Monolepta is a genus of skeletonizing leaf beetles in the family Chrysomelidae.[1] It is the most diverse and widely distributed genus in the Galerucinae sensu stricto, with more than 700 described species occurring almost worldwide. It is missing from the Nearctic realm.[2]

Monolepta
Monolepta marginella, South Africa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Galerucinae
Tribe: Luperini
Genus: Monolepta
Chevrolat in Dejean, 1836
Type species
Crioceris bioculata
Fabricius, 1781
Synonyms
  • Cnecodes Motschulsky, 1858
  • Mesolepta Kirby, 1880
  • Damais Jacoby, 1903
  • Chimporia Laboissière, 1931
  • Aemulaphthona Scherer, 1969

The genus was first established by Louis Alexandre Auguste Chevrolat in 1836 to include species of Galerucinae with an elongated basi-metatarsus (the first tarsomere of the hind leg). The generic name Monolepta is derived from the Greek μόνος (monos, meaning 'one') and λεπτός (leptos, meaning 'thin, slender'). In 1875, Félicien Chapuis established the supra-generic group "Monoleptites", which included other Galerucinae with an elongated basi-metatarsus. Other genera traditionally placed in this group include, for example, Luperodes, Candezea and Barombiella. The group "Monoleptites" was later found to be polyphyletic, as an elongated basi-metatarsus has evolved multiple times in the Galerucinae.[3]

Selected species

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References

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  1. ^ "Monolepta". GBIF. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  2. ^ Nie, R-E; Bezděk, J.; Yang, X-K (2017). "How many genera and species of Galerucinae s. str. do we know? Updated statistics (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae). In: Chaboo CS, Schmitt M (Eds) Research on Chrysomelidae". ZooKeys (720): 91–102. Bibcode:2017ZooK..720...91N. doi:10.3897/zookeys.720.13517. PMC 5740445. PMID 29290727.
  3. ^ Wagner, T. (2007). "Monolepta Chevrolat, 1837, the most speciose galerucine taxon: redescription of the type species Monolepta bioculata (Fabricius, 1781) and key to related genera from (Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera)". Journal of Natural History. 41 (1–4): 81–100. Bibcode:2007JNatH..41...81W. doi:10.1080/00222930601127384. S2CID 84511792.

Further reading

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  • Lobl, I.; Smetana, A., eds. (2013). Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 6: Chrysomeloidea. Apollo Books. ISBN 978-90-04-26091-7.