Corresponding author: Chia-Hung Hsieh (
Academic editor: Duane D. McKenna
Taiwanese species of
Lee C-F, Hsieh C-H (2022) Integrative taxonomy of the leaf-beetle genus
The genus
Taxonomic problems with some Taiwanese species are complex.
Some
The Taiwan Chrysomelid Research Team (
The study is based on 658 individuals of eight species of
For rearing studies, larvae were placed in small glass containers (diameter 142 mm × height 50 mm) with cuttings from their host plants. When mature larvae began searching for pupation sites, they were transferred to smaller plastic containers (diameter 90 mm × height 57 mm) filled with moist soil (~ 80% of container volume).
For taxonomic study, the abdomens of adults were separated from the forebodies and boiled in 10% KOH solution, followed by washing in distilled water to prepare genitalia for illustrations. The genitalia were then dissected from the abdomens, mounted on slides in glycerin, and studied and drawn using a Leica M165 stereomicroscope. For detailed examinations a Nikon ECLIPSE 50i microscope was used.
At least three pairs from each species were examined to delimit variability of diagnostic characters. For species collected from more than one locality, at least one pair from each locality was examined. Length was measured from the anterior margin of the eye to the elytral apex, and width at the greatest width of the elytra.
Specimens studied or mentioned herein are deposited at the following institutes and collections:
Exact label data are cited for all type specimens of described species; a double slash (//) divides the data on different labels and a single slash (/) divides the data in different rows. Other comments and remarks are in square brackets: [p] – preceding data are printed, [h] – preceding data are handwritten, [w] – white label, [y] – yellow label, [g] – green label, [b] – blue label, and [r] – red label.
Genomic DNA extractions were conducted using Tissue Genomic DNA Extraction Mini Kit (Abundance Life Science, Kaohsiung, Taiwan). The partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (
In total, 110
Genetic distances between and within species of
Taxon | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | within | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
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0.035 | |||||||
2 | 0.154 | 0.001 | |||||||
3 |
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0.153 | 0.107 | 0.016 | |||||
4 |
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0.204 | 0.193 | 0.182 | 0.039 | ||||
5 |
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0.186 | 0.175 | 0.171 | 0.220 | 0.008 | |||
6 |
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0.186 | 0.167 | 0.175 | 0.203 | 0.198 | 0.007 | ||
7 |
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0.166 | 0.148 | 0.164 | 0.197 | 0.168 | 0.102 | 0.021 | |
8 |
|
0.214 | 0.209 | 0.218 | 0.248 | 0.232 | 0.208 | 0.208 | 0.073 |
Maximum-likelihood phylogeny of
Two syntypes should be deposited at the
Habitus of
Diagnostic characters of
Adults of
A large population of
Natural history of
China, Taiwan.
Length 6.9–8.4 mm, width 4.3–5.4 mm. Body color (Fig.
Diagnostic characters of
Black spots on the dorsum are predominantly large in Chinese populations but extremely variable in Taiwanese populations. Diagnostic characters of Chinese populations (Fig.
Diagnostic characters of
Natural history of
Genetic distance analyses showed that the genetic divergence between the China clade (
China, Taiwan.
Length 5.3–6.4 mm, width 3.5–4.0 mm. Body color (Fig.
Habitus of
Many adults possess black elytra with wide yellowish brown borders (Fig.
Habitus of
Diagnostic characters of
Natural history of
China, Taiwan, including Kinmen Islands (Kinmen Island 金門島, Dadan Island 大膽島) and Matsu Islands (Kaoteng Island 高登島, Beigan Island 北竿島, and Nangan Island 南竿島, new records).
Length 5.3–6.1 mm, width 3.2–3.9 mm. Body color (Fig.
Diagnostic characters of
Although
Natural history of
The host plant is an endemic and rare species in Taiwan that is restricted to the central regions (
The species name is dedicated to Mr. Cheng-Jr Liu (呂晟智) who collected types and discovered the host plant.
This new species is restricted to Central Taiwan.
Length 5.5–7.3 mm, width 3.1–4.2 mm. Body color (Fig.
Habitus of
Diagnostic characters of
In some adults the black spots on the vertex are combined. Some have enlarged black spots on the pronotum, sometimes connected, and darker antennomeres I–V, legs, and thoracic ventrites (Fig.
Females laid more than 280 eggs at a time (Fig.
Natural history of
Endemic to Taiwan. This species is widespread in lowlands and mid-elevations.
Length 6.1–7.3 mm, width 3.8–4.7 mm. Body color (Fig.
Habitus of
Diagnostic characters of
Black areas on dorsum and venter are reduced to different degrees in various individuals. Some adults have smaller black spots arranged into four pairs on the elytra, with only the central part of the scutellum blackish brown, and only the meso- and metathoracic ventrites darker (Fig.
Natural history of
A mass outbreak of adults of this species occurred on Matsu Islands during June 2017. The large numbers of beetles made local citizens nervous and made the news. A number of specimens were sent to the authors for identification. Mr. Hua-Te Fang (方華德) collected larvae (Fig.
The original spelling in the original description (
China, Japan, Taiwan (only on Matsu Islands, including Beigan Island北竿島and Nangan Island 南竿島).
Length 5.6–6.7 mm, width 3.7–4.7 mm. Body color (Fig.
Diagnostic characters of
Natural history of
South Taiwan (Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties).
1 | Trichobothria absent on anterior and posterior angles of pronotum |
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– | Trichobothria present on posterior angles, or on anterior and posterior of angles of pronotum |
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2 | Punctures on elytra irregularly arranged or entirely confused | (subgenus |
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– | Punctures on elytra regularly arranged into longitudinal rows | (subgenus |
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3 | Punctures on elytra entirely confused; scutellum black; three black spots on pronotum; ten black spots on elytra, two black spots on suture, one at apical 1/3 and the other near apices (Fig. |
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– | Punctures on elytra irregularly arranged into longitudinal rows; scutellum yellowish brown; no black spots on pronotum; eleven black spots on elytra, three black spots on suture, one at basal 1/3, median one at apical 1/3, the other at apices (Fig. |
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4 | Head, pronotum, thoracic and abdominal ventrites yellowish brown (Figs |
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– | Head, most parts of pronotum, thoracic and abdominal ventrites black (Fig. |
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5 | Trichobothria present on posterior angles (subgenus |
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– | Trichobothria present on anterior and posterior angles (subgenus |
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6 | Antennomere V elongate, more than 2.0× longer than wide; one pairs of black spots on pronotum; five pairs of black spots on elytra (Fig. |
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– | Antennomere V wide, as long as wide; none black spots on pronotum; none or three to five pairs of black spots on elytra (Fig. |
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Length 4.3–5.0 mm, width 2.8–3.5 mm. Body color (Fig.
Diagnostic characters of
Adults of
China, Korea, Russia.
Our molecular phylogenetic analysis indicates that
Among Taiwanese species, only
In addition,
We are grateful to the Taiwan Chrysomelid Research Team (
Collection information, taxon ID, and accession number of
excel file
Collection information, taxon ID, and accession number of