Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 92. (Budapest 2000)

Medvedev, L. N.: Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) of Laos from the collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum

Nodina laotica sp. n. (Eumolpinae) (Fig. 1) Description - Dark bronze to dark blue, labrum and legs including trochanters fulvous, antennae fulvous with more or less infuscate apical segments. Body ovate, 1.3 times as long as wide. Head shining, with strong sparse punctures, without hairs. Clypeus arcuately emarginate on anterior margin, with parallel lateral ridges. Ocular groove narrow, deep. Mandibles of male not enlarged. Antennae scarcely reach base of prothorax, segment 3 much shorter than 2 and equal to 3, which slightly widened; next segments distinctly widened, about as long as wide; apical segment elongate ovate. Prothorax twice as wide as long, shining, distinctly punctate throughout. Elytra without ridges in both sexes, rows of punctures more feeble at sides and on apical slope. Propleurae densely microsculpturcd, without punctures. Prosternum 2.5 times as wide as long, transversely concave and punctured. Mctasternum impunctate. Segment 1 of anterior and mid tarsi broadly widened in male. Aedeagus (Fig. 1) parallel-sided, narrow, with elongate-triangular apex, straight and thin in lateral view, underside evenly convex. Length 2.4—2.7 mm. Type material- Holotype (male): Laos, Champassak Prov., Dong Hua Xao NBCA, camp near Nam Phak River, 15°58'N, 105°55'E, 280 m, 28-29 March 1998. (HNHM). Paratypes: same locality, 20 ex. (HNHM, 4 ex. - LM); - Laos, Vientiane, 270 m, 24 March 1998, in city gardens, 3 ex. (HNHM, 1 ex.-LM). Remarks - The genus Nodina needs a thorough revision, because many species might be exactly determined only with characters of aedeagus, which is unknown for the most Oriental species. In any case, large series from Laos can not be definitely connected with any known species from China, Indochina and India. According to the key proposed by KlMOTO & GRESSITT (1982) for Indochina, this species corresponds to N. pusilla MOTSCHULSKY, 1858 but the type of MOTSCHULSKY's species has quite different aedeagus. This species belongs to a group with fulvous legs and simple elytra of female. Among them N. chinensis WEISE, 1922 is large, with blue colour, /V. liui GRESSITT et KlMOTO, 1961, A. hongshana GRESSITT et KlMOTO, 1961 N. rufipes JACOBY, 1908 much smaller, N. similis KlMOTO et GRESSITT, 1982 smaller and with propleurae only partly microsculptured, N. parvula JACOBY, 1892 with quite different aedeagus (MEDVEDEV & SPRECHER 1999), same with N. pusilla MOTSCHULSKY, 1858. N. laevicollis MOTSCHULSKY, 1858 seems to be the nearest species, but has prothorax very feebly punctate, especially on sides, and aedeagus more cuneiform and with other sculpture of upperside.