Stenaspis lingafelteri Eya, 2021

Eya, Bryan K., 2021, Recharacterization of Stenaspis Audinet-Serville, 1834 with a new species from Mexico (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Trachyderini), Insecta Mundi 2021 (851), pp. 1-36 : 16-18

Stenaspis lingafelteri Eya , new species

( Fig. 84–90 )

Description. Male: Length 24 mm. Form moderately sized, glabrate; integument reddish-brown to piceous black; head, pronotum and appendages partly reddish-brown to testaceous; abdomen testaceous; scutellum black; elytra testaceous with margins narrowly black, around scutellum, near base, humerus, and basal fourfifths of epipleural margin darker with metallic bluish to greenish-yellow sheen, and apical third of disc adjacent to sutural margin with faint metallic greenish-yellow sheen. Head with vertex and frons irregularly punctate; mandibles with apices acute; genae irregularly punctate; sparsely covered with appressed pubescence; antennal tubercles horizontal, vaguely elevated, apices angulated; antennae exceeding elytral apices by about three antennomeres, scape conical, coarsely separately to irregularly punctate with very short, depressed hair arising from each puncture; apices of antennomeres III–VII darker, slightly enlarged and expanded; antennomeres from III laterally carinate with poriferous area on either side of carina with very short appressed pubescence; dorsum of antennomeres III–VI glabrate, finely, sparsely, irregularly punctate, punctures denser near apices, antennomeres from VII densely clothed with short appressed pubescence; antennomere III longer than I, IV shorter than III, V longer than IV and subequal to III, VI longer than V, VII subequal to VI, VIII shorter than VII, IX and X subequal to VII, XI longest, appendiculate at apical two-fifths. Pronotum 1.4 times as broad as long, rounded at sides; anterior angles inflated, broadly rounded; disc with dorsal calli absent, basal three-quarters with flattened area in middle, surface coarsely, irregularly punctate, very sparsely pubescent; proepisternum inflated, finely, densely punctate, sparsely pubescent, and demarcated from prosternum and coarsely punctate pronotal disc; prosternum transversely rugose with finely, densely punctate transverse subrectangular impressed area on each side of middle, surface moderately clothed with suberect pubescence; prosternal intercoxal process sparsely, irregularly punctate; mesosternum densely, minutely punctate in middle, densely pubescent with appressed hairs; mesosternum intercoxal process finely punctate, sparsely pubescent with appressed hairs; metasternum glabrate, sparsely punctate, and sparsely pubescent with long, whitish, suberect hairs, sides densely clothed with appressed whitish hairs; metepisternum finely, densely punctate, densely pubescent with whitish, depressed hairs. Elytra about 2.3 times longer than broad, distinctly margined laterally and along sutural margin; disc finely, rather densely punctate around scutellum, near base and humerus, along epipleural margin and apical half, remainder of the disc in middle finely, densely, shallowly punctate, very short, suberect, whitish hair arising from each puncture. Legs with femora slightly clavate, sparsely clothed with short, depressed pubescence, basal half glabrate, sparsely covered with large, very shallow punctures, apical half more densely punctate; tibiae slender, surface rugulose, densely covered with large, very shallow punctures, internally with a row of short, depressed bristles. Abdomen glabrate, finely, shallowly and rather sparsely punctate in middle with suberect, whitish pubescence, sides more finely, densely punctate, densely pubescent with appressed short, whitish hairs; fifth sternite truncate, broadly, shallowly emarginate at apex.

Female: Unknown.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Dr. Steven W. Lingafelter of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, Plant Protection and Quarantine, United State Department of Agriculture (APHIS-PPQ-USDA) for his long service as a research entomologist specializing in the taxonomy of woodboring beetles at the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, and as an entomologist and identification specialist at Douglas, Arizona. This author appreciates his invaluable review and comments provided for several articles published prior to this manuscript.

Type material. Holotype, male, MEXICO: Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez , 20 Sept. 1949, C. Bolivar ( EMEC) deposited in EMEC.

Discussion. Stenaspis lingafelteri new species has characteristics that are found in other Stenaspis species , which include S. castaneipennis , S. solitaria and S. verticalis : (1) head with frons square, perpendicular, abruptly separated from anteocular spaces ( Fig. 86–87 ); (2) proepisternum inflated, finely densely punctate, and clearly demarcated from the coarsely punctate pronotal disc ( Fig. 89 ); (3) pronotum with anterior angles inflated and rounded, disc rather flat in middle, glabrate, dorsal calli vague or absent, coarsely punctate ( Fig. 88 ); (4) prosternal intercoxal process protuberant and ridged between coxae, and vertical behind ( Fig. 89–90 ); (5) mesosternal intercoxal process not protuberant, about level with top of coxae and abruptly declivous in front ( Fig. 85, 90 ); and (6) apices of elytra rounded, unarmed ( Fig. 84 ). The antennae of S. lingafelteri are sparsely, separately punctate and sparsely pubescent with short hairs on the dorsum of the scape and basal two-thirds of antennomeres III–VI, as in males of S. castaneipennis and S. verticalis ( Fig. 59 ). Stenaspis lingafelteri is differentiated from the other males of the above three species by the overall coloration of the pronotal and elytral disc, slightly more elongate pronotum which is evenly rounded at the sides, antennal tubercles that are horizontal or less prominent, and by the shallow, coarsely, rugulosely punctate tibiae and femora. The lateral carina of antennomere III starts from the base in S. lingafelteri compared to S. castaneipennis and S. verticalis , where it starts from the apex of antennomere III or the apical half of antennomere III in S. solitaria . The elytra are more distinctly margined laterally and along the sutural margin in this species.

Figures

Figures 84–90. Dorsal and lateral images S. lingafelteri sp. nov., holotype, male, Chiapas, MEX., 24 mm, and characteristics of head, pronotum and sternum. 84–85) Dorsal and lateral images. 86) Genae large, quadrate, margin of lower eye lobes well separated from mandibles. 86: 86a) Dorsal anterior margin of genae ridged. 87) Frons perpendicular, recessed between “anteocular space” (i.e., between dorsal anterior margins). 88) Pronotum with sides rounded; disc glabrate, coarsely punctate. 89) Proepisternum, inflated, finely, densely punctate, clearly demarcated from coarsely punctate pronotal disc. 90) Gradually sloping and protuberant prosternal intercoxal process, ridged between coxae, and vertical behind; mesoternum with intercoxal process level with top of coxae.

Figures 57–61. Antennae of Stenaspis. 57) S. verticalis, male, Nuevo Leon, MEX. 58) S. castaneipennis, male, Oaxaca, MEX. 59) S. lingafelteri sp. nov., holotype, male, Chiapas, MEX. 60) S. solitaria, male, Cochise Co., AZ, USA. 61) S. superba, holotype, female, Mojos, BOL. 57–59) Antennae bicolored, antennomeres III–V, glabrate, sparsely punctate except apically darker, densely punctate and pubescent. 60) Antennomeres concolorous, densely punctate except basal half of III sparsely punctate. 61) Antennomeres black to brown, scape glabrate, sparsely punctate, scape to antennomere IV sparsely punctate.