Sphaeroplotina Miyatake 1969
Creators: name: Tong, Junbo
name: Chen, Jianjun
name: Zhang, Xiaoning
name: Chen, Xiaosheng
name: Wang, Xingmin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Coccinellidae
Sphaeroplotina

description: Genus Sphaeroplotina Miyatake, 1969
Chinese name: ṞÖümw
Sphaeroplotina Miyatake 1969: 202; 1994: 281.
Type species: Sphaeroplotina hainanensis Miytake, 1969.
Diagnosis. Sphaeroplotina is similar to Plotina, but can be distinguished from the latter as follows: body rounded and nearly hemispherical (Figs 1 a–c, 3a–f); terminal palpomere parallel-sided, apically slightly narrowed (Figs 1i, 3i); ventrite 7 in male broadly and deeply emarginate at apex (Figs 5 a–b); elytral epipleuron reaching the elytral apex (Figs 1d, 4g). In Plotina: body oval; terminal palpomere strongly dilated; ventrite 7 in male subtruncate medially at apex (Figs 5 c–d); elytral epipleuron distinctly incomplete.
Description. Body rounded, nearly hemispherical, dorsal surface glabrous (Figs 1 a–c, 3a–f).
Head exposed dorsally, comparatively small (Figs 1c, 3c, 3f). Eyes dorsally 0.4–0.5× length of head capsule, with ocular canthus extending slightly into eyes (Fig 4c). Frons wide and flat, not emarginate. Antennae relatively long and stout, with 10 antennomeres: antennomere 1 large and bent; 2 shorter and narrower than 1; 3 somewhat triangular, distinctly longer than wide; 4–6 as wide or wider than long; 7 transverse, broadening apically, forming a short support for club; 8–10 gradually dilated, forming an elongate oval club. Antennomere 10 rounded apically (Figs 1f, 4b). Clypeus narrowing anteriorly, with anterior margin straight. Labrum partially hidden under clypeus, transverse (Fig. 4d). Mandible robust, with a subapical tooth just behind apical tooth, molar teeth in both mandibles are asymmetrical (Figs 1 g–h, 4f–g). Maxilla with cardo short; palpomere 2 subquadrate; palpomere 3 quadrate to weakly transverse; terminal palpomere elongate parallel-sided, apically obliquely truncate and sometimes slightly narrowed (Figs 1i, 3i). Labial palps with 3 palpomeres; apical palpomere as long as penultimate one; mentum trapezoidal, narrowed basally (Figs 1j, 4e).
Pronotum strongly convex; anterior margin broadly and rather deeply emarginate; anterior angle of pronotum prominent; lateral edge smooth; basal marginal line along the edge distinct but incomplete (Figs 1c, 3c, 3f). Prosternum T-shaped with board lateral wings; prosternal process 0.7× coxal diameter, with arcuate carinae extended laterally (Figs 1e, 3h). Prosternum in front of coxae about 2× as long as basal width of prosternal process (Figs 1e, 3h). Procoxal cavity transverse.
Mesoventral process broad, 1.3–1.4× as wide as mesocoxal diameter, meso-metaventral junction forming a straight line, with suture visible (Fig. 3g). Elytral epipleuron complete to apex, surface nearly horizontal and flat without distinct foveae (Figs 1d, 3g). Metaventrite with discrimen incomplete (Fig. 3j). Protibia distinctly broadened without apical spurs, mid tibia with single apical spur, hind tibia with two apical spurs. Meso- and metatibiae slender, shallowly excavated for reception of tarsi, tarsi pseudotrimerous, tarsal claws simple without basal tooth (Figs 1 l–m, 3k–l, 4a).
Abdomen with five visible ventrites in both sexes; ventrite 1 slightly longer than ventrite 2, posterior margin straight or weakly arcuate; ventrite 7 in male broadly and deeply emarginate at apex (Figs 5 a–b). Abdominal postcoxal lines complete, strongly and unevenly curved, nearly reaching posterior margin of ventrite 1, with outer part of line subparallel to abdominal side, oblique dividing line absent (Figs 1k, 4h).
Distribution. China
description: Published as part of Tong, Junbo, Chen, Jianjun, Zhang, Xiaoning, Chen, Xiaosheng & Wang, Xingmin, 2020, A contribution to the genus Sphaeroplotina Miyatake (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae Plotinini), pp. 419-428 in Zootaxa 4859 (3) on pages 420-421, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4859.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/4413224