Revision of the Taumacera cervicornis Species Group (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) from Sri Lanka†
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Only minor errors, please check the following lines with suggestions:
33 very?
42 the present?
64 Scientific names italic or different from the rest of the text
92 If 1 is opposed to number 2, how is different 1. Elytra metallic (1) FROM 2.
Elytra metallic green or blue-green, rarely with brownish elytral disc. … 3
183 paddle- shaped ?
238 abdomina?
256 Italics?
318 confused (word choice)
350 space needed and/or new paragraph?
382 spots (color?) =384
394 in middle (at?)
411 What means bordered and unbordered (?)
414 at middle (?)
435 in ca apical third. What means “ca”
445 Scientific names with italics throughout the m
594 I hope these captions will be in the same page as their figures
598 …. confused is used here again. Not sure what is the meaning: probably
mixed?
650 Extreme means anterior or apical?
719 Apically bent ?
720 Shrivelled ? shriveled you mean wrinkle?
Author Response
33 very?
JB: the sentence is modified to „very likely“
42 the present?
JB: corrected
64 Scientific names italic or different from the rest of the text
JB: there is a heading on line 64, the style of subsection follows the template, in my opinion it is correct
92 If 1 is opposed to number 2, how is different 1. Elytra metallic (1) FROM 2.
Elytra metallic green or blue-green, rarely with brownish elytral disc. … 3
JB: I cannot agree, the key is correct. Number 1 is not opposite to number 2.
183 paddle- shaped ?
JB: paddle-shaped is correct, the space is deleted
238 abdomina?
JB: abdomina is correct. Abdomen is singular, abdomina in plural
256 Italics?
JB: corrected
318 confused (word choice)
JB: „confused“ is word widely used to describe the chaotic punctation on elytra, without any arrangement
350 space needed and/or new paragraph?
JB: corrected
382 spots (color?) =384
JB: corrected to „black spots“
394 in middle (at?)
JB: „in middle“ is correct
411 What means bordered and unbordered (?)
JB: margins of pronotum can be with or without beading, in Chrysomelidae „bordered and unbordered“ are frequently used to describe this character
414 at middle (?)
JB: „in middle“ is correct
435 in ca apical third. What means “ca”
JB: „ca“ deleted
445 Scientific names with italics throughout the m
JB: corrected
594 I hope these captions will be in the same page as their figures
598 …. confused is used here again. Not sure what is the meaning: probably
mixed?
JB: „confused“ is word widely used to describe the chaotic punctation on elytra, without any arrangement
650 Extreme means anterior or apical?
JB: corrected
719 Apically bent ?
JB: I treat „apical part moderately bent“ as correct
720 Shrivelled ? shriveled you mean wrinkle?
JB: No, basal part of aedeagus is very poorly sclerotized and creased, I treat the word „shrivelled“ as correct
Reviewer 2 Report
The author considers a group of species, not a subgenus. Maybe it should be added to the discussion: why does the author not want to establish an endemic subgenus? For T. lewisii, 2 females were studied, which means that it is necessary to write "females", not "female" on line 281 and indicate the limits of variability. For T. mirabilis, 2 males were studied, which means that "males", not "male" must be indicated on line 379. For T. unicolor, 2 males were studied, which means that "males", not "male" must be indicated on line 456.
Author Response
The reviewer is right that some comment why the species group is used instead subgenus is welcomed. I added the explanatory text to the Discussion.
Concerning „male/males“ and „female/females“ - problem is that I did not measure the type specimens during my visit of London museum in 2017. So, yes, I studied 2 females of T. lewisi, but only one was measured. Same trouble for T. mirabilis and T. unicolor. I suggest to leave the text as it is.
Reviewer 3 Report
The present manuscript is devoted to a review of a chrysomelid species-group from Sri Lanka. The manuscript is well-prepared and interesting to read. Some minor inconsequence has been found as mentioned in the text. English is sometimes suboptimal and requires proof-reading by native English speaker. I highlighted some (but no all!) problems with the language in the text. Apart of this, there are some layout-connected issues as is marked in the text.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
The English is improved now by native speaker through the professional company.
The problem with layout-connected issues – my original submission was correct, the problems arose somewhere later. However, because there are many changes in the text, I suggest to correct the placement of Figures and captions as final step just when the text changes approved (and thus without track-changes).
The reviewer marked some suggestions directly in pdf file, almost all I accepted and incorporated into final file.