Revision of the Afrotropical genus Notomela Jacoby, 1899 with description of N. joliveti sp. n. from Principe Island (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini)

Abstract The Afrotropical flea beetle genus Notomela Jacoby, 1899 is reviewed. Notomela joliveti sp.n. from Principe Island is described. The following new synonymies are established: Notomela cyanipennis Jacoby, 1899 = Notomela viridipennis Bryant, 1941, syn. n. = Notomela cyanipennis macrosoma Bechyné, 1959, syn. n. In addition, the new combination is established: Notomela fulvofasciata Jacoby, 1903 is transfered to Amphimela [Amphimela fulvofasciata (Jacoby, 1903), comb. n.]. Micrographs of male and female genitalia, scanning electron micrographs of some diagnostic morphological characters, a key to identification, and distributional data for all species of Notomela, are provided.


Introduction
Notomela Jacoby, 1899 is an endemic flea beetle genus occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa (Biondi and D'Alessandro 2012). Prior to this study, four species and one subspecies were attributed to it: N. cyanipennis Jacoby, 1899 andN. fulvofasciata Jacoby, 1903 from Western Africa; N. fulvicollis Bryant, 1931 from Kwazulu-Natal andN. viridipennis Bryant, 1941 from Uganda;N. cyanipennis macrosoma Bechyné, 1959, from Democratic Republic of Congo. In this paper, a taxonomical review of the known species and the description of a new species, Notomela joliveti sp. n., from Principe Island are reported.

Materials and methods
Material examined consisted of dried pinned specimens preserved in the institutions listed below.
Specimens were examined, measured and dissected using WILD MZ12.5 and LEICA M205C binocular microscopes. Photomicrographs were taken using a Leica DFC500 camera and the Zerene Stacker version 1.04. Scanning electron micrographs were taken using a HITACHI TM-1000. Geographical coordinates of the localities are reported in degrees, minutes and, possibly, seconds (DMD-WGS84 format); coordinates and geographical information included in square brackets were added by the authors and follow those available at web sources. The terminology used follows: Döberl (1986), Furth and Suzuki (1994) and Suzuki (1988) for the spermatheca; Furth and Suzuki (1998) for the metafemoral spring.
Abbreviations. Morphology -LAED: length of median lobe of aedeagus; LAN: length of antennae; LB: total length of body; LE: length of elytra; LP: length of pronotum; LSPc: length of spermathecal capsule; WE: width of elytra; WP: width of pronotum.
Collections and depositories: Morphological remarks. Based on newly examined material, morphological characteristics of Neodera are revised and updated with respect to the original description (Jacoby 1899). Body (Figs 1-3) thickset, sub-cylindrical or elliptical, strongly convex. Head  with vertex and frons distinctly punctated; frontal tubercles sub-quadrate, clearly distant from each other; frontal carina not raised; genae short. Antennae moderately elongate, about as long as from 1/3 to half body length.
Metafemoral spring (Fig. 6) showing several similarities with the Blepharida morpho-group (Furth 1982) and characterized by: rather straight dorsal lobe with a distinct extended arm which projects far beyond apex of ventral lobe; ventral lobe with large, obtuse basal angle; dorsal edge of ventral lobe without any sclerotized recurve flange (Furth and Suzuki 1998). However it should be made quite clear that the irregular tissue attached to the dorsal margin of the ventral lobe is the "cuticular sheet", an irregular sheet of connective tissue by which the primary tibial extensor muscle is inserted onto the dorsal edge of the ventral lobe (Furth 1982).
Spermatheca (Figs 7A, B) of form A (Furth and Suzuki 1998) with basal and distal parts very elongate, not separate from each other; ductus uncoiled but with 2 or 3 evident curves.
Vaginal palpi ( Notes. Notomela can be placed next to Amphimela Chapuis, 1875, genus widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Australian, Eastern Palaearctic and Oriental regions. Notomela shares with Amphimela the same pronotal shape, head with wide interantennal space, frontal carina not raised, metafemoral spring (personal data) and spermathecal type. However, these two genera are easily distinguishable by the: presence of a submarginal elytral stria of distinctly and deeply impressed punctures laterally, delimiting wide and distinctly raised lateral band in Notomela, absent in Amphimela; frontal tubercles clearly delimited and raised in Notomela, absent or just visible in Amphimela; pronotal punctation laterally more strongly and densely impressed, uniformly impressed in Amphimela; elytral punctation partially irregular in Notomela, regular in Amphimela.
Ecological data. Host plants reported for this flea beetle genus in southern Africa (N. fulvicollis Bryant) are Citrus and Zanthoxylum [= Xanthoxylum; = Fagara] (Rutaceae) (Jolivet and Hawkeswood 1995). Based on the distributional data, Notomela species seem to be associated mainly with tropical and temperate lowland and montane forest ecosystems.

Notomela cyanipennis Jacoby, 1899
Notomela cyanipennis Jacoby, 1899: 357;Bechyné 1960: 32;Scherer 1969: 371 = Notomela viridipennis Bryant, 1941Bechyné 1955 Notes. Bryant (1941) described the species N. viridipennis from Uganda, however the examination of the holotype and other material attributed to this taxon allow us to consider N. viridipennis only as a chromatic form of C. cyanipennis, more frequent in the eastern area of its distribution. In addition, also N. cyanipennis macrosoma Bechyné shows no significant diagnostic character if compared to the typical form.
Ecological data. Host plant is unknown. This species seems to be associated mainly with tropical lowland and montane humid forest ecosystems, more rarely with grassland and savannah environments.
Notes. This species described from West Africa is really to attribute to the genus Amphimela Chapuis. Therefore we proposed the new combination above. Diagnosis. Notomela joliveti sp. n. is the smallest species of the genus (LB ♂ = 3.90-4.20 mm). This new species is easily distinguishable from both N. cyanipennis and N. fulvicollis for having: dorsal integuments unicolor (Fig. 3); head with densely and strongly punctated vertex and frons (Fig. 5); pronotum with weak but evident depressions on surface near anterior angles and base (Fig. 12); median lobe of aedeagus comparatively longer and less thickset (LE/LAED < 2.50) in ventral view and less curved, almost straight, in lateral view (Fig. 16).
Leg strongly blackened, with partially reddish tarsi and femoro-tibial joints; hind tibia straight with no dentate external margin; apical spur of hind tibia short, reddish. First anterior and middle tarsomeres clearly dilated (Fig. 3).  Ventral surface blackish, partially reddish, with dense and rather uniformly distributed yellow pubescence; last abdominal sternite with a clear preapical depression with strongly punctated surface.
Median lobe of aedeagus ( Fig. 16) thickset (LAED = 1.45 mm; LE/LAED = 2.45), in ventral view, smooth, laterally larger in distal half and distinctly narrowed in basal half; apex widely truncate, sub-trapezoidal; ventral sulcus weakly impressed in basal half, with evident longitudinal wide median carina basally and distally clearly expanded; dorsal sulcus obliterate; dorsal ligula well-developed, apically sub-rectangular; median lobe in lateral view almost straight, just slightly sinuate in distal half with apex bent in ventral direction.
Variation Paratypes (two males) very similar in shape, sculpture and color to the holotype; one paratype not completely mature. Female unknown.
Etymology. With great pleasure we name the new species after our friend Pierre Jolivet, the "Great Old Man" of all the chrysomelid workers around the world.
Ecological notes. Host plant is unknown. Species probably associated with forest ecosystems.