RESULTS OF THE ZOOLOGICO-BOTANICAL EXPEDITION TO SOUTHWEST CHINA 1955—1957(COLEOPTERA, CASSIDINAE)

SICIEN H.CHEN;Y.ZIA

The tortoise beetles here dealt with were collected by Chinese and Soviet entomologistsduring their co-operative expeditions to Yunnan in the years 1955--1957 and to Szechuanin 1955. The collection contains 60 species distributed in 13 genera, of which 1 genus,2 subgenera and 10 species are described as new and 5 species are recorded for the firsttime in China. All holotype specimens are kept in the Institute of Entomology of Academiainica, paratype specimens are partly kept in Academia Sinica and partly in the Institute ofZoology of Academy of Sciences, USSR. The new genera and species are characterized asfollows: Notosacantha ginpinensis, n. sp.(Fig. 1.3)Body ovate, rotundate. Colour red-brown, the explanate margins broadly yellow-brown,with the window-spot small, not very distinct; disc of pronotum and elytra, including thescutellum, pitchy black.Head with a deep median longitudinal furrow, the frontal prolongation emarginate atapex and more or less rounded at sides. Elytra with the two longitudinal costae well-developed, but not connected with each other by a basal bridge; the middle costa is morestrongly raised than the humeral one, the latter being more or less obsolete in the middle.On the middle costa, there are four distinct elevations or tubercles, the third tubercle is thehighest and sending out three branches of which the external branche bifurcate at a shortdistance; the fourth tubercle is characterized by having a short, rudimentary inner branch,not reaching the suture.Length: 4 mm.; breadth: 3.6 mm. Holotype: Yunnan: Ginping (15. IV. 1956).Notosacantha nigrodorsata, n. sp.(Fig. 2.4)Body subquadrate, underside brown, upperside black, with the margins all round nar-rowly yellow, and a large, pale window-spot on each side of the elytra.Allied to the preceding, differing in the humeral costa of elytra being less distinct, themiddle bridge between the two costae somewhat stronger, the apical bridge more sharplyraised, and the fourth tuberce of the middle costa without an inner branch towards thesuture. The window-spot of the present species is also larger, with only two longitudinalrows of punctures along its outer margin, whereas in the preceding species, there are threesuch rows.Length: 4.5 mm.; breadth: 3.8 mm.Holotype: , Yunnan (31. III. 1957).Taiwania Spaeth, 1913The genus Taiwania Spaeth, as here understood, differs from the old genus CassidaL. as follows:1. Taiwania: Fronto-clypeus and pronotum usually smooth and impunctate, when pun-ctate, the punctures are fine aud scattered, with their interspaces not wrinkled; elytrawith explanate margins usually broad and transparent, the humeral angle strongly projectingforward, reaching or passing the middle level of pronotum.2. Cassida: Fronto-clypeus usually wrinkled and croarsely punctured; elytra with exp-lanate margins opaque or subhyaline, usually narrow, the humeral angle generally not exten-ding to the middle level of pronotum.Thus defined, the genus Taiwania comprises chiefly oriental forms and the genusCassida, principally palaearctic species. Both genera contain species with either simple orappendiculate claws.Chinese species of the genus Taiwania may be arranged under three subgenera, chara-cterized as follows:1(2) Claws appendiculate...............................................................................................Taiwania, s. str.2(1) Claws simple:3(4) Sides of pronotum very broadly rounded: fronto-clypeus nearly as long as its median breadth:body strongly convex, explanate margins of elytra steeply declivous...............................................................Yunocassis, n. subg.4(3) Sides of pronotum usually very narrowly, rarely moderately broadly rounded: fronto-clypeusnarrow, distinctly longer than broad: body not strongly convex, explanate margins of elytragradually inclined..................................Cyclocassids n. subg.Cassida appluda Spaeth, 1926, originally described from Viet-Nam, is designated asthe type species of Yunocassis, and Taiwania variabilis, a new species described below, isdesignated as the type spe