Taophila subsericea Heller
Creators: name: Samuelson, Allan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Taophila
Taophila subsericea

description: Taophila subsericea Heller
Fig.1a, 3i, 4c
Taophila subsericea Heller. (1916) Nova Caledonia, Zoologie, 2(3):306.
Redescription. Female (Lectotype). Head and pronotum medium orange-fulvous; elytron yellow-testaceous; ventral surfaces as in pronotum; antenna with segments 1–7 yellow-testaceous to orange-fulvous, 8–9 dark castaneous, 10–11 orange-fulvous; legs yellow-testaceous. Dorsum with slender pale pubescence on vertex and pronotal disc; setae ± discretely grouped on elytron, with setal groups on elytral preapex and side on apical half.
Head: frontal surfaces smooth-shining, gently and transversely raised across interantennal region; frons set with small deep punctures, these mostly a little smaller than interspaces; central vertex with an indication of median impunctate line; vertex otherwise with small deep punctures often larger than interspaces, these becoming slightly elongated and closer on sides above; eye moderately small, ovate and protruding, the greatest eye diameter nearly 0.55 x as broad as interocular space. Antenna extending to about middle of elytron; apical 5 segments gradually heavier; pedicel exceeding mid-length of segment 3; relative antennal length/breadths (in 1/100ths mm or cmm): 16/10: 10/7: 14/6: 16/6: 18/6: 15/7: 19/8: 18/9: 18/9: 19/10: 26/10. Prothorax nearly 0.85 x as long as broad and becoming much narrower than elytra across their respective bases; side weakly convex at greatest breadth slightly before middle, then straight to anterior angle and also straight to prebasal constriction; disc convex and closely punctulate; central punctures somewhat elongated and commonly 3 x as large as interspaces and about 1/3 as large as basal elytral punctures; interspaces slightly swollen, shining alutaceous. Scutellum subpentagonal-rounded, surface microgranulate. Elytron subtriangular-elongate; surface flatter medially with inner basal quadrant of disc confusedly punctate with interspaces duller subgranulate; punctures otherwise in regular rows on preapex and laterally with interstices smooth-shining, these becoming swollen to ± costate laterally in places; elytron steeply declivitous at extreme apex. Ventral surfaces: propleuron smooth-alutaceous and set with large deep punctures, commonly 2– 3 x as large as interspaces; metasternum similarly deeply punctured; abdominal ventrite 1 enlarged, shield-like, gently convex in lateral view, then stepped down to the following ventrites, surface alutaceous-punctulate, punctures commonly 1 x as large as interspaces; intercoxal piece of ventrite 1 (alternate female) moderately broad at 13:69 the breadth of ventrite. Legs (alternate female): metafemur gently swollen to middle; metatibia slightly sinuate, apical area flattened and gradually expanded. Genitalia (alternate female): spermatheca with receptacle slender, v-shaped. Measurements: Body length 3.3 mm; body breadth 1.5 mm; head breadth 84 cmm; interantennal space 28 cmm; interocular space 52 cmm; eye (maximum diameter) 28 cmm; gena ca. 14 cmm; pronotal length 96 cmm; pronotal breadth 116 cmm; elytral length 2.36 mm.
Male (Allolectotype). Differs from female due to smoother dorsal surfaces and more distant puncturation on pronotum and elytron; elytron also with punctures more organized in irregular rows on medial part of disc and lacking costae laterally; antenna with apical 5 segments more strongly broadened than in female; abdomen: ventrite 1 normally in-line with others (lateral view). Genitalia (alternate male): aedeagal apex as in Fig. 3i. Measurements: Body length 3.0 mm; body breadth 1.4 mm; head breath 80 cmm; interantennal space 28 cmm; interocular space 46 cmm; eye 28 cmm; antenna length/breadth (in cmm): 21/8: 10/7: 11/6: 18/6: 19/7: 16/7: 20/10: 20/10: 18/9: 18/11: 25/11; pronotal length 88 cmm; pronotal breadth 102 cmm; elytral length 2.0 mm.
Variation. Sexes dimorphic. Males have the elytral discal punctures tending more regular internally over smooth-shining interspaces, while females have punctures of the inner basal quadrant of disc confused (note comments below). Four females from Mt Aoupinie/Ponerihouen have the dorsum largely lustrous dark fuscous on smooth-shining surfaces, but the puncturation of the pronotal disc smaller and tending to run in ± longitudinal series between finely raised interspaces; elytron additionally marked with paler orangish discally as a strip running obliquely from humerus to preapex; elytral sculpture of the inner basal quadrant pustulate and smooth-shining with punctures small and obscure instead of normally moderately large and distinct over flattened granulate interspaces; elytral apex appearing broader being accentuated by a projecting tuberculate extremity of an inner interstice overriding actual margin in dorsal view.
Material examined. NEW CALEDONIA: Lectotype Ψ, Tao, 24.vi.1911 (SMTD); Allolectotype ɗ, same data (SMTD); mountain W of Hovailou, 5.ii.1962, N.L.H. Krauss (1); 10 km S of Pouebo, 480 m, 22.i.1964, R. Straatman (1); Mt Ignambi, 900–1100 m, 4.ii.1964, sweeping, Straatman (9); W of Ponerihouen, 29– 30.vii.1971, J.L. Gressitt (10); same data, on ferns (3); 1 same data, Malaise trap (1); same data but 29– 31.vii.1971 on palm (1); same data but 30.vii.1971 “? sacch”; same data but 31.vii.1971, J. Holloway (1); Mt Aopinie, W of Ponerihouen, 550 m, 30–31.vii.1971, ex ferns Gressitt (24, 1 SMTD); Ponderihouen/Aoupinie, S21 08.946’ E165 19.407’, 389 m, 25–26/04/2006, C. Mille & J. Brinon (1 IAC); Aoupinie, 4/04/2008, Mille (1 Jolivet). Undesignated examples in BPBM with parts of series for deposit in IAC, ISNB, Jolivet, MNHN, NMNH, ONNC, and SMTD.
Plant associates. Many from ferns; 1 record from a palm; 1 record from a grass (“? sacch”).
Remarks. A lectotype designation is necessary for this species to stabilize the taxonomy of the species, as neither the female nor the male were clearly designated in the original description; the female is the one hereby selected as lectotype; it is clearly described in the text; also a label attached is marked “ typus.” The male, not mentioned in the text, is labelled “cotypus” and is not to be confused with the female as it is the smaller specimen.
This is a smaller, bicolorous species with generally dark prothorax and paler elytra, the latter often with fuscous markings. It is somewhat similar in color scheme and size to T. scorpii, n. sp. from which it differs by lacking a conspicuous setose pubescence on pronotum.
description: Published as part of Samuelson, Allan, 2010, Review of Taophila, a genus endemic to New Caledonia (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae), pp. 45-62 in Zootaxa 2621 on pages 46-47, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.198100