Kashmirobia Konstantinov & Prathapan, 2006, new genus
Creators: name: Konstantinov, A. S.
name: Prathapan, K. D.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Kashmirobia

description: Kashmirobia new genus
(Figs 1–11)
Description. Body (Fig. 1) length 3.13–3.67 mm, width 1.81–2.05 mm, elongate, relatively flat in lateral view [2.32 times as long (not including the head) as thick]. Elytron and last eight antennomeres dark brown with light reddish tint, rest of antenna, body and legs dark yellow.
Head (Fig. 2) flat in lateral view with long facial part. Frons and vertex form slightly curved line in lateral view. Supraorbital pore relatively small, situated just above orbital sulcus. Antennal callus separated from frons and vertex. Supraorbital, suprafrontal, suprantennal, and supracallinal sulci deep and well defined. Midfrontal sulcus absent (as a result of antennal calli barely touching each other in middle of head). Subgenal suture shallow, but sharply outlined along base of mandible. Orbit 0.58 times as wide as transverse diameter of eye. Interantennal space 0.5 times as wide as transverse diameter of eye and 0.85 times as wide as transverse diameter of antennal socket. Frontal ridge narrow and acute, straight in lateral view forming denticle ventrally. Anterofrontal ridge as low as frontal ridge. Eyes slightly convex. Clypeus longer than half of labrum. Labrum with six setiferous pores, apical margin straight. Labium with three palpomeres per palpus, palpomeres longer than wide. Maxillary palpus with four palpomeres, apical palpomere slightly shorter than third and second separately (which are equal in length). Antenna with 11 antennomeres, of which second shortest (Fig. 1).
Pronotum (Fig. 1) 1.52 times wider than long (measured in middle). Disc with two shallow, weakly outlined, longitudinal impressions near base. Two other impressions situated on anterior part of pronotum, directed from anterolateral corners and approaching middle of basal margin. Punctures small and sparse, ill defined. Sides weakly rounded and relatively widely explanated, converging gradually towards head. Anterolateral callosity long, weakly delimited from rest of margin. Posterolateral callosity protruding. Basal margin evenly convex, with thin border. Anterior coxal cavity widely open. Intercoxal prosternal process shallowly channeled, narrow in middle, widening posteriorly and widely rounded at apex.
Abdomen with five distinct sternites (Fig. 4). Apical (fifth visible) sternite shorter than fourth and third combined, without appendages basally. Apical tergite of female (Fig. 5) broadly rounded at apex, unevenly covered with long setae, with three rows of long setae in middle.
Mesoscutellum slightly wider than long, flat, and triangular, narrowly rounded at apex (Fig. 1). Intercoxal mesosternal process with sides converging posteriorly, slightly channeled, apex concave. Mesepisternum nearly as broad as mesepimeron. Metasternum longer than mesosternum, convex ventrally.
Elytron (Fig. 1) with maximum width near basal 3/4 of its length. Humeral callus well developed, delineated by wide and shallow impression containing rows of large punctures, extending from lateral edge towards mesoscutellum. Small, longitudinal hump located posterior to impression. Punctures not arranged in striae. Elytral apex broadly rounded, traced by indistinct border. Epipleura broad, widens slightly posteriorly towards humeral callus, then it narrows gradually until side turns medially. Lateral margin relatively widely explanated, with row of large and deep punctures not reaching elytral apex. Hind wings present.
Pro- and mesofemora nearly cylindrical. Pro- and mesotibia round in cross section, with small spur on apex. Metatibia (Fig. 9) slightly curved in dorsal view, straight in lateral view, widens gradually towards apex, with dorsal side flat along apical 1/4 and long spur on apex. Dorsal side with row of small setiferous denticles. Claw appendiculate. First metatarsomere in female longer than second and third metatarsomeres combined (Fig. 11).
Spermatheca (Fig. 8) with receptacle separated from pump. External and internal sides of receptacle nearly equally convex. Horizontal part of pump curved, longer than vertical part. Spermathecal duct relatively short, not forming coils or loops away from receptacle. Tignum (Fig. 6) abruptly widening anteriorly, slightly wider posteriorly, with two sclerotized branches at beginning of membrane. Vaginal palpi (Fig. 7) robust, more widely separated posteriorly than anteriorly.
Median lobe of aedeagus (Fig. 3) simple, convex in lateral view, without any sculpture ventrally, without membranous window. Apex with denticle very wide in ventral view, curved dorsally, in lateral view.
Type species. Aphthona hugeli Jacoby 1900.
Etymology. The genus is named after Kashmir, a region in northern India where the specimens of Aphthona hugeli were originally collected in combination with the ending of the generic name Manobia Jacoby. The name is feminine.
Diagnosis and comparison. Aphthona hugeli was removed from Aphthona because it does not share any synapomorphies of Aphthona or even Aphthonini (Konstantinov 1998), except for the dorsal surface of the metatibia which is flat in part as in Aphthonini. The other important differences are: facial part of the head elongate (short in Aphthona); frontal ridge straight in lateral view, similar to that of Longitarsus (it is convex in Aphthona); and metatibia slightly curved in dorsal view and bearing small setose denticles (Fig. 9) (it is straight and lacking such denticles in Aphthona).
Based on the elongated facial part of the head, Kashmirobia is similar to Manobia. It can be easily differentiated from Manobia based on the much wider frontal ridge (it is narrow in Manobia); presence of the supraorbital sulci (they are often missing in Manobia); the pronotum with evenly convex basal margin, with shallow impressions posteriorly and anteriorly (in Manobia the basal margin is sinuous, shallow impressions are missing and a deep sinuous groove lies parallel to the basal margin); and the elytron is without transverse and sharp groove in anterior third (in Manobia the groove is present). In addition Kashmirobia has the metatibia gradually widening towards the apex, dorsally flat at apical 1/4. In Manobia the metatibia widens abruptly near the apex being flat on a very short distance close to the apex.
Kashmirobia and the recently described Manobiella Medvedev share a long facial part of the head and the base of pronotum lacking the transverse groove. Both genera can be easily separated by the same characters used to separate Kashmirobia from Manobia.
Kashmirobia has a similar color pattern (dark brown elytra and dark yellow head and pronotum) and shape of metatibia (slightly curved in dorsal view) as in Aphthonella Jacoby and Aphthonomorpha Chen. It can be separated from both genera based on the following characters: facial part of the head long (short in the other two genera); elytra with punctures not arranged in striae (in both the other genera, the elytral punctures are arranged in deep striae); pronotum with shallow impressions basally and anteriorly (these impressions are lacking in both other genera).
Kashmirobia hugeli (Jacoby 1900):121 [type locality: Kashmir, India. Lectotype (MCZC) designated by Konstantinov and Lingafelter (2002)]. Maulik 1926:367, 371 (key, redescription, taxonomic notes, distribution, deposition of type specimens). Heikertinger & Csiki 1939:97 (world catalog). Scherer 1969:70, 76 (key, distribution, synonymical bibliography, host plant). Kalaichelvan and Verma 2005: 1840 (list).
Host plant. Euphorbia neriifolia L. (Euphorbiaceae) (Fig. 12). E. neriifolia is a common thorny hedge plant in central India having thick, succulent stem and leaves with acrid latex adapted for arid conditions. Adults of A. hugeli scrape the leaves with a marked preference for senescent ones as they contain less latex. It is certain that E. neriifolia, which resembles cacti, was misidentified as Pereskia aculeata Mill. (Cactaceae) (Maulik 1926). P. a c u l e a t a (Barbados goosecherry), a cactus bearing edible fruits, is neither native to Asia nor does it occur naturally in central India.
Type material examined. Lectotype Ψ. Labels: 1) Kashmir; 2) Jacoby 2nd Coll.; 3) hugeli Jac.; 4) Type 18934; 5) Lectotype Aphthona hugeli Jacoby des. A. Konstantinov, 1996 (MCZC). Paralectotypes 2Ψ, the same labels as lectotype. Paralectotype ɗ. Labels: 1) India; 2) 1st Jacoby Coll. 3) Lectotype Aphthona hugeli Jacoby des. A. Konstantinov, 1998 (MCZC).
Material examined. ɗ. Labels: 1) India Orient; 2) 6756; 3) Aphthona hugeli Jac.; 4) Aphthona hugeli Jac. (USNM); 24 ɗ, 16 Ψ. INDIA Maharashtra, Satara Kas Plateau near Sudarsan Lake, N17 º44' 12'' E 73º 48' 76'', 1111 m, 8. x. 2006, Prathapan K. D. Coll., ex Euphorbia neriifolia (35 PKDC, 5 USNM).
description: Published as part of Konstantinov, A. S. & Prathapan, K. D., 2006, Kashmirobia, a new genus of flea beetles from the Oriental Region (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), pp. 61-68 in Zootaxa 1377 on pages 62-67, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.174999