Dematochroma is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is mostly distributed in New Caledonia, though it is also found on Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Timor and Vanuatu. Adult beetles (usually less than 1 cm long) are often found at night feeding on leaves, and the larvae eat roots.
Phylogeny
Recent phylogenetic analyses of Eumolpinae of the south Pacific suggest that Dematochroma is paraphyletic: the type species, the Lord Howe endemic D. picea, is placed in a clade including New Caledonian endemic genera Taophila and Tricholapita, which is sister to another clade including other New Caledonian Eumolpinae genera, the New Caledonian species of Dematochroma as well as the New Zealand endemic Atrichatus. Because of such findings, Gómez-Zurita and collaborators have preferred to transfer several New Caledonian species of Dematochroma to other genera. For instance, the genus Thasycles <small>Chapuis, 1874</small>, which was for a long time treated as a synonym of Dematochroma, was reinstated as a valid genus, and a new genus Dematotrichus was established for Dematochroma pilosa and closely related species.
Species
- Dematochroma antipodum <small>(Fauvel, 1862)</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma antipodumoides <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2010</small> â Vanuatu
- Dematochroma culminicola <small>(Heller, 1916)</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma difficilis <small>(Heller, 1916)</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma doiana <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2007</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma helleri <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2007</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma howensis <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2006</small> â Lord Howe Island
- Dematochroma lepros <small>(Heller, 1916)</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma maculifrons <small>(Heller, 1916)</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma norfolkiana <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2006</small> â Norfolk Island
- Dematochroma picea <small>Baly, 1864</small> â Lord Howe Island
- Dematochroma samuelsoni <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2011</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma shuteae <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2006</small> â Norfolk Island
- Dematochroma sylviae <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2010</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma terastiomerus <small>(Heller, 1916)</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma terminaliae <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2010</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma theryi <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2010</small> â New Caledonia
- Dematochroma timorense <small>Jacoby, 1894</small> â Timor
The following species are synonyms:
- Dematochroma poyensis <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2010</small>: synonym of Dematochroma theryi <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2010</small>
- Dematochroma soldatii <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2010</small>: synonym of Dematochroma antipodumoides <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2010</small>
The following species have been transferred to other genera:
- Dematochroma cancellata <small>(Samuelson, 2010)</small>: transferred to Cazeresia, as synonym of Cazeresia striata <small>(Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2007)</small>
- Dematochroma foaensis <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2007</small>: transferred to Rhyparida
- Dematochroma fusca <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2007</small>: transferred to Thasycles
- Dematochroma humboldtiana <small>(Heller, 1916):</small> transferred to Cazeresia
- Dematochroma laboulbenei <small>(Montrouzier, 1861)</small>: transferred to Thasycles
- Dematochroma panieensis <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2007</small>: transferred to Thasycles
- Dematochroma pilosa <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2007</small>: transferred to Dematotrichus
- Dematochroma thyiana <small>Jolivet, Verma & Mille, 2008:</small> transferred to Cazeresia
References
External links