Gestronella Weise 1911a: 47

Synonomys

None.

Type Species

Xiphispa centrolineata Fairmaire.

Diagnosis

Gestronella can be distinguished by the following combination of characters:

• lateral margin of pronotumpronotum:
  occupies all of dorsal part of the prothorax; in anterior angles or posterior angles there may be a small tubercle or pore with a seta
  and elytra without long, stiff spines
• head with frontal horn between antennae
• antennae thickening apically, antennomere 1 without spine-like process, antennomeres 8 to 11 nearly fused
• elytra with 8 rows basally plus scutellar row, 10 apically, with 4 costae

Description

Body elongate; subparallel; subdepressed; color brownish with dark longitudinal stripes or totally black; total length 8.5 to 12.0 mm.

Head: subquadrate; cephalic plate rectangular, coarsely punctate, with medial sulcus; frontal horn short, narrowing apically, shorter than antennomere 1; eyeeye:
elongate, slightly prominent, multifaceted; usually slightly kidney-shaped
large, convex.

Antenna: thickening apically; as long as head and pronotumpronotum:
occupies all of dorsal part of the prothorax; in anterior angles or posterior angles there may be a small tubercle or pore with a seta
combined; with 11-antennomeres; antennomere 1 incrassate, longer than 2; 2 thick, cylindrical; 3 cylindrical, narrower and slightly longer than 2; 4 to 7 cylindrical, subequal in length, each shorter than 3; 8 to 10 transverse, subequal in length, each ¾ length of 7; 11 slightly longer than 10, pointed at apex.

Pronotum: longer than wide; lateral margin straight basally, sharply angulate anteriorly; anterior angle with tooth; anterior margin curved; posterior angle with 2 teeth; posterior angle bisinuate; surface irregularly punctate, with oblique carina in angulation of lateral margin.

Scutellum: elongate; triangular.

Elytron: lateral margin straight, smooth; exterior apical angle obliquely rounded; apical margin sinuate; sutural angle angulate; humerus rounded, not produced; with 8 rows of punctures at base, expanding to 10 rows after middle; with 4 costae.

Leg: short; robust; femurfemur:
largest part of the leg; more or less cylindrical, attached at base to trochanter and at apex to tibia
thickened; tibiatibia:
variable in length; joins femur and tarsus
shorter than femurfemur:
largest part of the leg; more or less cylindrical, attached at base to trochanter and at apex to tibia
, obliquely truncate apically.

Distribution

Madagascar.

World Fauna

Described species: 6 (Staines 2012). Key: none.

Hosts

Acanthophoenix, Cocos (Arecaceae).

References

Staines, C. L. 2012. Tribe Cryptonychini. Catalog of the hispines of the world (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae). http://entomology.si.edu/Collections_Coleoptera.html

Weise, J. 1911a. Coleopterorum Catalogus Chrysomelidae: Hispinae. W. Junk, Berlin. pars 35:1-94.