Physimerus antennarius, Harold, 1875

Lanuza-Garay, Alfredo, Chirú, Lerida & Farnum-Castro, Francisco, 2023, First Record of Physimerus Antennarius Harold, 1875 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini), a Cerambycid-Like Flea Beetle, from Panama, The Coleopterists Bulletin 77 (2), pp. 203-207 : 205-206

PHYSIMERUS ANTENNARIUS Harold, 1875

SpecImens ExamIned. PANAMA: Colón Province, San Lorenzo Protected Forest, Achiote, Trogon Trail , 9°11′52′′N, 79°58′47′′W, Malaise trap, 7 JanuarY 2016, A. Lanuza-GaraY and A. Santos Murgas (1, CRUC) ; Darién Province, Darién National Park, Rancho Frio Station , 7–16 November 2000, R . Cambra and A. Santos Murgas (1, MIUP). New coUntrY record .

DIagnosIs. Length: 4.8 mm, width: 2.3 mm. BodY oblong-oval, slightlY flattened; head, prothorax, scutellum and elYtra reddish brown, underparts Yellowish brown, clYpeus reddish brown, mouthparts Yellowish brown, antennae and legs dark brown. Integument covered with long Yellowish setae. Antennae long (7.3 mm), dark brown, covered with moderatelY long, erect, thick, dark setae ventrallY. Pronotum elongate, quadrate, slightlY constricted at the base, with transverse sides, basal depression and medial foveae. ElYtra stronglY punctate-striate, humeral calli weaklY raised,denselY pubescent.Coxae Yellowish-brown; base of pro- and mesofemora Yellowish-brown ventrallY, remaining surface dark brown, covered with long graYish-white setae; base of metafemora internallY reddish-brown, remaining surface dark brown; tibiae dark brown, Yellowish-brown ventrallY, metatibiae Yellowish-brown, pro- and mesotarsi dark brown, metatarsi Yellowish-brown, apical segment dark brown. Abdominal ventrites Yellowish-brown (Figs. 1a–c).

DIstrIbUtIon. Physimerus antennarius was originallY described from specimens collected northwest of Bogotá, Colombia ( Harold 1875). Here we extend the known distribution of the species to the central Isthmus of Panama.

ComparIson. While P. antennarius is distinct from other Panamanian species of Physimerus , its longhorn beetle-like appearance is similar to the South American species Physimerus spinosus

FIg. 2. Forest habitat of Physimerus antennarius along Trogon Trail, Colón Province, Panama, 2016 (photo:Alfredo

Lanuza-GaraY).

Bowditch, 1915, from which it differs as follows: integument reddish-brown dorsallY, Yellowish-brown ventrallY,antennae and legs dark brown, antennae longer than bodY, elYtra denselY pubescent, pro- and mesofemora not stronglY curved, and metatibial spur absent. In P. spinosus , the integument is olivaceous green dorsallY and pale Yellow ventrallY including the legs, the antennae are as long as the bodY, the pro- and mesofemora are stronglY curved, and a metatibial spur is present and curved posteriorlY.

This species record is the result of long-term collecting efforts in two secondarY forests in Colón Province from 2015 to 2016 near San Lorenzo Protected Forest and Darién Province, Darién National Park during 2000 aimed at characterizing the richness and abundance of leaf beetles (Lanuza-GaraY et al. 2020, 2022).The lack of previous records for P. antennarius in Panama probablY reflects incomplete collecting in the Isthmus. Little is known about the biologY of species of Physimerus , but recorded host plants belong to the families Onagraceae and Solanaceae (Konstantinov et al. 2018) . The record presented here provides data on the species’ distribution and increases the known Panamanian flea beetle fauna to 71 genera and 249 species ( Furth and Savini 1996; Savini et al. 2008; Savini and Furth 2004).