Spalacopsis copei, Santos-Silva & Bezark & Botero, 2025

Santos-Silva, Antonio, Bezark, Larry G. & Botero, Juan Pablo, 2025, The Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) from the James Cope collection: New species, synonymy, and taxonomical and geographical notes, Zootaxa 5723 (3), pp. 384-400 : 390-392

Spalacopsis copei sp. nov.

( Figs 14–17 )

Description. Female holotype. Head capsule dark brown; ventral mouthparts orangish brown; anteclypeus dark brown close to postclypeus, reddish brown on remaining surface; labrum dark reddish brown close to anteclypeus, dark orangish brown on remaining surface; antennae dark brown, more dark reddish brown on some areas depending on light intensity. Prothorax dark brown, slightly lighter on longitudinal band on each side of center of pronotum and ventrally on postcoxal processes. Ventral surface of meso- and metathorax dark reddish brown with irregular dark-brown areas, reddish brown area less distinct depending on light intensity. Scutellum dark brown. Elytra reddish brown with irregular dark-brown maculae and longitudinal bands dorsally and most dark brown on anterior quarter of epipleuron. Femora reddish brown with irregular dark-brown areas. Tibiae dark brown basally and apically, reddish brown on remaining surface. Tarsi reddish brown with irregular dark-brown areas. Abdominal ventrites dark reddish brown with irregular dark-brown areas.

Head. Frons somewhat abundantly, finely punctate; with abundant white pubescence partially obscuring integument, except glabrous median groove, dense light yellowish-brown pubescence close to eyes, and light yellowish-brown pubescence interspersed laterally and superiorly; with one long, erect dark-brown seta close to eyes. Area between antennal tubercles with dense white pubescence. Antennal tubercles with abundant, both white and light yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument. Vertex with three dense, longitudinal, both white and light yellowish-brown pubescent bands, one on each side, another centrally; remaining surface with moderately abundant dark yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument, sparser toward prothorax, with short, decumbent white setae interspersed.Area close outer margin of lateral longitudinal pubescent bands mostly glabrous. Area behind eyes with abundant yellowish-brown pubescence close to prothorax, sparser close to eye, with short, decumbent white setae interspersed.Genae with abundant, both white and light yellowish-brown pubescence partially obscuring integument, except subglabrous apex. Wide central area of postclypeus with abundant white pubescence not obscuring integument, pubescence slightly denser laterally. Sides of postclypeus mostly glabrous. Labrum with moderately sparse whitish pubescence close to anteclypeus, abundant, thick yellowish-brown pubescence close to anterior margin, mostly glabrous on remaining surface; with long, erect, thick yellowish-brown setae interspersed on posterior half and laterally. Eyes elliptical; center of transverse axis as long as greatest diameter of scape; center of longitudinal axis about 1.5 times greatest diameter of scape. Antennae, from base of scape to apex of antennomere VIII 1.3 times elytral length (right antenna missing most of antennomere IX and antennomeres X–XI; left antenna missing antennomeres VII–XI), almost reaching elytral apex. Scape, pedicel and flagellomeres with abundant, both white and yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument, yellowish-brown pubescence distinctly sparser dorsally and white pubescence distinctly sparser ventrally on flagellomeres; pedicel with a few long, erect dark-brown setae, slightly longer than diameter of segment; antennomeres III–VIII with very long, erect dark-brown setae ventrally, much longer than diameter of antennomeres, and one long, erect dark-brown seta near apex of outer surface of each antennomere; III–VIII with moderately short, erect yellowish-white setae interspersed throughout. Antennal formula (ratio) based on length of antennomere III: scape = 1.68; pedicel = 0.23; IV = 0.77; V = 0.60; VI = 0.56; VII = 0.53; VIII = 0.48.

Thorax. Prothorax distinctly wider than long; anterior constriction distinct; parallel-sided, slightly widened posteriorly. Pronotum somewhat abundantly, coarsely punctate; sides with dense, both white and light yellowish-brown pubescence; center with longitudinal pubescent band, from anterior to posterior margins, pubescence most white anteriorly and posteriorly and both white and light yellowish-brown on wide central region, except glabrous narrow central area; remaining surface with moderately abundant yellowish-brown pubescence distinctly not obscuring integument, with short, decumbent white setae interspersed. Sides of prothorax abundantly, coarsely punctate; with abundant yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument, with moderately short, decumbent white setae interspersed, white setae distinctly more abundant toward ventral surface. Ventral surface of prothorax with dense white pubescence, except glabrous central region of prosternum. Narrowest area of prosternal process 0.21 times procoxal width. Mesoventrite with abundant white pubescence not obscuring integument anterocentrally, subglabrous laterally close to mesanepisterna, and abundant, both yellowish-brown and white pubescence not obscuring integument on remaining lateral surface. Mesanepisterna and mesepimera with dense yellowish-brown pubescence and short, decumbent white setae interspersed. Mesoventral process with dense white pubescence; apex 0.44 times mesocoxal width. Ventral surface of metathorax with moderately dense, both yellowish-brown and white pubescence; pubescence predominantly white and slightly sparser centrally on metaventrite. Scutellum with dense yellowish-white pubescence. Elytra. Not fused along suture; parallel-sided; apex rounded; with longitudinal, moderately wide and slightly elevated carina with rounded apex, from near base to near apex of dorsal surface; abundantly, coarsely punctate. Pubescence mostly white and yellowish-white, forming longitudinal band close to suture, extending from scutellum to apex; longitudinal band dorsally, located between suture and longitudinal carina on anterior fifth; irregular, fragmented longitudinal band on longitudinal carina; irregular maculae connecting longitudinal bands close to suture and on carina around middle; throughout on epipleuron, not obscuring integument; and entire outer side of apex. Remaining dorsal surface with sparse yellowish-brown or whitish pubescence; entire surface with sparse, decumbent, thick white setae interspersed. Membranous wings. Present, not reduced. Legs. Base of femora with abundant white pubescence not obscuring integument; remaining surface with moderately abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument and somewhat abundant, short, decumbent, thick white setae interspersed. Protibiae with abundant white pubescence not obscuring integument, with sparse light yellowish-brown pubescence interspersed, white pubescence distinctly thicker, except ventral surface with abundant, short, erect dark-brown setae. Mesotibiae with abundant white pubescence not obscuring integument, with sparse light yellowish-brown pubescence interspersed, white pubescence distinctly thicker, except dorsal sulcus with short, erect, thick dark-brown setae, and ventral surface with abundant, bristly light yellowish-brown pubescence and long, erect dark-brown setae interspersed. Metatibiae with somewhat sparse white pubescence, with sparse light yellowish-brown pubescence interspersed, white pubescence distinctly thicker, except abundant, bristly, both whitish and light yellowish-brown pubescence ventrally. Dorsal surface of tarsomeres I–III with abundant, thick white pubescence not obscuring integument, sparser on apical region of III; dorsal surface of IV–V with moderately sparse, fine, both whitish and yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument.

Abdomen. Ventrites with abundant, both white and light yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument, pubescence denser on center of posterior quarter of ventrite 1, posterior third of 2, and posterior half of 3, forming longitudinal pubescent band centrally on ventrites 4–5, and denser on posterior region of sides of ventrites 2–5; with a few long, erect dark-brown setae interspersed on all ventrites. Posterior margin of ventrite 5 subtruncate.

Dimensions in mm. Total length, 9.40; prothoracic length, 1.40; anterior prothoracic width, 0.95; posterior and maximum prothoracic width, 1.00; humeral width, 1.35; elytral length, 6.70.

Type material. Female holotype from MEXICO, Quintana Roo: 3 km N Playa del Carmen, Vic. of Mangrove area, 14-20. VI .2011, no collector indicated ( CSCA).

Etymology. The species is dedicated to the late James Cope.

Remarks. Spalacopsis copei sp. nov. belongs to the group of species with the elytra parallel-sided and the elytral suture not fused.

This species differs from Spalacopsis filum filum (Klug, 1929) (see photographs on Bezark 2025 and in Devesa et al. 2019) and S. f. costulata Casey, 1913 (see photographs on Bezark 2015 and in Lingafelter et al. 2014) as follows: prothorax proportionally stouter, about 1.35 times longer than the maximum width; longitudinal pubescent band on center of pronotum less dense; and the elytral apex rounded and not depressed internally. In S. f. filum and S. f. costulata , the prothorax is proportionally more slender, at least 1.45 times longer than the maximum width, the longitudinal pubescent band on the center of the pronotum is very dense, and the elytral apex is obliquely truncate and depressed internally. It differs from S. f. brevialatum Tyson, 1973 (see photographs on Bezark 2025 and illustrations in Tyson 1973), by the same features as in the other subspecies and by the membranous wings not reduced (reduced in S. f. brevialatum). The new species differs from S. fusca (see photographs on Bezark 2025) and S. similis (see photographs on Bezark 2025) by the body proportionally shorter and stouter (distinctly longer and more slender in S. fusca and S. similis ); and from S. protensa (see photographs on Bezark 2025) by the elytral apex rounded (uniformly acute in S. protensa ).

Figures

FIGURES 14–17. Spalacopsis copei sp. nov., female holotype: 14) Dorsal habitus; 15) Ventral habitus; 16) Lateral habitus; 17) Head, frontal view.