Aulacophora cornuta Baly 1879
Creators: name: Reid, Chris
name: Halling, Luke
name: Beatson, Max
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Aphididae
Aulacophora
Aulacophora cornuta

description: Aulacophora cornuta Baly, 1879
(Figs 4, 12, 20, 37, 48, 86, 99, 113, 126, 140, 154, 169, 184)
Aulacophora cornuta Baly, 1879: 445.
Ceratia cornuta: Weise 1924: 17.
Aulacophora robusta Duvivier, 1884: 124; Baly 1886: 16 (synonymy); Kimoto, Ismay & Samuelson 1984: 52–3 (valid); stat. rev.
Aulacophora bicornuta Allard, 1888: 309; Baly 1889: 300 (synonymy).
Aulacophora duvivieri Baly, 1886: 24; Mohamedsaid 1994: 379 (synonymy).
Material examined (40): Pale variety: 1♁, no locality (AMS); INDONESIA: 1♁, 1♀, 1♀ */ Sulawesi, Palolo, Palu, xii.1990 (AMS); MALAYSIA: 1♁/ Benam R, Malay Penin, AM Lea & wife (SAM); PAPUA NEW GUINEA: 1♁/ nr Brown R, Pt Moresby area, 26.xii.1973 D. Mackay (AMS); 1♀ / Hudeu’a, Rev L. Wagner (SAM); 2♁/ Madang, W Lohe (SAM); 1♀ / Madang, BG Challis (SAM); 3♁, 5♀ / Manumbo, Madang Distr, NG (SAM); 1♁/ Misima Island, Umana Camp, 500ft, 6.11– 7.12.1963 WW Brandt (ANIC); 4♀ / Mt Lamington, NE Papua, 1300–1500’, C.T. McNamara (SAM); 1♁/ New Ireland, nr Mt Bur, E coast, 3:40S 152:22E, 28.x.2001, M Humphrey & M Moulds (AMS); 1♁/ St Josephs R [8.833S 146.567E], New Guinea, [1888–1897], Sir W McGregor (SAM); SOLOMON ISLANDS: 1♁*, 2♀ / Lavoro Pltn, Guadalcanal I, 27.ix.1927, CE Hart (AMS).
Dark variety: PAPUA NEW GUINEA: 1♁/ Hula, Port Moresby area, 15.xii.1973, D Mackay (AMS); 7/ Manumbo, Madang Distr (SAM); 1m */ Port Moresby, 28.xii.1973, D Mackay (AMS); 2♁/ Mt Lamington Distr, Northern Division, Jan–Feb, CT McNamara (AMS); 1♁/ St Josephs R [8.833S 146.567E], New Guinea, [1888– 1897], Sir W McGregor (AMS);
Description (specimens from Timor to Solomon Islands region only). Colour (Fig. 4). There are two colour varieties. Dorsally pale variety: head and appendages, prothorax, scutellum and elytra entirely brownish- or strawyellow, apical antennomeres sometimes brown; scutellum dark brown to black; mesanepisternum brownish-yellow; mesepimeron dark brown to black; mesoventrite yellowish-brown to dark brown; metaventrite black; procoxae brownish-yellow, mesocoxae anteriorly yellowish-brown, posteriorly black, metacoxae black, sometimes brown at insertion of femora; trochanters yellowish-brown; profemora yellowish-brown, meso- and metafemora pale brown to dark brown; protibiae brown, outer surface darker, meso- and metatibiae yellowish-brown to dark brown; tarsi brown to dark brown; pygidium black and abdominal ventrites black; dorsally dark variety: as pale form, except elytra dark brown to black, with margins (including suture) narrowly yellowish-brown, meso- and metafemora and tibiae only slightly darkened, pygidium brown to blackish-brown and ventrites brown to blackish-brown with yellowish-brown sides.
Male: length 7.5–9.5 mm; frontoclypeus without median ridge, but with pair of sharply keeled arcuate ridges, deep pits above them (obscured by setae) and a median patch of dense semi-recumbent golden setae, the dorsal part directed laterally; first antennomere expanded, anterior margin medially angulate, with flat area in apical half defined by sharp ridge; antennae about 0.65x body length, antennomeres 9–11 clearly thinner than 5–8; antennomere 2 shortest, slightly longer than one third length of 1, antennomere 11 longest, comparative lengths: 11>1>4>3=5=9=10>6=7=8>2; length antennomere 5 about 3x width; antennomeres 3–7 slightly expanded to apices; antennomeres 3–11 each with only 1–4 erect lateral setae;
Pronotal transverse depression almost straight, weakly posterior curved at middle, almost evenly shallow; in lateral view anterior half of pronotum about equally convex to posterior half and median depression with anterior and posterior slopes about equal; without pair of large pits anterior to transverse groove; elytra dull, distinctly microreticulate; elytral humeri without setae; apical lobe of ventrite V symmetrically sculptured, cavity smoothly convex at sides; elongate cavity deepest at middle, gradually shallower to apex; tergite VIII bicornual, the lobes flat, elongate and relatively abruptly attenuate, with narrow U-shaped concavity between and lateral lobes minute or absent; penis in lateral view with almost straight venter and dorsum apicaly expanded to a hook-like tubercle from which ridges on either side connect with tin unhooked apex; sides of penis impunctate, with smooth rounded edges; penis in dorsal view symmetrical, slightly expanded at middle, and apex sagittiform, laterally angular and apically acute, without elongate membranous panel.
Female as male, except: length 8–9 mm; antennomeres 2–11 similar to male, length antennomere 5 about 3x width, length antennomere 8 about 3.3x width; transverse pronotal depression slightly shallower; elytral without setal patch; pygidium apically swollen but only slightly extended beyond apex ventrite V; swelling of pygidial apical half variable in height but always with median keel and broadly rounded apical margin; pygidial apex in lateral view dorsally swollen, not ventrally thickened, with slightly sinuate sides and without distinct tubercle; venter of pygidial apex flat; apex ventrite V shallowly concave, or biconcave with small triangular tubercle at middle of concavity; vaginal palpi elongate ovate, length about 4.3x width, with 7–8 pairs of setae in apical half; basal apodemes slightly sinuate, about 0.63 mm long; sternite VIII with tignum attached to slightly pigmented and sclerotised posterior of sternite, and posterior margin concave; tignum about 1.5mm long, apex membranous, broadly rounded and separat- ed from shaft by a band of deeper pigmentation; spermathecal shape hooked, collum continuous with receptaculum, in the same plane, insertion point of gland (ramus) not produced; receptaculum strongly hook-shaped with angulate interior bend and large beak-like appendix.
Diagnosis. Male: frontoclypeus with pair of arcuate ridges and patch of dense setae (Fig. 12), humeral setal patch absent (Fig. 20), scutellum pale (Fig. 4), penis symmetrical with sagittate apex (Figs 99). Female: frontoclypeus without median keel as male but without arcuate ridges, scutellum pale, abdomen dark brown to black, pygidium with broadly rounded apex (Fig. 48).
Notes. The taxonomy of this easily identified species has been reviewed by Barroga and Mohamedsaid (2002). The dark variety of A. cornuta does not appear to exist in the central part of this species’ range (Kimoto 1989; Barroga & Mohamedsaid 2002) but is present in India (Maulik 1926) and is widespread in New Guinea. It was described as A. robusta Duvivier, 1884, with a western New Guinea type locality (‘Mefoor’). This has been considered a valid species in New Guinea by most authors (for example, Jacoby 1904; Weise 1924; Wilcox 1972; Kimoto et al. 1984; Kimoto 1989), who have ignored Baly’s statements that it is a colour variety of A. cornuta (Baly 1886, 1889). We cannot find any structural differences between the two colour forms, which are often collected together, and we therefore confirm Baly’s synonymy.
Distribution (Fig. 184) and biology. Aulacophora cornuta is a widespread species from India east to the Solomon Islands, including Timor (Barroga & Mohamedsaid 2002). However recent surveys of Timor by Australian biosecurity entomologists and the Australian Museum have failed to find this species. It is unrecorded from Australia but is a potentially invasive species. There are no recorded hosts for A. cornuta except pumpkin (Kimoto et al. 1984) and unspecified Cucurbitaceae (Reid 1998).
description: Published as part of Reid, Chris, Halling, Luke & Beatson, Max, 2021, Revision of the Australopapuan and West Pacific species of plain pumpkinbeetles, the Aulacophora indica species-complex (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae), pp. 1-73 in Zootaxa 4932 (1) on pages 29-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4932.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4545448