 7.9–8.0 mm, ♀: 8.2 mm (J ♀: 8.0–9.0 mm based on the original description).

Male ( Figs 265–268, 270 ). Antennae 0.68 times as long as body. Pronotum 1.52 times as wide as long, lustrous, covered with fine punctures, anterior margin with complete well visible border. Middle part of posterior margin of abdominal ventrite IV obliquely impressed, with narrow median incision. Last abdominal ventrite with wide longitudinal impression. Protarsomere I large, subtriangular, metatibial spur absent.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 291 ). Median lobe of aedeagus 5.43 times as long as wide; apical third narrower, parallel, with distinct very narrow median furrow, apex folded down, rounded, with small incision on tip; basal two thirds wider, with lateral margins slightly concave. Lateral view: ventral side straight except for folded apex and base; lateral elevation widely rounded, placed in middle of aedeagus length. Dorsal process 7.00 times as long as wide, 0.64 times as long as median lobe; narrow, gradually narrowing toward apex which is slightly extended subapically, apex rounded. Lateral view: dorsal process straight in basal two thirds, bent in apical third, ventral side of apical third slightly convex, apex on ventral side pointed. Apex in frontal view with two short processes directed downwards and separated by U-shaped incision.

Female ( Fig. 271 ). Metatibial spur absent. Last abdominal ventrite with posterior margin entire. Sternite VIII heart-shaped, middle part with triangular impression, lateral parts of posterior margin covered with large setae; tignum very short, 0.8 times as long as sternite VIII ( Fig. 305 ). Spermatheca with well separated but relatively narrow nodulus, cornu U-shaped with long apical part, spermathecal duct sinuate ( Fig. 299 ).

Differential diagnosis. Within Liroetis grandis speciesgroup L. alticola is characterised by black legs and presence of black pattern on pronotum. Habitually similar species L. octopunctatus and L. yulongnis differ from L. alticola in pronotum covered with dense distinct punctures (pronotum lustrous, covered with very fine punctures in L. alticola ). Distribution. China: Yunnan (JංൺඇǤ 1988, present paper). Comments. The description of L. alticola contains two different spellings: alticola on pp. 194 and allicola on p. 198. The spelling alticola was fixed as the correct original spelling by the original author (JංൺඇǤ 1992) who is deemed to be the First Reviser based on Art. 24.2.4. ( ICZN 1999). The names proposed with - cola ending are nouns in apposition (e.g. HൺඋൻൺർIJ 2018).

Figures

Figs 265–271. Liroetis alticola Jiang, 1988. 265–269 – Male, paratype (7.9 mm). 265 – dorsal view; 266 – ventral view; 267 – lateral view; 268 – head and pronotum; 269 – labels. 270 – Male (8.0 mm), dorsal view; 271 – Female (8.2 mm), dorsal view.

Figs 291–298. Aedeagus of Liroetis, dorsal and lateral views, apex of dorsal process in frontal view. 291 – L. alticola Jiang, 1988; 292 – L. apicalis Gressitt & Kimoto, 1963; 293 – L. nigropictus (Fairmaire, 1889); 294 – L. obliquevirgatus Lopatin, 2013; 295 – L. octopunctatus (Weise, 1889); 296 – L. paragrandis Jiang, 1988; 297 – L. suwai (Takizawa, 1988); 298 – L. yulongnis Jiang, 1988. Scale 0.5 mm.

Figs 299–310. Spermatheca (Figs 299–304) and sternite VII (Figs 305–310) of Liroetis. 299, 305 – L. alticola Jiang, 1988; 300, 306 – L. apicalis Gressitt & Kimoto, 1963; 301, 307 – L. octopunctatus (Weise, 1889); 302, 308 – L. paragrandis Jiang, 1988; 303, 309 – L. suwai (Takizawa, 1988); 304, 310 – L. yulongnis Jiang, 1988. Scales 0.25 mm for Figs 299–304, 0.5 mm for Figs 305–310.