Ataxia hovorei Lingafelter & Nearns, 2007

Ivie, Michael A. & Spiessberger, Erich L., 2007, Clarification of the Correct Original Spelling of Caecomenimopsis jamaicensis Dajoz (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Diaperinae: Gnathidiini: Anopidiina), The Coleopterists Bulletin 61 (2), pp. 177-191 : 177-191

Ataxia hovorei Lingafelter & Nearns , new species

( Figs. 1h , 2b )

Description. Moderate size, 16–19 mm long; 5 mm wide at humeri; integument dark brown, mostly obscured by mixture of tawny and white pubescence. Head with broad interantennal tubercle region, flat between moderately projecting antennal tubercles. Head (including antennal tubercles) sparsely punctate, mostly covered with appressed tawny pubescence and sparse, erect black hairs on frons and eye margins. Head with narrow, longitudinal line of dense, white pubescence at middle of occiput, sometimes extending between upper eye lobes. Eyes of moderate size, coarsely faceted (about 14 facets at greatest height of lower lobe; 5 facets across greatest width of upper lobe), deeply emarginate at insertion of antenna, lower lobe occupying about one-half of head thickness. Antenna without spines, with vestiture mixture of short, tawny brown and white pubescence, with fringe of longer hairs along mesal and ventral margins, and scattered more sparsely throughout and at apices of antennomeres. Basal onefourth of most antennomeres annulate with white pubescence. Scape with sparse, glabrous punctures and a weak cicatrix. Antennae of both sexes similar in length and form, extending 1–3 antennomeres beyond elytral apices. Pronotum slightly broader than long with three small, blunt tubercles on each side (one at middle, one above and slightly anterior to middle of side, one just behind anterior margin at side) and two small, mostly glabrous, tubercles on disk, one on each side of and anterior to middle. Pronotum with sparse punctures, mostly obscured by vestiture of tawny pubescence. Pronotum with a broken, median longitudinal line of dense, bright white pubescence. This line extending from scutellum almost to center of disk, continuing into line on occiput of head. Prosternum densely covered with tawny and white pubescence. Prosternal process broad between procoxae, strongly expanded at apex, closing procoxal cavities posteriorly. Elytra with dense vestiture of appressed tawny and white pubescence, mostly in narrow, alternating longitudinal rows. Elytral margins and suture with scattered suberect, stiff, black hairs. Punctures sparse, widely separated, mostly in longitudinal rows, more conspicuous at basal half of elytra. Elytral apices strongly truncate, weakly oblique. Scutellum rounded posteriorly, broadly margined with dense, white pubescence, but glabrous at middle and anterior margin. Legs moderate in length, densely covered in tawny and white pubescence; femora clavate. Metatibia of males arcuate along dorsal margin and thickened, approximately as thick as base of metafemur; metatibia of females unmodified, nearly straight, much narrower than base of metafemur. Dorsolateral margin of mesofemur with row of tawny, stiff hairs. Venter densely pubescent throughout, with greater proportion of white hairs than tawny. Mesosternum with broad mesocoxal process without lateral projections into mesocoxae. Fifth sternite of both sexes truncate, broadly impressed at middle of apical third in females.

Etymology. This beautiful species of Ataxia is named after Frank Hovore (1945–2006) with appreciation for his contributions to the study of Cerambycidae . Frank was a tireless colleague with a profound enthusiasm for longhorned beetles. The cerambycid community will miss Frank greatly. The epithet is a noun in apposition.

Discussion. The only species with which this can be confused are Ataxia alboscutellata Fisher 1926 ( Fig. 1i ) and Ataxia spinipennis (Chevrolat 1862) . We have examined the types or type photographs of both species and they are similarly robust and share with A. hovorei the laterally multituberculate pronotum, dorsal color, and scutellum and postmedial pronotum with bright white pubescence. Ataxia alboscutellata and A. spinipennis differ in having bright white pubescence with numerous glabrous spots on the femora and venter (only few, if any glabrous spots are present in A. hovorei , and the pubescence is mottled, not bright white); in having the scape and basal antennomeres with numerous, large, glabrous spots; in lacking a thin, longitudinal line of white pubescence at anterior middle of the pronotum and middle of the occiput (present in A. hovorei ); in having on the elytra, uniformly orange pubescence, interrupted by speckled small white patches instead of vague and narrow alternating longitudinal orange and white lines of pubescence as in A. hovorei ; and in having the outer elytral apices with a spine (truncate in A. hovorei ). Ataxia haitiensis Fisher 1932 , to which this species is only marginally similar, is much smaller and narrower, has a complete median longitudinal line of white pubescence on the pronotum, has the pronotum without lateral tubercles, and has strongly, obliquely truncate elytral apices. Color habitus photographs of the holotypes of A. alboscutellata and A. haitiensis were provided by Lingafelter and Nearns (2004).

Type Material. Holotype, male: ‘‘ Dominican Republic, La Altagracia Province, Punta Cana near Ecological Reserve , 0–5 m, 18 ° 30.477 9 N, 68 ° 22.499 9 W, 2–7 July 2005, S. Lingafelter’ ’ ( USNM) . Paratypes (9): (same data as holotype unless otherwise specified): (1 female, USNM) ; 5 July 2005, beating (1 female, WIBF) ; Barahona Province, 11 km south Barahona, May 6–17, 1985, E. Giesbert, Coll. (2 females, 1 male, EFGC) ; same data except 15–17 May 1985, J. E. Wappes (1 female, JEWC) ; La Altagracia Province, Boca de Yuma , 3–20 m, beating, Nearns & Lingafelter 27 June 2005 (1 female, 1 male, ENPC) ; Peravia, 12 km southeast Rio Ocoa , 9 July 1996, Coll. M. C. Thomas (1 female, FSCA) .

Figures

Fig. 1. a–f. New species of Cerambycidae from Dominican Republic, along with similar taxa: a) Hormathus giesberti Lingafelter & Nearns, male; b) Hormathus bicolor (Zayas), male; c) Hormathus cinctellus Gahan, male; d) H. giesberti Lingafelter & Nearns, female;

Fig. 2 a–d. Photographs of live specimens of new species from Dominican Republic (all photos by Rick Stanley): a, Eburia pseudostigma Lingafelter & Nearns; b, Ataxia hovorei Lingafelter & Nearns; c, Drycothaea indistincta Lingafelter & Nearns; d, Mating pair of Atimiola rickstanleyi Lingafelter & Nearns.