Uracanthus tropicus Lea, 1916

Thongphak, Duangrat & Wang, Qiao, 2007, Taxonomic revision of the longicorn beetle genus Uracanthus Hope 1833 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Uracanthini) from Australia., Zootaxa 1569 (1569), pp. 1-139 : 58-59

Uracanthus tropicus Lea, 1916

(Figs 48, 86, 108)

Uracanthus tropicus Lea, 1916: 376 .— McKeown, 1947: 67.

Description

Male. Body length, 13.99–15.58 mm; width, 2.21–2.58 mm.

Colour (Fig. 48). Head, thorax, antennae, and basal 1/3 elytra reddish brown to blackish brown, and remaining elytra yellowish brown. Body covered with fairly dense pale yellow pubescence. Each elytron usually with a wide submarginal longitudinal glabrous mark starting from shoulder extending to basal 1/3–apical 1/3 of elytra. The submarginal longitudinal glabrous mark on the elytra varies from very clear to almost completely absent.

Head. Postclypeus triangular, convex, smooth, shiny and glabrous; frontoclypeal suture deep and narrow in middle; distance between lower lobes of eyes 1.58–1.76 × as long as distance between upper lobes of eyes; distance between upper lobes of eyes 1.44–1.50 × as long as distance between eyes on ventral side; genal length 0.26–0.34 × as long as head width immediately below eyes. Antennae as long as or slightly longer than body; segments 4–10 thin, subcylindrical in shape, and slightly produced on one side at apex.

Thorax and abdomen. Pronotum 1.25–1.48 × as long as width, rounded at sides; posterior margin 1.10– 1.21 × as wide as anterior margin; pronotal disc without obvious nodulose area in middle; disc and side smooth with feeble transverse rugae near posterior margin. Scutellum semicircular, with dense pubescence. Elytra 3.70–3.89 × as long as prothorax and 4.19–4.53 × as long as shoulder width; basal 1/3 of elytra with fine puncture, diminishing toward apex; apex truncate or slightly marginate with a small tooth at suture and margin, respectively. Apex of terminal sternite rounded or widely truncate.

Male terminalia. Apex of ventral median lobe and apex of dorsal lobe slightly pointed or widely rounded; ventral lobe shorter than dorsal lobe; spined region of internal sac about 3 × as long as terminal unspined area, with dense long simple spines ( Fig. 86a). Eighth sternite rounded or obliquely truncate at sides, shallowly emarginate at apex, with some setae arising terminally; ventral surface with simple spines ( Fig. 86b). Eighth tergite rounded or very weakly emarginate at apex; dorsal surface with fairly dense basally-forked spines on basal-mid area ( Fig. 86c). Paramere 2.8–2.9 × as long as wide, cylindrical in shape, apex rounded with long and short setae ( Fig. 86d).

Female. Body length, 11.11–17.50 mm; width, 2.0– 2.90 mm

Body more robust; antennae shorter than body; elytra 4.23–4.53 × as long as prothorax and 4.06–4.39 ×as long as shoulder width.

Ovipositor and spermatheca. Ovipositor relatively long; styli arising terminally with short hairs ( Fig.

86e). Spermatheca heavily curved, particularly near base; spermathecal gland arising at base ( Fig. 86f).

Distribution Northern and eastern Queensland ( Fig. 108).

Biology Hosts are unknown. Adults were collected during October to December.

Comments

This species resembles U. parallelus but differs in having each elytron with a wide submarginal longitudinal glabrous mark starting from the shoulder and extending to 1/3–2/3 of elytral length; the elytral apex more or less truncate. The label of the holotype states that the specimen is a male but it is in fact a female.

Material examined

Holotype. 1 ♀. Northern Queensland, Coll no. I. 5697, bearing a name label on which ‘TYPE’ was written in red ( SAM).

Other material examined. 4 ♂, 7 ♀. QLD: 2 ♂, 2 ♀, 15 km W of Irvinebank (17°25'S, 145°04'E), 27– 28.xi.1981, J. Balderson ( ANIC) ; 1 ♀, 24 km E by N of Ravenshoe (17°35'S, 145°43'E), 14.xi.1981, J. Balderson ( ANIC) ; 1 ♀, Mossman Gorge National Park (16°28'S, 45°20'E), nr Mossman, 23.xi.1981, J. Balderson ( ANIC) ; 1 ♀, SW of Mount Garnet (18°05'S, 144°40'E), 4.x.1989, Forty Mile Scrub, L. Ring ( UQIC) ; 1 ♀, Brisbane , 14.x.1956, Rirhpateacts ( UQIC) ; 1 ♀, Mt. Abbott (20°06'S, 147°45'E), summit area, 8–10.xii.1996, 750– 1000 m, G. Monteith, D. & I. Cook ( QM) ; 1 ♂, Flinder River , 59 km SW of Normanton, QLD, 1.xii.1981, J. Balderson ( ANIC) ; 1 ♂, 6 km SE of Chillagoe , QLD, 26.xi.1981, J. Balderson ( ANIC) .