Sceloenopla minuta Staines, new species
Creators: name: Staines, C. L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2002
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Sceloenopla
Sceloenopla minuta

description: Sceloenopla minuta Staines, new species
Figure 14
Type material. Holotype (φ): Est. Pitilla, 700 m, 9 km S Santa Cecilia, Guanac. Pr., Costa Rica, Malaise Tp. 1988, GNP Biod. Survey, 330200, 380200// 107871 (INBio). Paratypes (8 φ): 1- with same label data as holotype // 149501; 2- with same label data except date 1990// 303793 & 525623 (INBio); 4- Costa Rica, Heredia, Est. Biol. La Selva, 50-150 m, 1026'N, 8401'W, Proy ALAS, INBio-OET, collected 0 3 mayo 1993, 0 1 junio 1993, 15 julio 1993, 15 octubre 1993 (INBio); 1- Costa Rica, Prov. Heredia, 16 km SSE La Virgen, 1050-1150 m, 1016'N 8405'W, 0 9 marzo 2001, INBio-OET-ALAS transect// 0 9 marzo 2001, 11/M/0 35 transect// 0 0 0 3204994 (INBio); 1- Costa Rica, San José, Zurqui de Moravia, 1600 m, 9.5E-XI-1990, col. Paul Hanson (UCRC); 1- Costa Rica, Alajuela, Est. Biol. San Ramon, 900 m, V-2000, P. Hanson (UCRC).
Derivation of name. From minutus (Latin= little, small) for the small size of this species.
Diagnosis. This species is in group 4b (Uhmann 1937). It can be distinguished from all other members of group 4b by its small size, antennomeres I­X that are cylindrical, and the laminate apical margins of the elytra.
Description. Yellowish­brown; pronotum with wide medial longitudinal vitta and lateral margins black; elytra with suture and apical 1/3 black; antennae and legs, except bases of femora, black. Head: faint medial sulcus present in depression between eyes; tooth present between antennal bases; frons not angulate. Antenna: antennomeres I­X cylindrical; I short; II longer than I; III­V subequal in length, longer than II; IV­X decreasing in length; XI acutely pointed at apex; VIII­XI setose; I­VII punctate. Pronotum: lateral margin distinctly angulate in middle; each anterior angle with small rounded tooth; posterior angle acute; surface impunctate along anterior margin, coarsely, densely punctate elsewhere; moderate transverse basal impression present; pronotal length 0.9 mm; pronotal width 0.9 mm. Scutellum: quadrate; alutaceous. Elytron: lateral margin smooth; apical margin laminate, sinuate, emarginate; exterior apical angle serrate; humerus rounded, not produced; with 10 rows of punctures plus short scutellar row; intervals 2, 4, and 8 costate, with none being strongly produced; sutural margin raised; sutural angle with tooth; elytral length 3.6 mm; elytral width 1.4 mm. Venter: prosternum yellowish­brown and smooth medially, black and punctate laterally; meso­ and metasterna black; suture between abdominal sterna 1 and 2 complete. Total length: 4.9 mm.
Variation. Specimens vary in pronotal length from 0.7­0.9 mm, in pronotal width from 0.7­0.9 mm, in elytral length from 3.3­3.9 mm, in elytral width from 1.3­1.4 mm, and in total length from 4.4­4.9 mm. The color and sculpture is very similar to that of the holotype.
description: Published as part of Staines, C. L., 2002, Nomenclatural notes and new species of Sceloenoplini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae), pp. 1-32 in Zootaxa 89 on pages 23-24, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.155956