Neodownesia Gressitt, 1953

Sekerka, Lukáš, 2015, Wallacea, Pistosia and Neodownesia: three distinct genera and their tribal placement (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 55 (2), pp. 713-743 : 719

Neodownesia Gressitt, 1953 , stat. restit.

( Figs 1–3 )

Neodownesia Gressitt, 1953: 121 (original description); UHMANN (1955): 187 (as syn. of Wallaceana ); UHMANN

(1958): 229 (as syn. of Wallaceana , catalogue); GRESSITT & KIMOTO (1963): 906 (distinct genus, Chinese fauna);

WÜRMLI (1975): 50 (as syn. of Pistosia ).

Type species. Neodownesia rubra Gressitt, 1953 , by original designation.

Other taxa included. Anisoderopsis mediovittata Gestro, 1920 and Wallacea sita Maulik, 1919 .

Differential diagnosis. Neodownesia is distinguished by five basal antennomeres shiny, sparsely pubescent and submoniliform and absence of the scutellar row of the punctures on the elytra. Pistosia , Bothryonopa , and Macrispa differ in tubular antennae while the latter two genera possess a scutellar row of punctures. Wallacea is most similar to Neodownesia but differs in having only four basal antennomeres sparsely pubescent, antennomeres V–X nearly as long as wide while the same are approximately twice as long in Neodownesia . Thus Neodownesia has distinctly longer antennae with less compact terminal six antennomeres. All three Neodownesia species have the apex of the aedeagus truncate while in Wallacea species it is acutely pointed. However, I have not studied genitalia of W. bowringii the type species of Wallacea .

Biology and host plants. Unknown.

Remarks. GRESSITT (1953) compared Neodownesia to Downesia Baly, 1859 and remarked that it differs from the latter by mouthparts situated close to the antennal insertions instead of being separated by distinct frontal area. UHMANN (1955, 1958) synonymized the genus with Wallaceana , but later GRESSITT & KIMOTO (1963) did not accept the synonymy and restored the generic status of Neodownesia . WÜRMLI (1975) synonymized both, Wallaceana and Neodownesia , with Pistosia .

Figures

Figs 1–7. 1 – Neodownesia mediovittata (Gestro, 1920) (Laos: Ban Song Cha, J, 8.7 mm); 2 – N. rubra Gressitt, 1953 (holotype, J, 6.5 mm); 3 – N. sita (Maulik, 1919) (Thailand: Soppong, ♀, 9.0 mm); 4 – Wallacea apicalis Gestro, 1896 (Indonesia: Mentawai Is.: Siberut, 5.3 mm); 5 – Pistosia terminalis (Baly, 1869) (holotype, 9.5 mm, © Natural History Museum, London); 6 – P. maculata (syntype, 12.0 mm, © Museum für Tierkunde, Berlin); 7 – P. testacea (Fabricius, 1801) (Indonesia: Sulawesi: Ahua Creek, 11.1 mm).