Anomala flavovaria Arrow, 1917

Anomala flavovaria Arrow, 1917 View in CoL

[Chinese vernacular name: ƀḋ异丽aek]

( Figs 8A–C View FIGURE 8 , 12A–B View FIGURE 12 , 22A–H View FIGURE 22 , 25B View FIGURE 25 )

Anomala flavovaria Arrow, 1917: 213 View in CoL [ type locality: “ Assam ”].

Type material examined. Lectotype (hereby designated): ♂ ( NHMUK) “Type H.T. // Assam. W.F.Badgley. 1906–185. // Anomala flavovaria , Type Arrow // LECTOTYPUS Anomala flavovaria ARROW, 1917 des. Zorn, 2011 // NHMUK015015956”.

Additional material examined ( 3♂♂, 1♀). 1♂ ( MFPC) “N. INDIA: alt. 1700m Nagaland state Naga hills 28.V. –21.VI.2016 Takeshi Maeda-leg.” ; 1♂ ( ZMPC) “N. INDIA: alt. 1700m Nagaland state Naga hills 28.V. – 21.VI.2016 Takeshi Maeda-leg.” ; 1♀ ( MFPC) “E.N. INDIA: Naga State Naga hills 02–15.JUN.2019 ” ; 1♂ ( SMNS) “ Popilia Asam // coll. A. Greb SMNS 1996” .

Description. Male. Body shape elongated ovoid, somewhat subparallel, moderately convex.

Color . Generally black, with variable yellowish areas as following: a broad and irregular lateral band of pronotum abruptly stretching inward posteriorly (rarely not so), with encircled round black area anteriorly, hypomeron (rarely black), a square marking on lateral metasternum (rarely black), each abdominal ventrite except for narrow posterior area (usually reduced to a spot on lateralmost area), propygidium except for posterior area (usually completely black), pygidium except for a narrow anterior area (usually only one or two spots on each anterior angle), and the elytral band yellow; shiny, with rather weak greenish sheen; elytra not distinctly lighter, with a narrow to broad zigzag band extending from interstice V to primary costa 1, sometimes breaking up into three spots; antenna, also distal sections of tibiae, femora and protarsus brown (usually black); setae yellowish brown, robust setae black.

Head. Greatest width/length of clypeus approximately 2.3; subtrapezoidal, lateral margins weakly convergent anteriad, anterior margin slightly convex, anterior corners obsolete and broadly rounded; anterior margin weakly reflexed; surface with dense, large and coarse punctures. Frontoclypeal suture moderately incurved, distinct. Frons with very dense and large punctures, gradually sparser and smaller posteriad. Interocular distance/maximum head width approximately 0.63. Length of antennal club 0.9 times the combined length of antennomeres 1–6. Inner margin of eye with a few moderately long setae.

Pronotum. Sides strongly convergent anteriad, lateral margin straight in anterior third and posterior third, moderately excurved at middle. Anterior angle acute and protruding, posterior angle obtuse. Posterior marginal line absent, other marginal lines complete. Lateral fovea indistinct. Disc with dense and large punctures. Lateral margin with several long setae.

Scutellum triangular, lateral margin moderately excurved, apex somewhat rounded; with dense and small punctures.

Elytra. Intervals moderately elevated, subsutural interstice widest; strial punctures dense and large, annulated, subsutural interstice with an irregular secondary stria, doubled near scutellum, interstices II–IV each with a secondary stria, that of interstice III ending at middle, all intervals with moderately dense punctures, which are distinctly smaller than strial ones. Humeral and apical protuberance moderately prominent. Lateral carina slightly expanded from base to apical fourth. Epipleuron with few short setae.

Abdomen. Propygidium with dense, transverse and fine striation. Pygidium with moderately dense and transverse striation, not sparser on the greatest tumidity; with sparse and long setae preapically and a transverse row of long setae along posterior margin. Abdominal ventrites 1–4 strongly carinate laterally; ventrites 2–5 with transverse and incompletely annulated punctures, short and moderately dense medially, gradually more transverse and denser laterad, frequently confluent at the lateralmost area, ventrite 6 densely rugostriolate; ventrites 2–5 each with a transverse and moderately dense row of long setae, dense laterally, the row of ventrite 6 present at posterior margin.

Ventral thoracic surface. Hypomeron with sparse and small punctures, moderately dense and long setae. Ventral mesothoracic surface with dense and small punctures each bearing a short seta. Ventral metathoracic surface with dense, large and annulated punctures, gradually denser and confluent laterad, with dense and long setae, medial area with moderately dense and small punctures, setae slightly shorter. Metacoxa punctate as lateral metasternum but bearing sparser setae. Width of mesofemur/narrowest extremity of mesosternum approximately 5.0.

Legs. Protibia bidentate, both teeth distinct; apical tooth slender and extending to anterior margin of protarsomere 2, preapical tooth acute. Inner spur inserted at the level of the preapical tooth. Inner protarsal claw and outer mesotarsal claw split apically, both lower branches equally as long as and two times wider than their upper branches; lower margin of lower branch of inner protarsal claw slightly convex next to the internobasal notch; outer metatarsal claw slightly longer than inner one. Pro- and metatarsomere 5 with an acute and large internomedial denticle, mesotarsomere 5 only slightly convex internomedially. Ventral surface of mesofemur with a row of dense and long setae at lateral margin, a row of long and slightly robust setae submedially, additional dense and long setae between rows; ventral surface of metafemur with two rows of moderately dense and long setae, one lateral and the other submedial; meso- and metatibiae each bearing three transverse groups of robust setae emerging from a carina, with the basal fourth featuring some randomly arranged and shorter robust setae.

Male genitalia. See fig. 22A–D.

Female. Generally black, each abdominal ventrite with a yellow spot at lateral area, antennomeres 1–6 yellowish brown; yellow and zigzag band on each elytron formed by three small spots. Antenna shorter, length of antennal club approximately 0.7 times the combined length of antennomeres 1–6. Lateral carina of elytra broadest around middle, at most 1.5 times as wide as in male. Pygidium more triangular and flat preapically; ultimate abdominal ventrite 1.5 times as long as that in male medially. Apical protibial tooth spatulate, extending to base of protarsomere 3; inner spur inserted at mid-length of protibia; protarsomeres thinner, pro- and mesotarsomere with small and acute internomedial denticle; lower branch of inner protarsal claw and outer mesotarsal claw slightly wider than upper branch, lower margin of lower branch of inner protarsal claw slightly convex next to the internobasal notch;.

Measurement. Body length: 13.1–13.4 mm in males and 12.6 mm in female, greatest width: 8.1–8.3 mm in males and 7.7 mm in female.

Differential diagnosis. The shiny and black general appearance of Anomala flavovaria is resembling species of the A. flavonotata -subgroup. However, A. flavovaria has additional clear markings on thorax and abdomen as well as a strongly carinate abdominal ventrite 4. The upper branch of the right paramere reaches the middle of the whole paramere length. The upper branch of the left paramere is slender in the apical half.

Remarks. The black male from Assam (figs 22E–H) exhibits a narrower membranous area between the parameres compared to the lectotype and males from Nagaland. Its dorsal sclerotized branches are also narrower. It is unclear whether this difference is taxonomically significant without additional specimens and more precise locality data.