Charaea pseudoakkoae Medvedev 1998
Creators: name: Bezděk, Jan
name: Lee, Chi-Feng
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Charaea
Charaea pseudoakkoae

description: Charaea pseudoakkoae (Medvedev, 1998)
(Figs 28, 43, 58–63, 89, 93–94)
Exosoma pseudoakkoae Medvedev, 1998: 172 (original description).
Taphinellina pseudoakkoae: Beenen 2010: 489 (catalogue).
Charaea pseudoakkoae: Beenen & Warchałowski (2010): 62 (catalogue).
Exosoma akkoae: Kimoto (1969): 45 (faunistics, Taiwan); Kimoto (1989b): 254 (faunistics, Taiwan); Kimoto & Chu (1996): 77 (catalogue, Taiwan); Kimoto & Takizawa (1997): 305 (key), 381 (Taiwan) (all misidentifications).
Type locality. “ Taiwan, Taitung prov., Hsiangyang”.
Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ (HNHM), “ TAIWAN, Taitung Prov. / Hsiangyang / 2200m, 13.–14.VI.1997, / B. Herczig & L. Ronkay [w, p] // HOLOTYPUS [p] / Exosoma m. / pseudoaccoae [sic!] [h] / L. N. Medvedev det. 9 [p] 8 [r, h]”. Paratype: ♀ (HNHM), “ TAIWAN, Taitung Prov. / Hsiangyang / 2200m, 13.–14.VI.1997, / B. Herczig & L. Ronkay [w, p] // PARATYPUS / L. N. Medvedev det. 95 [r, p]”.
Additional material examined. 36 specimens — TAIWAN: Chiayi County: 1 ♂, Alishan, 2300 m, 6.vii.1965, Y. Kurosawa leg. (KMNH); 1 ♀, Alishan, 17.–26.vi.1995, P. Moravec leg. (RBCN). Hsinchu County: 7 ♂♂ 1 ♀, Kuanwu, 7.vi.2010, L.-H. Sun leg. (TARI, 1 ♂ in NMPC, 1 ♂ in JBCB). Hualien County: 1 ♂, Kuanyuan, 2.vii.2008, M.-H. Tsao leg. (TARI); 1 ♂ 5 ♀♀, Pilu, 22.vi.2009, U. Ong leg. (TARI). Nantou County: 3 ♀♀, Meifeng, 2130 m, 17.–22.vi.1979, without the name of collector (TARI); 1 ♂ 2 ♀♀, Meifeng, 2150 m, 24.–26.vi.1981, K. S. Lin & W. S. Tang leg. (TARI); 2 ♀♀, Tatachia, 27.iv.2010, C.-F. Lee leg. (TARI); 3 ♀♀, Tatachia, 17.v.2010, C.-F. Lee leg. (TARI, 1 ♀ in JBCB); 1 ♀, Tatachia, 17.v.2010, M.-H. Tsou leg. (TARI); 1 ♂, Yu Shih, 1900 m, 4.vii.1986, K. Baba leg. (KMNH); 1 ♂, Sungkan, 2000 m—Tsifen, 2300 m, 19.vi.1965, Y. Kurosawa leg. (KMNH); 1 ♀, Tongpo, 16.–18.vii.1995, H. Takizawa leg. (HTCH); 1 ♀, Sungkang, 1.viii.1985, H. Takizawa leg. (HTCH). Taitung County: 1 ♀, Motien, 23.vi.2010, M.-H. Tsou leg. (TARI). Yilan County: 2 ♀♀, Ssuyuan, 9.vi.2009, S.-F. Yu leg. (TARI).
Comparative material examined of Charaea akkoae (Figs 27, 42, 52–57, 88). 12 specimens — JAPAN: Ehime Pref.: 1 ♂, Kumakougen–cho, Mt. Ishizuchi, 25.vii.2010, H. Suenaga leg. (HTCH). Ibaraki Pref.: 1 ♀, Mt. Tsukuba, 800 m, pan traps, 14.–25.vii.1989, M. J. Sharkey leg. (JBCB); 2 ♀♀, Mt. Tsukuba, 800 m, 25.–31.vii.1989, M. J. Sharkey leg. (JBCB). Okayama Pref.: 1 ♂, Maniwa–shi Hiruzen, Yamanori–yama Mt., 12.vi.2005, H. Suenaga leg. (HTCH); 1 ♂, Hijiya, Maniwa–shi, 7.vii.2007, S. Seijima leg. (HTCH). Tokushima Pref.: 3 ♂♂ 1 ♀, Waki–son Natsuko, Mt. Ohtaki–yama, 23.vi.1997, S. Mano leg. (HTCH). Tottori Pref.: 1 ♂ 1 ♀, Mizoguchi–cho, Dai–se Mt., Masumizu–kogen, 4.vii.2004, H. Suenaga leg. (HTCH).
Description. Measurements. Males: 3.6–4.1 mm (holotype 3.6 mm), females: 3.7–4.5 mm. Dorsal side glabrous, oval, relatively flat. Dorsum metallic green-black, mouthparts dark brown to black, legs and antennae black, knees paler, abdomen yellow with infuscate ventrite I or I and II (rarely in some females abdomen completely yellow).
Male (Fig. 28). Lateral sides of nasal keel with distinct punctures bearing short pale setae, vertex with distinct puncures. Interantennal space 1.2 times as wide as transverse diameter of antennal socket. Interocular space 3.15 times as wide as transverse diameter of eye. Antennae filiform, 0.65 times as long as body, length ratio of antennomeres equals 9-6-6-9-9-9-9- 9-9-9-13.
Pronotum lustrous, 1.35 times as broad as long, widest in anterior third, covered with two kinds of punctures: small fine punctures on whole surface and slightly larger punctures missing in wide longitudinal stripes along lateral margins and in middle of disc. Anterior margin slightly concave, lateral margins rounded, posterior margin straight in middle, lateral parts moderately rounded. Anterior margin finely but distinctly bordered, lateral margins with broad border, posterior margin moderately bordered. Anterior angles obtusangulate, swollen, with setigerous pore, posterior angles obtusangulate with small pointed tip with setigerous pore, all pores bearing long pale seta, additional short setae visible on lateral margins of pronotum.
Elytra 1.5 times as long as wide and 0.70 times as long as body.
Length ratio of protarsomeres I, II, III and V equals 8-6-4-7, of metatarsomeres I, II, III and V equals 12-6-5- 10.
Prosternum visible between procoxae but not elevated. Posterior margin of last ventrite with very shallow incisions (Fig. 61).
Aedeagus symmetrical, subparallel, apex triangular, laterally with small angulation projecting lateral outline of aedeagus, in ventral view apical quarter between lateral angulations slightly concave (Fig. 58).
Female. Interantennal space 1.4 times as wide as transverse diameter of antennal socket. Interocular space, 2.6 time as wide as transverse diameter of eye. Last ventrite with widely rounded apex (Fig. 63). Pygidium with widely rounded apex (Fig. 62). Sternite VIII subtriangular with anterior margin widely rounded and in middle with deep incision, with row of long setae along anterior margin, tignum slender, three times longer than sternite VIII (Fig. 60). Spermatheca C-shaped, nodulus not separated from cornu, proximal spermathecal duct slightly bent (Fig. 59).
Distribution. Taiwan.
Biology. Unknown.
Differential diagnosis. Charaea pseudoakkoae is similar to Ch. akkoae (Chûjô, 1954) from Japan. Dorsal side of Ch. akkoae is metallic blue while all specimens of Ch. pseudoakkoae have dorsum metallic green (Figs 26, 27). Legs and antennae of Ch. akkoae vary from brown to brownish black with femora always darker, but legs of Ch. pseudoakkoae are always black with brownish knees and the antennae are black with brownish antennomeres II and III. The surface of the pronotum is covered with fine punctures in Ch. akkoae but punctures are slightly more pronounced in Ch. pseudoakkoae. The aedeagi of both species are also similar (Figs 52, 58), including the internal sacs (Figs 88, 89), although the dorsal brush of setae is more elongate in the aedeagus of Ch. pseudoakkoae. The differencies can be found in the shape of pair of flat sclerites: in Ch. akkoae the apical third is extended and has rounded lateral margins and shorter apical processes. In Ch. pseudoakkoae, the lateral margins are angulate and the apical processes are longer (Figs 88, 89). Sternite VIII is narrower, with a deeper apical incision and the anterior margin possesses a row of setae in Ch. pseudoakkoae. In Ch. akkoae, this structure is wider, with shallower apical incision and anterior margin lacking setae (Figs 54, 60). The spermatheca of Ch. akkoae possesses a distinct nodulus, slightly wider than cornu, but in Ch. pseudoakkoae the nodulus is indistinct, and the cornu regularly rounded (Figs 53, 59). Although the differencies between both species are minor, they seem to be constant and we consider Taiwanese population as a valid species.
In comparison with the Taiwanese species Charaea pseudoakkoae is characterised by a relatively flat, subparallel, metallic green body, and the pronotum is covered with fine punctures. The male abdomen is yellow with ventrite I black and the structure of the aedeagus is different. Charaea miyamotoi differs in possessing robust antennae and having the pronotum with double punctuation. The males of Ch. sasajii are smaller and have completely yellow abdomina. The males of Ch. haruoi sp. nov. have similarly bicoloured abdomina, but the dorsum is metallic blue. All species can be also easily recognized by the structure of the aedeagus (Figs 17, 58, 64, 119).
description: Published as part of Bezděk, Jan & Lee, Chi-Feng, 2014, Revision of Charaea (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) from Taiwan, pp. 1-39 in Zootaxa 3861 (1) on pages 18-19, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3861.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/287074