Thysanomeros, Flowers, R. Wills, 2003

Flowers, R. Wills, 2003, A new genus and a new Costa Rican species of Endocephalites (Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae: Eumolpini), Zootaxa 221, pp. 1-11 : 2-5

Thysanomeros new genus ( Fig. 1 - 18)

Types species. Prionodera jacobyi Lefèvre 1885 :cxc, here designated.

Body elongate oval. Head with clypeus coarsely punctate, punctures separated by distance greater than the diameter of a puncture, surface between punctures smooth, apex of clypeus moderately to deeply emarginate. Frons with scattered deep punctures near eyes, punctures separated by distance greater than the diameter of a puncture; surface between punctures smooth, shining; antennal calli smooth, shining, moderately swollen. Eye oval, deeply emarginate at antennal insertion; ocular sulcus running close to upper margin of eye. Antenna with scape elongate oval, pedicel subglobose, shorter than scape, distinctly shorter than flagellomere 1; flagellum filiform, each flagellomere slightly wider at apex, elongate; antennomeres 3­6 with scattered appressed setae; antennomeres 7­11 densely pubescent; antennomeres 3­10 with whorl of long erect setae at apex; antennomere 11 narrowly spindle­shaped. Mouthparts with apex of labrum emarginate, with 4 ­ 5 dorsal setae and short row of lateral setae along outer margin. Mandibles with outer margin with sharp bend, lateral surface finely punctate and setose, a prominent seta on dorsal surface at angle, apical teeth broad, pointed. Maxillary palpi with apical segment tapered. Prothorax distinctly wider than long, pronotum moderately convex and with posterior margin subequal in length to anterior margin; anterior angles acute, directed anteriorly; posterior angles acute; all angles with a seta­bearing puncture; basal marginal bead present; lateral margin ( Fig. 4, 5 ) narrow to broad, undulate, forming one to three teeth at or behind the mid­point, greatest width of pronotum at or just behind middle; disc with scattered fine to deep punctures at middle, scattered deep punctures laterally, separated by a distance greater than their own diameters; surface between punctures smooth. Undersurface of thorax smooth. Prosternum with long setae, finely punctate, transversely flat between coxae, depressed at posterior margin, with anterior margin excavated for reception of gular area of head; posterior margin of intercoxal process truncate or very shallowly concave. Lateral arms of prosternum excavated for reception of gular area of head with anterior margin reflexed outward and weakly convex, junction with prosternum discontinuous, surface glabrous. Proepimeron weakly concave, surface weakly wrinkled, shiny. Mesosternum subequal in width to prosternum, surface finely punctate, with numerous erect yellow setae. Metasternum flat, swollen anterior to hind coxae, with a median area of dense yellow setae (female with fewer setae); metepisternum gradually narrowed posteriorly, with surface alutaceous. Legs sparsely covered with short prostrate setae; all surfaces smooth. Fore­ and mesotrochanters with several setae at apical angles; metatrochanter densely setose on ventral surface Femora strongly swollen in middle, with erect setae on ventral margin in basal fourth, metafemur ( Fig. 2, 3 ) with numerous setae in basal half (fewer setae in female). Tibiae multicarinate, slightly to moderately sulcate between carinae, with setae increasing in length toward apex of tibiae; protibiae abruptly widened in apical third; middle and hind tibiae widened apically. Tarsi densely and uniformly pilose beneath; basal tarsomere of fore­ and middle legs weakly expanded, distinctly longer than wide ( Fig. 6 ); second tarsomere broadly triangular, with acute apicolateral angles; third tarsomere longer than second, deeply bilobed; terminal tarsomere distinctly surpassing apex of third tarsomere; claws divergent, appendiculate. Elytra densely punctate, punctures forming transverse rugosities laterally, punctures striate on apical declivity. Surface between punctures smooth with scattered small punctulae; humeri prominent, rounded; basal calli weakly developed; postbasal depression shallow. Sides subparallel, convergent; apices moderately declivous, conjointly rounded. Basal margin costate at humeri. Epipleuron narrow, slanted downward, visible in lateral view, tapering evenly from base to apex. Scutellum U­ or V­shaped, width at base subequal to length, surface smooth with a few punctulae.

Abdomen with all segments subequal in length, surfaces smooth, with erect yellow setae on apical half of each segment, or covering the segment; sterna III­VII with a transverse row of long setae at midline. Sternum VII with lateral margins smooth. Pygidium ( Fig. 7 ) lacking longitudinal groove, surface smooth, with long erect setae throughout or on apical half, lateral margins smooth. Male Genitalia: Basal hood of median lobe constricted at point of attachment; median lobe in lateral view strongly curved ( Fig. 8, 10 ); apex of median lobe ( Fig. 9, 12 ) broad, subtruncate with apical point; subbasal fenestra present; basal spurs blunt. Female Genitalia: Segments VIII­XI forming short, broad ovipositor ( Fig. 13, 16, 17 ). Sternum VIII weakly sclerotized with short apodeme; apical margin setaceous; dorsum of segment VIII weakly sclerotized and bearing short and long setae apically. Segment IX with hemisternites broadly sclerotized; paraprocts separated into a pair of slender dorsal rods, apically forming hood­like projection above gential orifice; baculum distinct, apical, subequal to shorter than gonocoxae. Gonocoxae short, broad, straight to curved inward medially, with long setae apically and laterally. Spermatheca ( Fig. 14, 15 ) with receptacle narrower than pump, evenly tapering basally, duct sclerotized and loosely coiled.

Etymology. Thysano, from Greek, meaning brush; meros, from Greek, meaning femur, masculine.

Remarks. This genus can be distinguished from all other Neotropical Eumolpinae by the following combination of characters: 1) pygidium lacking groove; 2) prosternum broadly excavated at anterior margin; 3) lateral arms of prosternum not distinctly convex; 4) subparallel sides of elytra; 5) anterior femur lacking ventral tooth or angulation. Thysanomeros most closely resembles certain species of Endocephalus Chapuis but can be at once recognized by its more elongate shape and its much smaller size.

Figures

FIGURES 2 ­ 7. External characters of Thysanomeros. 2 – 3. Hind femur of male. 2. T. jacobyi. 3. T. ulateae. 4 – 5. Lateral margin of pronotum. 4. T. jacobyi, 5. T. ulateae. 6. Fore tarsi of T. jacobyi: left, male; right, female. 7. Pygidium of T. jacobyi.

FIGURES 8 ­ 12. Male genitalia of Thysanomeros. 8, 10. Median lobe. 8 T. jacobyi, showing endophalus and apical sclerite. 10. T. ulateae. 9, 12. Apex of median lobe. 9. T. jacobyi. 12. T. ulateae. 11. Apical sclerite, T. ulateae.

FIGURES 13 ­ 17. Female characters of Thysanomeros. 13, 16 ­ 17. ovipositors. 13. T. jacobyi, ventral. 16. T. ulateae, ventral. 17. T. ulateae, dorsal. 14 ­ 15. spermatheca. 14. T. jacobyi. 15. T. ulateae.