Cazeresia petitpierrei, Gómez-Zurita & Cardoso, 2025

Gómez-Zurita, Jesús & Cardoso, Anabela, 2025, Systematics and evolution of the New Caledonian endemic genus Cazeresia (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Eumolpinae), Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 83, pp. 127-170 : 127-170

Cazeresia petitpierrei sp. nov.

Figures 1 h , 8 b , 9 e

Species # 21: Papadopoulou et al., 2013, p. 481.

Dematochroma thyiana : Platania et al., 2024, p. 570.

Material.

Holotype: Male, Mt Do , -21.76527 166.00228, 800–850 m, forest, night beating, 5.xi.2008, M. Wanat leg., Holotype Cazeresia petitpierrei sp. nov. Gómez-Zurita & Cardoso [red label] ( MNHW) . — Paratypes: JGZC: 1 female, JGZC-NC 206 , Mt. Do , 21°45.684’S 166°00.054’E, 795 m, Malaise trap, 9.viii–8.xi.2007, S. r. f. Pocquereux staff leg., Paratype Cazeresia petitpierrei sp. nov. Gómez-Zurita & Cardoso [red label] ; 1 male, JGZC-5556 , Mt Do , -21.76527 166.00228, 800–850 m, forest, night beating, 5.xi.2008, M. Wanat leg., Paratype Cazeresia petitpierrei sp. nov. Gómez-Zurita & Cardoso [red label] . MNHW: 1 female, Mt Do , -21.76527 166.00228, 800–850 m, forest, night beating, 5.xi.2008, M. Wanat leg., Paratype Cazeresia petitpierrei sp. nov. Gómez-Zurita & Cardoso [red label] ; 1 male, Mt Do , -21.7574 166.0015, 850–950 m, night beating, 2.xi.2010, M. Wanat and R. Ruta leg., Paratype Cazeresia petitpierrei sp. nov. Gómez-Zurita & Cardoso [red label] ; 3 males and 2 females (one with: JGZC-5557 ), Mt Do , -21.7636 166.0020, 800–850 m, night beating, 3.xi.2010, M Wanat and R. Ruta leg., Paratype Cazeresia petitpierrei sp. nov. Gómez-Zurita & Cardoso [red label] .

Description.

Body elongate oval, moderately convex. Mandibles, head, pronotum, hypomera, scutellum, elytra and anterior femora and tibiae dark brown with extensive black areas; labrum, antennae, mid and hind legs and most of ventral surfaces dark reddish brown; palpi ochre. Length: 6.4 mm; width: 3.5 mm (range of male paratypes: 5.8–6.6 mm long, 3.1–3.5 mm wide).

Frons unpunctured, with supraocular sulci prolonged slightly beyond middle of dorsal edge of supraantennal calli; clypeus subtriangular, with anterior border deeply incised and few small punctures basally. Eyes large, separate on frons by twice their transverse diameter. Relative proportions of antennomeres: 2.5-1.0 - 2.2 - 2.4 - 3.1 - 2.6 - 3.1 - 2.7 - 2.8 - 2.6 - 3.3. Surface of pronotum without apparent micropunctuation. Prosternal process as wide as transverse diameter of procoxae. Elytra about 1.25 × as long as ensemble width at base, widest behind humeri; surface relatively smooth, shinier than pronotum, with relatively large punctures, about as wide as intervals, with tendency to double in rows of apical declivity and rather confused elsewhere. Epipleura with sparse tiny setae near apex. Profemora and protibiae coarsely punctured at apex; mesotibiae with sharp anterior convex ventral keel at middle; basitarsomeres enlarged, as wide apically as third tarsomere and shorter than second and third tarsomeres combined in pro- and mesotarsi, and as long as these in metatarsi. Median apodeme of first abdominal ventrite more than half as long as ventrite, arched, narrower than mesosternal process; ventrites 4 and 5 with inconspicuously serrate margins; all ventrites with fine microreticulation, sparse fine punctures and long fine, posteriorly adpressed pale yellow setae. Penis (Fig. 9 e ) slender, regularly curved ventrally, with sides slightly concave in ventral view, as wide preapically as wide at base; apex elongate oval, broadly arched distally with short and wide, slightly bilobate distal projection; gonopore elongate oval, with distal end separated from apex of penis by distance shorter than maximum width of gonopore; dorsal flap subtrapezoidal, longer than wide, covering about basal half of gonopore. — Females. Clypeus with weak apical emargination. Spermatheca (Fig. 1 h ) with cornu shorter than nodulus, hooked and bent more or less at right angle relative to nodulus; nodulus bulbous basally, with short protruding insertion of spermathecal gland submedially, opposite to cornu; spermathecal duct thin, inserted laterally near base of nodulus, oriented opposite to cornu, diagonally and parallel to distal part of nodulus, shorter than nodulus before gradual enlargement with one nearly complete, elongate coil.

Diagnosis.

This species belongs to the group of C. thyiana (Jolivet, Verma & Mille) , thus showing characteristic deep incision of clypeus of males, paler tarsi (most typically in females) and other traits, including size typically over 6.0 mm and broad intercoxal process, about as wide as or wider than procoxae. Within this group, all species are very similar and C. petitpierrei sp. nov. could be recognized by presenting tiny apical setae in epipleura, a trait only shared with C. clipeata sp. nov. and C. maquis sp. nov., but they can be distinguished by inconspicuously serrate margins of fourth and fifth abdominal ventrites (clearly serrate in C. clipeata ) and its smaller size compared to C. maquis , which is generally longer than 7.0 mm.

Derivatio nominis.

This species is dedicated with fondness and gratitude to Prof. Dr. Eduard Petitpierre Vall, Full Professor of Genetics in the University of the Balearic Islands (1981–2010), and Professor Emeritus in the Biology Department of this institution since his retirement, internationally reputed specialist on the diversity and cytotaxonomy of Chrysomelidae , PhD supervisor and mentor for many years of the first author of this study, who inherited from Eduard his passion for Chrysomelidae .

Distribution.

This species is known from the subsummit of Mont Do only, an isolated ultramafic island north of the Massif du Sud (Fig. 8 b ).

Figures

Figure 1. Spermathecae of Cazeresia subgeminata sp. nov. (a), C. parentalis sp. nov. (b), C. tricolor sp. nov. (c), C. wanati sp. nov. (d), C. clipeata sp. nov. (e), C. maquis sp. nov. (f), C. ovata sp. nov. (g), C. petitpierrei sp. nov. (h), C. thyiana (Jolivet, Verma & Mille) (i), C. holosericea sp. nov. (j), C. globosa sp. nov. (k), C. globosa altitudinalis ssp. nov. (l), C. australis sp. nov. (m), C. tibialis sp. nov. (n), C. laevigata sp. nov. (o), C. imperiosa sp. nov. (p), C. montana Jolivet, Verma & Mille (q), C. robusta sp. nov. (r), C. corrugata sp. nov. (s), C. laticollis sp. nov. (t), C. gracilis sp. nov. (u), C. spadicea sp. nov. (v), C. spadicea bruna ssp. nov. (w), and C. humboldtiana (Heller) (x).

Figure 8. Distribution maps of the species and subspecies of Cazeresia Jolivet, Verma & Mille in New Caledonia.

Figure 9. Lateral and apical dorsal views of the penis of Cazeresia robusta sp. nov. (a), C. montana Jolivet, Verma & Mille (b), C. imperiosa sp. nov. (c), C. laticollis sp. nov. (d), C. petitpierrei sp. nov. (e), C. clipeata sp. nov. (f), C. maquis sp. nov. (g), C. kanalensis (Perroud) (h), C. holosericea sp. nov. (i), C. thyiana (Jolivet, Verma & Mille) (j), and C. subgeminata sp. nov. (k).