Cirrhicera veilleuxi, Tirant, 2017

Tirant, Stéphane Le, 2017, A new species of Cirrhicera Thomson, 1857 from Mexico, and redescription of Anisopodus acutus Thomson, 1865 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae), Zootaxa 4323 (1), pp. 139-145 : 139-141

Hemilophini

Cirrhicera veilleuxi , sp. nov. ( Figs 1–4 )

Description. Female. Head dark brown except distal area of clypeus and basal area of labrum reddish-brown; mouthparts reddish-brown; antennae dark brown; central area of pronotum dark reddish-brown; sides of prothorax dark brown; ventral side of thorax reddish-brown, darkened laterally; elytra dark reddish-brown; femora reddishbrown, gradually lighter toward apex; tibiae and tarsi light reddish-brown.

Head. Basal area distinctly convex dorsally. Frons moderately finely and abundantly punctate; glabrous centrally toward clypeus, with silky grayish pubescence toward vertex, with short and long, erect brown setae laterally; area between bases of antennal tubercles with arched nearly smooth band. Area between antennal tubercles with punctures as on frons, but distinctly sparser; with silky grayish pubescence. Area between upper eye lobes moderately finely abundantly punctate (punctures more abundant toward eyes); with silky grayish pubescence interspersed with sparse, long, erect yellowish setae laterally. Remaining surface of vertex slightly more sparsely punctate than on area between upper eye lobes; with silky grayish pubescence except nearly glabrous large triangular basal area (apparently pubescence lost). Area behind eye lobes moderately finely punctate near eye (punctures sparser toward apex of lower eye lobe), smooth toward prothorax; with silky grayish pubescence close to eye, nearly glabrous toward prothorax. Genae 1.3 times longer than lower eye lobe, microsculptured, interspersed with fine sparse punctures on basal 2/3, transversely striate on distal third except smooth distal area; with silky grayish pubescence on basal half, gradually sparser toward glabrous apex; with long, erect, sparse dark setae. Antennal tubercles densely micropunctate; with silky grayish pubescence, sparser toward apex, interspersed with moderately short, erect dark setae. Median longitudinal groove distinct from middle of frons to prothorax. Pretentorial pits well-marked. Limit between frons and postclypeus indistinct; limit between postclypeus and anteclypeus slightly indicated (more so laterally); basal dark area of postclypeus minutely, sparsely punctate, nearly glabrous; light distal area smooth and glabrous. Labrum convex, almost coplanar with anteclypeus on at about basal half, distinctly inclined on distal half, with limit between these areas with narrow, arched carina; convex and inclined areas densely, minutely punctate close to carina, nearly smooth on base and apex; with minute, sparse, decumbent setae on coplanar area; with long, erect, yellowish-brown setae on punctate base of inclined area. Distance between upper eye lobes 0.42 times length of scape; in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 0.91 times length of scape. Antennae 1.8 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at distal quarter of antennomere VII; scape, pedicel and antennomeres III–IV with long, erect, dark setae ventrally; tuft of long dark setae on antennomeres V–VI dense and long (most setae longer than three times diameter of antennomere), reaching distal quarter of antennomere VI; antennal formula (ratio) based on length of antennomere III: scape = 0.71; pedicel = 0.10; IV = 0.75; V = 0.43; VI = 0.39; VII = 0.31; VIII = 0.27; IX = 0.24; X = 0.22; XI = 0.26.

Thorax. Prothorax 1.25 times wider than long, parallel-sided on basal third, slightly widened on central third, nearly parallel-sided on distal third. Pronotum distinctly elevated from distal 2/3, with elongate central gibbosity at about central third; centrally with V-shaped area with dense grayish pubescence partially obscuring integument gradually black toward distal area (basal pubescence darker depending on angle of light source; partially lost), except glabrous central gibbosity; finely, abundantly punctate on V-shaped area except smooth central gibbosity and distal third with sparse punctures; remaining surface with dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument, continuing toward sides of prothorax. Sides of prothorax close to prosternum with wide, oblique band coarsely, moderately abundant punctate, with yellowish-brown pubescence on basal third, grayish on remaining surface. Prosternum with pale yellow pubescence distinctly exposing integument centrally, nearly glabrous laterally close to procoxal cavities; prosternal process with pale yellow pubescence exposing integument. Mesoventrite with pale yellow pubescence exposing integument, especially laterally; mesoventral process with lobes projected on mesocoxae distally; with pale yellow pubescence exposing integument. Mesanepisternum, mesepimeron and metanepisternum with dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument. Metaventrite with dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument laterally, exposing integument on large subtriangular central area; central discrimen well-marked. Scutellum with minute pale yellow pubescence distinctly exposing integument except glabrous sides. Elytra. Moderately coarsely, abundantly punctate on basal half, gradually finer, sparser toward nearly smooth distal area (punctures subaligned in rows); each elytron with two large maculae with dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument dorsally (more whitish than on prothorax), one basally, almost reaching apex of basal third, with outer margin curved, another trapezoid, from slightly before middle to distal quarter, reaching suture and lateral carina (widened toward suture); with another small macula with dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument basally between lateral carina and epipleuron; remaining surface with minute, moderately dense pubescence, but distinctly exposing integument, mostly brown between large pale yellow maculae, more grayish on distal quarter (pubescence on both areas with variable color depending on angle of light source); apex obliquely truncate, with outer angle slightly triangularly projected and sutural angle with short spine. Legs. Femora and tibiae with pale yellow pubescence exposing integument, interspersed with long, erect yellow and brown setae on tibiae. Metatarsomere I 0.7 times II–III together.

Abdomen. Ventrite I with yellow pubescence exposing integument, except irregular, oblique maculae with denser pale yellow pubescence placed dorsally on each side of center (slightly distinct); ventrite II with yellow pubescence exposing integument, except one large macula with dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument placed on each side of basal 2/3; ventrites III–V with brown pubescence slightly obscuring integument; apex of ventrite V deeply emarginate centrally.

Dimensions (mm), holotype female. Total length, 18.13; prothoracic length, 3.42; basal prothoracic width, 3.87; distal prothoracic width, 4.05; largest prothoracic width, 4.18; humeral width, 5.71; elytral length, 12.00.

Type material. Holotype female from MEXICO, Veracruz: Los Tuxtlas (900 m), 1-20.VI.2016, J. H. Garcia col. ( MZSP).

Etymology. The new species is named after Pierre Veilleux, entomological technician at the Montreal Insectarium (IMCQ).

Remarks. Cirrhicera veilleuxi sp. nov. is similar to C. conspicua Gahan, 1892 , but differs as follows: head without dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument; second macula with dense pale yellow pubescence on elytra trapezoid and not surpassing lateral carina; elytral apex obliquely truncate. In C. conspicua the head has dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument, second dorsal elytral macula rectangular and distinctly surpassing lateral carina, and the elytral apex is rounded. Additionally, examination of photograph of the syntype male of C. conspicua shows that the tuft of setae on antennomeres V–VI is distinctly shorter than in the new species. According to Gahan (1892) the pale yellow pubescence on abdominal ventrites of the syntypes are different: covering sides of ventrites I–II in male; covering ventrites I–III and forming spot on each side of ventrites IV–V in female. This suggests that the abdominal pubescence is variable and thus, we are not using it as a differential feature.

Chemsak (1972) revised the genus Cirrhicera Thomson, 1857 , confirmed the shape of the elytral apex of C. conspicua (curiously a feature not recorded in the original description), and provided a key to known species of the genus. Cirrhicera veilleuxi can be included in the alternative of couplet “3” from Chemsak (1972):

3(2). Elytra with pubescent fasciae extending over most of surface................................................... 4 – Elytra with dense pubescence forming two large maculae dorsally.............................................. 3’ 3’(3). Head with dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument; elytral apex rounded. Mexico (Guerrero)..... C. conspicua – Head without dense pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument; elytral apex obliquely truncate. Mexico (Veracruz)......

..................................................................................... C. veilleuxi sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. 1 – 4, Cirrhicera veilleuxi, holotype female: 1, dorsal habitus; 2, ventral habitus; 3, lateral habitus; 4, head, frontal view. 5 – 7, Anisopodus acutus, male: 5, head, frontal view; 6, dorsal habitus; 7, ventral habitus.