A new species of the Neotropical mimetic genus Cerichrestus Clark from Costa Rica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae): an example of how unkknown is biodiversity
A new species (Cerichrestus freidbergi) of the mimetic Neotropical genus Cerichrestus Clark, 1860, is described from LaSelva Biological Station, Costa Rica. Most known species of this genus are from South America, C. clarki Jacoby has been the only species known from Central America (Panama and Costa Rica) and is the most morphologically similar to C. freidbergi. This new species differs significantly in color and pattern from C. clarki, but very unusually both male and female genitalia show little morphological differences. The article discusses potential mimetic relationships and provides a good example of how many animal taxa are poorly known. This contribution is published to honor Dr. Amnon Friedberg, a scientist, a colleague and a friend, on the occassion of his 75th birthday.
