Rashelapso, Clarke & Martins & Santos-Silva, 2012

Clarke, Robin O. S., Martins, Ubirajara R. & Santos-Silva, Antonio, 2012, Contribution Towards The Knowledge Of Rhinotragini (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae). V. Reconsideration Of Rhopalessa Rubroscutellaris (Tippmann, 1960), Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 52 (22), pp. 255-259 : 255-259

Rashelapso gen. nov.

Rhopalessa , grupo rubroscutellaris Clarke et al., 2011:327 .

Etymology: Anagram of the genus-group name Rhopalessa . Masculine gender.

Type species: Rashelapso schmidi sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Rashelapso gen. nov. differs from Rhopalessa Bates, 1873 , by the characters separating the rubroscutellaris and clavicornis groups in the introduction.

Description: Small species, around 7 mm in length. Integument metallic or almost so, more strongly on elytra.

Male – Head not elongated behind eyes (posterior edge of eyes near the anterior edge of prothorax); rostrum (between the apex of inferior ocular lobe and genal apex) short (at most, about one third the length of inferior ocular lobe in frontal view). Eyes large, distinctly emarginated. Inferior lobes of eyes almost contiguous. Antennae longer than elytra; basal antennomeres filiform, distal ones gradually enlarged to form a not well delimited club.

Prothorax subcylindrical and elongate; wider at base than apex; sides somewhat widened at middle, but not tuberculate. Pronotal punctures alveolate. Procoxal cavities closed or slightly open. Prosternal process strongly narrowed mesally, truncated and inclined towards dorsad. Mesosternal process not abrupt at base; width ca. two-thirds width of mesocoxal cavity. Humeri hiding mesepisterna when viewed dorsally. Metasternum somewhat tumid adjacent to metacoxae. Metepisterna narrow and subrectangular (base not widened and apex slightly acuminate).

Scutellum pubescent, moderately elongate. Elytra long, reaching middle of urosternite V; slightly narrowed towards apex; disc almost flat (except adjacent to scutellum, where it is slightly elevated); without vitreous or translucent areas; surface coarsely, very densely punctate; humero-apical costae very distinct from humerus to near apex; apical fourth of elytra distinctly inclined laterally; elytral apex narrow and inclined downwards.

Pro- and mesocoxae without spicule. Femora clavate; peduncle of profemora relatively long, and long in mesofemora; apex of metafemora passing elytral apex. Metatibiae without brush of hairs. Metatarsomere I slender, slightly longer than II+III.

Abdomen narrow, cylindrical, elongated; apex not curved downwards; lateral margins subparallel between urosternites I-IV. Abdominal process moderately inclined. Urosternite V centrally flat, not laterally elevated.

Female – inferior lobes of eyes much further apart than in males; abdomen proportionally longer; abdominal process almost planar with surface of urosternite I.

Species included: Rashelapso durantoni (Peñaherrera-Leiva & Tavakilian, 2004) ; R. schmidi sp. nov.