Paropsisterna Motschulsky 1860
Creators: name: Reid, Chris A. M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Paropsisterna

description: Paropsisterna Motschulsky, 1860
Type species. Notoclea sexpustulata Marsham, 1808, by original designation.
Diagnostic description. Length: 3–17mm; body semicircular to elongate-ovate, (length to width ratio 1.2–1.6) and moderately to strongly convex (length to height ratio 2–3.5). Head: not contracted behind eyes; eyes not laterally prominent; frons without vertical groove beside inner margin of eye; frontoclypeal suture rounded or V-shaped, without lateral ridges; gena without straight ridge and groove to accommodate antenna; antennomeres 8–10 not laterally expanded; first maxillary palpomere ventrally convex, without sharp leading edge; apical maxillary palpomere strongly expanded from base to truncate apex; anterior margin of mentum truncate or shallowly concave. Thorax: pronotum broadest at base; anterior and posterior trichobothria absent; pronotal disc apparently impunctate, or punctate, sides more strongly so, with or without punctate depressions on each side; base of pronotum not marginate; hypomeral groove absent; anterior of prosternum without lateral ridges; prosternal process quadrate to elongate, with angled lobes absent; procoxal cavity open, gap at least half width of procoxa; elytra without tubercules; elytral 5th stria not relatively deep at base; elytra extended vertically, epipleura concealed from lateral view; epipleura narrow to broad, but not more than 0.3x width of elytron, gradually attenuate to apex; anterior face of mesoventrite process straight to slightly concave, posterior margin straight to strongly concave; metepisternum deeply grooved or excavate in outer half; metaventrite femoral plates absent; metaventrite process not raised anteriorly; apices of mid and hind tibiae without row of short spines on distal surface; mid and hind tibiae with at least one sharp external longitudinal keel; apex of third tarsomere not or feebly bilobed; claws acutely toothed or rarely simple. Abdomen: pygidial groove absent; abdominal ventrites free; apex of last ventrite rounded in both sexes, or truncate in male.
Notes. Paropsisterna was synonymised with four other generic names in the most recent revision of Australian Chrysomelinae (Reid 2006), although it was noted that the redefined genus was based on plesiomophic attributes. These acts of synonymy are not entirely supported by some unpublished molecular studies that I am aware of, but until such studies are published it remains convenient to treat all as one genus under the morphological definition given above.
In my revision of the Australian Chrysomelinae, Paropsisterna was described as “native to Australia and New Guinea, introduced elsewhere” (Reid 2006, page 83). Mohamedsaid (2009) noted the first record of Paropsisterna from Timor, listing the Australian species P. captiosa, discussed further below. The two species described below are the first described as new from Timor.
description: Published as part of Reid, Chris A. M., 2024, The chrysomeline leaf beetles of Timor, Wallacea (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae), pp. 501-518 in Zootaxa 5523 (5) on pages 502-503, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5523.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13949809