Paranaita opima ( Germar, 1824 )

Begha, Bruno Piotrovski, Prado, Laura Rocha & Oliveira, Sarah Siqueira, 2025, Oedionychina (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini) from the Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, a Cerrado remnant, Zootaxa 5659 (1), pp. 29-50 : 36-37

Paranaita opima ( Germar, 1824)

( Figs 2B , 4B , 5F , 6F , 7C , 8C , 9C )

Haltica opima Germar 1824: 608 (type locality, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Blackwelder 1945: 711; Scherer 1962: 535 ( Oedionychus opimus ). Bechyně 1955a: 215; Bechyně 1955b: 26; Bechyně 1957: 27; Bechyně & Bechyně 1971: 335; Duckett & Kjer 2003: 122.

Length: 8.02 mm, based on one male.

Head: oval, base of vertex bearing two darker maculae, area just above antennal calli with single triangular dark macula. Width of head greater than height in frontal view. Interocular space nearly three times width of eye. Height of eye less than twice its width. Interantennal space flat, not projected beyond antennal bulbus. Vertex covered in small punctures. Antennal calli trapezoid, supracallinal sulcus and midfrontal sulcus well-marked. Anterofrontal ridge short, narrow, forming two converging ridges is frontal view, gradually towards labrum, making more than 90- degree angle between frons and labrum. Gena bearing many short setae. Labrum sub oval with small, curved recess in margin, with four horizontal evenly spaced setae. Antennae: filiform, with 11 antennomeres. Antennomere I as long as II and III combined. Antennomeres I–III yellow, same color as the head, antennomeres IV–XI dark brown.

Prothorax: yellow, side margins of pronotum widely explanate, anterior angle of the pronotum extending beyond the head insertion, posterior angle of pronotum acuminate, pointed outwards. Anterolateral callosity short, truncated, pointed outwards, thin in lateral view. Pronotum covered in coarse punctuations. Three dark maculae in pronotum, much lighter than the maculae of head. Anterior pronotal margin convex and posterior pronotal margin nearly parallel in dorsal view. Prosternum with the same color as the pronotum, flat, inner margin of prosternal process explanate, rounded. Metathorax and mesothorax: yellow, mesothorax short, metathorax rectangular with metathoracic suture visible. Fine setae present throughout. Elytra: opaque, epipleura widely explanate, bent upwards except for the distal apex of elytra. Covered with course confused punctuation. Elytral integument yellow, lacking any maculae. Scutellum dark yellow. Legs: yellow, pro- and mesothoracic tibiae similar, lacking spurs. Metafemur wide, nearly as wide as the length of metatibia, somewhat triangular with concave outer margin. Metatibia with wide distal recess and short denticle medially near apex, tibial spur robust and curved. Distal metatarsomere strongly globose.

Abdomen: yellow, five segments segments. Fine setae present throughout. Abdominal process between metacoxae narrow, relatively long. Aedeagus, median lobe (7C, 8C, 9C): dorsal process wide at apex. Apical hood retracted exposing complex structures on the dorsal face. Short, total length slightly longer than three times the length of the exposed apical portion. Oblique dorsal process divergent, apex of median lobe appearing to be emarginated, with two lateral symmetrical acuminate portions and one central blunt have three points. Basal hooks acute, slightly elongated.

Studied specimen: BRAZIL, GO, Goianápolis Parque Altamiro de Moura Pacheco-PEAMP | Malaise Mata, próximo ao reservatório – Trilha da Mangueira -16,555119 -49,172473 | 18.i.2023 - 16.ii.2023 | Cols. Oliveira, S.S. & Lopes, W.R. ♂ ( ZUFG) .

Distribution: Brazil – states of Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Santa Catarina, São Paulo; Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay.

Remarks: This is a well-known species of Paranaita Bechyně, 1955 , widespread in Brazil. It is notable for displaying variations of elytral coloration ranging from orange to yellow, and has been recorded for the state of Minas Gerais, which also contains Cerrado environments ( Vieira et al. 2022). P. opima is also known for the states of Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo ( Bechyně & Bechyně 1971).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Oedionychina sampled in Malaise trap in the Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, Goiás, Brazil, dorsal view.A, Omophoita magniguttis (female); B, Paranaita opima (male); C, Walterianella maraesp. nov. (female); D, Walterianella tapuiae sp. nov. (male). Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 4. Oedionychina sampled in Malaise trap in the Parque EstadualAltamiro deMoura Pacheco, Goiás, Brazil,dorsal view. A, Omophoita magniguttis (female); B, Paranaita opima (male); C, Walterianella marae sp. nov. (female); D, Walterianella tapuiae sp. nov. (male). Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 5. Oedionychina sampled in Malaise trap in the Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, Goiás, Brazil, lateral view of the pronotum. A, Alagoasa burmeisteri (female, morphotype 1); B, Alagoasa burmeisteri (female, morphotype 2); C, Alagoasa burmeisteri (female, morphotype 3); D, Omophoita mateusi sp. nov. (male); E, Omophoita magniguttis (female); F, Paranaita opima (male); G, Walterianella marae sp. nov. (female); H, Walterianella tapuiae sp. nov. (male). Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 6. Oedionychina sampled in Malaise trap in the Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, Goiás, Brazil, frontal view of the head. A, Alagoasa burmeisteri (female, morphotype 1); B, Alagoasa burmeisteri (female, morphotype 2); C, Alagoasa burmeisteri (female, morphotype 3); D, Omophoita mateusi sp. nov. (male); E, Omophoita magniguttis (female); F, Paranaita opima (male); G, Walterianella marae sp. nov. (female); H, Walterianella tapuiae sp. nov. (male). Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 7. Dorsal view of median lobe of aedeagus of male Oedionychina sampled in Malaise trap in the Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, Goianápolis, Goiás, Brazil. A. Alagoasa burmeisteri; B. Omophoita mateusi sp. nov.; C. Paranaita opima; D. Walterianella tapuiae sp. nov. Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 8. Lateral view of median lobe of aedeagus of male Oedionychina sampled in Malaise trap in the Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, Goianápolis, Goiás, Brazil. A. Alagoasa burmeisteri; B. Omophoita mateusi sp. nov.; C. Paranaita opima; D. Walterianella tapuiae sp. nov. Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 9. Lateral view of median lobe of aedeagus of male Oedionychina sampled in Malaise trap in the Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, Goianápolis, Goiás, Brazil. A. Alagoasa burmeisteri; B. Omophoita mateusi sp. nov.; C. Paranaita opima; D. Walterianella tapuiae sp. nov. Scale bar 1 mm.