Gonioctena (Gonioctena) oberthueri Cho, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Cho, Hee-Wook
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Gonioctena
Gonioctena oberthueri

description: Gonioctena (Gonioctena) oberthueri sp. nov.
Materials
Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 4F963831-3A15-54B2-A2DB-16572D62B53D; Taxon: scientificName: Gonioctena oberthueri; kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Coleoptera; family: Chrysomelidae; genus: Gonioctena; subgenus: Gonioctena; specificEpithet: oberthueri; taxonRank: species; Location: higherGeography: China; stateProvince: Sichuan; county: Kangding; Event: eventDate: 1896; Record Level: institutionCode: MNHN; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: individualCount: 2; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 15BF1CDA-735F-5AC3-BADC-B4D96E2C54A3; Taxon: scientificName: Gonioctena oberthueri; kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Coleoptera; family: Chrysomelidae; genus: Gonioctena; subgenus: Gonioctena; specificEpithet: oberthueri; taxonRank: species; Location: higherGeography: China; stateProvince: Sichuan; county: Kangding; Event: eventDate: 1896; Record Level: institutionCode: MNHN; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: individualCount: 1; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 618AB867-B3C8-5CB0-A06E-DC43B5246674; Taxon: scientificName: Gonioctena oberthueri; kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Coleoptera; family: Chrysomelidae; genus: Gonioctena; subgenus: Gonioctena; specificEpithet: oberthueri; taxonRank: species; Location: higherGeography: China; stateProvince: Sichuan; county: Kangding; Event: eventDate: 1895; Record Level: institutionCode: MNHN; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen
Description
Measurements in mm (n = 4): length of body: 6.10–6.80 (mean 6.55); width of body: 3.70–4.10 (mean 3.93); height of body: 2.55–2.90 (mean 2.78); width of head: 1.72–1.80 (mean 1.77); interocular distance: 1.27–1.35 (mean 1.32); width of apex of pronotum: 2.07–2.12 (mean 2.09); width of base of pronotum: 3.15–3.37 (mean 3.30); maximum width of pronotum: 3.17–3.37 (mean 3.30); length of pronotum along mid-line: 1.52–1.62 (mean 1.56); length of elytra along suture: 4.50–5.10 (mean 4.90).
Body (Fig. 3) oblong oval and moderately convex. Head black, with large black markings. Mandibles reddish-brown, apex black. Maxillary palps reddish-brown. Antennae of holotype (male) lost; in female antennomeres I – VII yellowish-brown, VII darkened, VIII – XI black. Pronotum and elytra of holotype (Fig. 4 E) mostly black; in paratypes (Fig. 4 F) pronotum reddish-brown with obscure markings and elytra reddish-brown with elytral suture and inner margin of epipleura black. Scutellum black to blackish-brown. Venter black to blackish-brown, with prosternum, hypomera and apical margin of last abdominal ventrite reddish-brown. Legs entirely reddish-brown.
Head. Vertex weakly convex, covered with sparse punctures, becoming coarser and denser towards sides. Frontal suture V-shaped, coronal suture rather long and weak. Frons flat, strongly depressed at anterior margin, covered with dense punctures. Clypeus narrow and trapezoidal. Anterior margin of labrum almost straight. Mandibles with two sharp apical teeth and large excavation for apical maxillary palpomere on outer side. Maxillary palps four-segmented, with apical palpomere distinctly widened, truncate apically in male; slightly widened in female. Antennae of female (Fig. 4 D) reaching elytral humeri; antennomere I robust; II longer than III; III longer than IV; VII – XI each distinctly longer than wide; XI longest, about 2.17 times as long as wide.
Pronotum. Lateral sides widest at or near base, roundly moderately narrowed anteriorly, anterior angles strongly produced. Anterior and lateral margins bordered, lateral margins barely visible in dorsal view. Trichobothria present on posterior angles. Disc covered with very sparse punctures; lateral sides covered with much coarser and denser punctures, partially confluent; interspaces covered with fine and sparse punctures. Scutellum distinctly wider than long, narrowed posteriorly.
Elytra. Lateral sides slightly widened posteriorly, widest beyond middle, thence roundly narrowed posteriorly. Humeral calli well developed. Disc covered with eleven regular rows of large punctures, including a short scutellar row; interspaces covered with fine and sparse punctures. Epipleura wholly visible in lateral view. Hind wings well developed.
Venter. Hypomera weakly rugose, with dense punctures on anterior side. Prosternum covered with coarse and dense punctures bearing long setae; prosternal process enlarged apically, bordered laterally, with moderately dense punctures. Metaventrite covered with small and sparse punctures in median region, large and dense punctures in lateral region. Abdominal ventrites covered with moderately dense punctures bearing short setae.
Legs. Moderately robust. Tibiae widened apically, with a blunt tooth-like projection. Fore legs with tarsomere I slightly narrower than III. Tarsal claws appendiculate.
Genitalia (Fig. 4 A – C). Aedeagus in dorsal view subparallel-sided in middle, with apical process rather short; in lateral view strongly curved, with apical process tapered to pointed apex with long flagellum. Spermatheca absent.
Sexual dimorphism. Apical palpomere of maxillary palps of male is comparatively wider than that of female. The sexual dimorphism of antennae could not be compared due to the damaged antennae of male specimen.
Diagnosis
This new species can be easily distinguished from other Gonioctena species by the unique colouration, rather elongate antennomeres VII – XI and male genital shape.
Etymology
The new species is named after the French entomologist René Oberthür, who had obtained type specimens from a missionary stationed in Kangding.
Distribution
China: Sichuan Province (Kangding).
Biology
Six larvae were found in the abdomen of one female during the dissection (Fig. 5). Most of species of the subgenus Gonioctena are known to be ovoviviparous (Cho 2022) and this species is newly reported as an ovoviviparous species.
description: Published as part of Cho, Hee-Wook, 2024, Two new species of the genus Gonioctena Chevrolat, 1836 (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) from China, pp. e 132778 in Biodiversity Data Journal 12 on page e132778, DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.12.e132778