DOI: 10.3897/asp.84.e181950

Authors: Aluska Tavares Santos, Isaac Reis Jorge, Marcos Fianco, Aline Sampaio, André Luis Martins, José Albertino Rafael, Andressa Paladini, Paulo Henrique Gorgatti Zarbin

Abstract: Abstract Lamprosomatinae comprises ~250 species in 14 genera and four tribes, yet several Neotropical lineages remain poorly defined due to the absence of comprehensive morphological and molecular assessments. This study provides an integrative taxonomic reassessment of the closely related genera Dorisina, Lamprosoma, and Lychnophaes, including the description of two new species from Brazil. External and internal morphological characters of both sexes are documented with light and scanning electron microscopy, and updated biological information is presented, including host plant records, a newly documented parasitoid association, and distributional data. We also include observations on immatures and natural history traits. The first molecular dataset focused on Neotropical Lamprosomatinae is incorporated to evaluate generic limits and test the monophyly of the focal taxa. Our analyses reveal new insights into tribal-level relationships within Cryptocephalinae, supporting Fulcidacini + Pachybrachini and Clytrini + Cryptocephalini, while Mylassini forms a polytomy with the remaining groups. The monophyly of Lychnophaes could not be confirmed, as it is represented only by Lychnophaes imbirucu sp. nov. Conversely, Lamprosoma is recovered as monophyletic, with Lamprosoma cambuci sp. nov. clustering with two additional unidentified congeners. These results corroborate the relationships proposed by Chamorro and Konstantinov based on morphological data and reinforce the synapomorphies established for the tribe.

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DOI: 10.3897/asp.83.e143543

Authors: Jesús Gómez-Zurita, Anabela Cardoso

Abstract: In this work, we use a combined analysis of morphological and mtDNA sequence data to recognize and revise a group of species allied to the New Caledonian endemic leaf beetle genus Cazeresia Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2005 of the Eumolpinae, considered monotypic before this work. We characterize and describe 20 new species allied to C. montana Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2005 based on the recognition of morphological diagnostic traits and DNA-based species delimitation: C. australis sp. nov., C. clipeata sp. nov., C. corrugata sp. nov., C. globosa sp. nov., C. gracilis sp. nov., C. holosericea sp. nov., C. imperiosa sp. nov., C. impressicornis sp. nov., C. laevigata sp. nov., C. laticollis sp. nov., C. maquis sp. nov., C. ovata sp. nov., C. parentalis sp. nov., C. petitpierrei sp. nov., C. robusta sp. nov., C. spadicea sp. nov., C. subgeminata sp. nov., C. tibialis sp. nov., C. tricolor sp. nov. and C. wanati sp. nov. For C. globosa and C. spadicea we additionally describe the subspecies C. globosa altitudinalis ssp. nov. and C. spadicea bruna ssp. nov. We also propose transferring to this genus the species Thasycles humboldtiana Heller, 1916, Colaspis kanalensis Perroud, 1864, Dematochroma thyiana Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2008 and Dumbea striata Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2007, as C. humboldtiana (Heller) comb. nov., C. kanalensis (Perroud) comb. nov., C. thyiana (Jolivet, Verma & Mille) comb. nov. and C. striata (Jolivet, Verma & Mille) comb. nov., respectively. At present, the genus Cazeresia includes 25 species, the vast majority distributed in the southern part of Grande Terre in areas characterized by ultramafic soils and we speculate that the adaptation to these environmental characteristics in lowland areas may be ancestral in this lineage. Two thirds of the species are only known from their type locality, thus treated as potential microendemics, and most other have reduced ranges generally spanning few tens of kilometres. Finally, the degree of species sympatry or parapatry exhibited by Cazeresia is noteworthy, which in the absence of marked morphological differences among species suggests the possibility of the interplay of ecological mechanisms to minimize competition and exclusion.

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