Chaetocnema Stephens and related genera (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Alticinae):: a systematic revision, with description of a new genus from the Indian Ocean (Seychelles)

Chaetocnema Stephens and its related flea beetle genera Terpno-chlorus Fairmaire, Carcharodis Weise, Pepila Weise, Collartaltica Bechyne, Biodontocnema Biondi, and Seychellaltica n. gen. are considered for a taxonomic analysis. Scanning electron micrographs of particular morphological aspects of these genera are included. The new genus Seychellaltica from Seychelles is described. The following species are attributed to it: Seychellaltica mahensis (Maulik) (type species), S. krishna Maulik, and two new species S. gardineri sp. n. and S. praslinensis sp. n. Line drawings of male and female genitalia of the Seychellaltica species are illustrated. A cladistic analysis of this taxonomic group using a parsimony method is presented. Chaetocnema shows most affinity with the Afrotropical genera Carcharodis, Collartaltica and Biodontocnema, while Pepila, the new genus Seychellaltica, and above all Terpnochlorus, appear to have originated in earlier times.