''Eka nigra'' is a species of leaf beetle endemic to

Silhouette Island Silhouette Island lies northwest of Mahé in the Seychelles. It is the third largest granitic island in the Seychelles. It has an area of 20.1 km2 and has a population of 200, mostly workers on the island. The main settlement is La Passe ...

in the Seychelles, in the low country near the coast, and the only member of the genus ''Eka''. The species was first described by the Indian entomologist Samarendra Maulik, from a specimen collected by the Percy Sladen Trust Expedition to the Indian Ocean in 1908. The generic name comes from the Sanskrit word (''éka''), meaning "single", "alone". The genus is related to ''

Trichochrysea ''Trichochrysea'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is distributed in Asia. According to A. G. Moseyko (in 2012), the Central Asian species are significantly different from the Oriental species. Species The genus incl ...

''.

Description

The body is oblong-ovate and colored black, with a very faint purplish tinge. The four segments at the base of the antennae are coloured brown, and the remaining seven segments are coloured black. The

legs A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ...

are brown mixed with blackish colour, the tarsi more blackish. The beetles are entirely covered in white erect

hairs Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fine ...

on the upper and under sides; those on the elytra are arranged in longitudinal rows and each hair arises out of a puncture. The length of the beetles are 1.75 mm.

References

Eumolpinae Beetles of Africa Insects of Seychelles Beetles described in 1931 Endemic fauna of Seychelles {{Eumolpinae-stub