Genus-group names of Afrotropical flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae): Annotated catalogue and biogeographical notes

Abstract

Abstract. This paper consists of an up to date annotated catalogue of the Afrotropical genera of Alticinae (Chrysomelidae), with biogeographical notes on the flea beetle fauna occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. The following new synonymies are proposed: Eugonotes Jacoby, 1897 (a subgenus of Sanckia Duvivier, 1891) = Brancucciella Medvedev, 1995 syn. n.; Amphimela Chapuis, 1875 = Dibolosoma Jacoby, 1897 syn. n.; Amphimela Chapuis, 1875 = Halticova Fairmaire, 1898 syn. n.; Podagrica Chevrolat, 1837 = Podagrixena Bechyné, 1968 syn. n.; Aphthona Chevrolat, 1837 = Pseudeugonotes Jacoby, 1899 syn. n.; Nisotra Baly, 1864 = Pseudonisotra Bechyné, 1968 syn. n. The following new combinations are proposed: Afrorestia sjostedti (Weise, 1910) comb. n. (from Crepidodera); Bechuana natalensis (Jacoby, 1906) comb. n. (from Ochrosis); Sesquiphaera natalensis (Jacoby, 1906) comb. n. (from Sphaeroderma). The genus Hildenbrandtina Weise, 1910 is trasferred from Galerucinae to Alticinae. New distributional data for many genera in the Afrotropical region is provided. 401genera transferred to Galerucinae or to genus-group names that are unavailable.In addition to author and date of publication, each genusgroup name is accompanied by: (a) synonymies, exclusively those for the Afrotropical region; (b) bibliographic references, including the original description and other important taxonomical contributions; (c) type species, including the method of species assignment; (d) geographic distribution in the Afrotropical region (cf. Graf & Cummings, 2007) and other zoogeographical regions (cf. Sclater, 1858); (e) ecological remarks, mainly host-plants and/or habitat preferences; (f) notes, including the number of Afrotropical species and important taxonomical news.The type material examined for this study is preserved in the following institutions: BAQ -collection of the author, Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, University of L'Aquila, Italy; BMNH -The Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom;

Two new species of Chaetocnema Stephens from South Africa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini)

“…In sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, 86 flea beetle genera are recorded of which about 66% are endemic (Biondi 2017, Biondi & D'Alessandro 2010a, 2010b, 2011, 2013a, 2013b, 2016, 2017, 2018, Dö-berl 2010, 2014, 2017, Biondi et al 2017.…”

Hesperoides, a new “hairy” flea beetle genus from southern Africa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini)

“…Based on recent contributions, the whole Afrotropical region, including Madagascar, hosts about 1600 known species ascribed to 101 different genera (Biondi personal data;Biondi & D'Alessandro 2010, 2012, 2013a, 2013b, 2017, 2018D'Alessandro et al 2014D'Alessandro et al , 2017Döberl 2010), and shares the highest percentage of genera with the Oriental (27%) and Palaearctic (27%) regions (Biondi & D'Alessandro 2012). In the sub-Saharan Africa occur 84 different flea beetle genera of which about 64% are endemic (Biondi & D'Alessandro 2010, 2012). The Southern Afrotropical area (SAF as reported in Biondi & D'A les sandro 2012) hosts 58 genera of Alticini, 12% of which are endemic.…”

Disentangling a taxonomic nightmare: a revision of the Australian, Indomalayan and Pacific species of Altica Geoffroy, 1762 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae)

“…However, currently Bechyné's genera remain separated from Altica, so the total number of Altica species is only about 235. These valid species of Altica are distributed as follows: North America 68, 67 unique to region (Riley, Clark & Seeno 2003); Central and South America c. 45 (Scherer 1962;Santisteban 2006); Palaearctic including Arabia and north Africa 73 (Döberl 2010a); Subsaharan Africa 39 (Biondi & D'Alessandro 2010;Döberl 2010b); South and Southeast Asia 9, 6 unique to region (Scherer 1969;Kimoto 2001;Medvedev 2004Medvedev , 2009). For Australia, 7 species are listed, 5 unique to the region (Heikertinger & Csiki 1939).…”