Afrotropicaltica D'Alessandro & Biondi, 2025, gen. nov.
Creators: name: D'Alessandro, Paola
name: Biondi, Maurizio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Afrotropicaltica

description: Afrotropicaltica gen. nov.
Fig. 1
Description.
Body subelliptical-elongate in dorsal view, with subparallel sides (Fig. 1 A, B), distinctly convex in lateral view. Dorsal surface glabrous, bicoloured in the only known species, with yellowish head and pronotum, and reddish brown elytra. Head (Fig. 1 E) with frontal grooves, frontal carina, and frontal calli barely distinguishable; surface smooth or micropunctate, with rounded punctures approx. as large as the supraorbital setiferous pore; puncture absent on the middle of front and vertex; eyes large, ovoidal; minimum distance between eyes on vertex, as wide as 2 × the interantennal space; interantennal space prominent compared to the clypeus, as wide as ~ 2 / 3 the length of the first antennomere; maxillary palpi three-articulated, and labial palpi bi-articulated, both with slender, subcylindrical segments. Antennae (Fig. 1 A, B) with 11 antennomeres, filiform, longer than 1 / 2 the body length in both sexes, but slightly shorter in female; antennomere II slightly shorter than 1 / 2 of antennomere I and as long as 1 / 2 of antennomere III; antennomere IV as long as (female) or slightly longer (male) than antennomere III; antennomeres V – IX generally slightly longer than antennomere I (male) or approximately as long as antennomere I (female); antennomere X slightly shorter than antennomere I, especially in female; antennomere XI distinctly longer than antennomere I. Prothorax distinctly depressed dorsally (not subcylindrical). Pronotum (Fig. 1 D) subrectangular, slightly convergent anteriorly, with curved, moderately expanded lateral margins, clearly visible in dorsal view; basal margin moderately arched; surface smooth to micropunctate without any groove or depression; anterior angles barely prominent; posterior angles widely obtuse; punctation rounded, quite sparse and irregularly distributed. Scutellum subtriangular. Elytra (Fig. 1 A, B, D) subparallel, with base as wide as pronotal base; lateral margins finely bordered, barely visible in dorsal view; punctation rounded, variably arranged in numerous rows or bands, or almost confused. Epipleurae oblique, clearly visible in lateral view. Procoxal cavities open posteriorly; prosternum approx. as wide as the procoxal cavities; intercoxal prosternal process quite narrow; mesosternum slightly wider than prosternum, and distinctly wider than mesocoxal cavities; metasternum wider than mesosternum, twice the width of the metacoxal cavities; first abdominal ventrite as wide as metacoxal cavities. Posterior femora elliptical-elongate, moderately swollen; dorsal margin of middle and hind tibiae with distinct ciliate emargination, acute apically; hind tibiae straight in dorsal view; apical spur of hind tibiae simple; third visible metatarsomere deeply incised; fourth visible tarsomere of metatarsus simple, not swollen in both male and female; claws appendiculate. Metafemoral extensor tendon (Fig. 1 H) with extended arm (ea: Fig. 1 H) as long as ~ 1 / 2 the dorsal lobe (dl: Fig. 1 H); dorsal-basal angle (dba: Fig. 1 H) approx. right angled, moderately prominent apically; ventral-basal angle (vba: Fig. 1 H) distinctly obtuse and moderately rounded; apical margin of the tendon (am: Fig. 1 H) slightly C-shaped; dorsal margin of ventral lobe (dmv: Fig. 1 H) oblique; basal angle of ventral lobe (bav: Fig. 1 H) quite close to the dorsal-basal angle of the tendon. Median lobe of the aedeagus (Fig. 1 F) mostly subparallel in ventral view, with truncated apex, and curved in lateral view; dorsal ligula formed by a wider central lobe, and two lateral lobes. Spermatheca (Fig. 1 G) with subovate basal part, narrowing towards ductus attach; distal part thin, without a distinct collum.
Type species.
Cladocera fulvipennis Jacoby, 1895.
Etymology.
The name of the new genus refers to flea beetle with strictly Afrotropical distribution. Gender feminine.
Distribution.
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Republic of South Africa, Togo, Uganda (Fig. 1 C).
description: Published as part of D'Alessandro, Paola & Biondi, Maurizio, 2025, A new flea beetle genus from sub-Saharan Africa, and taxonomic remarks on the Blepharida genera group in the Afrotropical region (Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini), pp. 139-159 in ZooKeys 1228 on pages 139-159, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1228.139654