Phrynidius zacapensis Noguera, Anderson & Santos-Silva, 2025

Noguera, Felipe A., Anderson, Robert & Santos-Silva, Antonio, 2025, Synopsis of Phrynidius Lacordaire (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae, Apomecynini): description of new species, new records, checklist and updated key to species, Zootaxa 5686 (3), pp. 301-338 : 322-323

Phrynidius zacapensis Noguera, Anderson & Santos-Silva , sp. nov.

( Figs 60–68 )

Description. Female holotype. Integument mostly black; palpomeres reddish brown except slightly yellowish apices of segments; anteclypeus mostly brownish; anterior quarter of labrum dark brown; pedicel and antennomeres III–XI dark brown, gradually, slightly lighter toward XI, especially depending on light intensity; tarsi mostly dark reddish brown, slightly lighter toward tarsomere V.

Dimensions in mm (Female holotype). Total length, 6.15; prothoracic length, 1.80; anterior prothoracic width, 1.50; posterior prothoracic width, 1.60; maximum prothoracic width, 1.90; humeral width, 1.90; elytral length, 3.80.

Head. Frons convex, abundantly, deeply, coarsely punctate; with moderately abundant light yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument; with short, squamiform, arched whitish setae interspersed; with short, erect, slender brownish setae interspersed, slightly distinct depending on the angle of the light source. Vertex moderately sparsely, deeply, coarsely punctate, punctures slightly finer than on frons; with abundant light yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument; with short, erect, slender brownish setae interspersed, slightly distinct depending on the angle of the light source; with a few short, squamiform, arched whitish setae interspersed. Median groove almost indistinct. Antennal tubercles not close to each other ( Fig. 60 ); with moderately abundant light yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument, except glabrous apex; with abundant, slender, short, erect brownish setae interspersed; with a few short, squamiform, arched whitish setae interspersed. Area behind eyes abundantly, coarsely punctate close to eye, smooth close to prothorax; with moderately abundant light yellowish-brown pubescence no obscuring integument on punctate area, glabrous on smooth area. Genae 2.1 times longer than lower eye lobe; sparsely, deeply, coarsely punctate; with moderately abundant light yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument except glabrous apex; with short, squamiform, arched whitish setae interspersed. Wide central area of postclypeus with pubescence and setae as on frons close to it, pubescence slightly sparser, finer and yellowish-white close to anteclypeus; with short, squamiform, arched, both yellowish-brown and whitish setae interspersed close to frons; with long, erect yellowish-brown setae interspersed close to anteclypeus. Sides of postclypeus glabrous. Labrum almost smooth close to anteclypeus, abundantly, finely punctate on remaining surface; with coarse punctures interspersed on transverse central region; with sparse, decumbent whitish setae posteriorly, and long, erect yellowish-brown setae on remaining surface, erect setae gradually denser toward anterior margin; anterior margin with fringe of dense yellowish-brown setae. Distance between upper eye lobes 0.44 times distance between outer margins of eyes; in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 0.82 times distance between outer margins of eyes; upper eye lobe slightly oblique in relation to the axis of lower eye lobe; eye lobes well separated, area between eye lobes without ommatidia ( Fig. 68 ). Antennae 1.1 times elytral length, almost reaching middle of elytra. Scape slightly, gradually widened on basal third, subcylindrical on remaining surface; with abundant pale yellowish-brown pubescence partially obscuring integument, except apex of dorsal surface with sparser yellowish-white pubescence; dorsal surface with abundant, somewhat thick, arched dark-brown setae interspersed; with short, squamiform, arched whitish setae interspersed throughout, more abundant dorsally. Pedicel with sparse yellowish-white pubescence on base of dorsal surface, glabrous on remaining basal area; with dense whitish pubescence on remaining surface. Antennomere III with abundant pale yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument, except dense whitish pubescence on apex; with abundant, somewhat thick, arched dark-brown setae interspersed; with short, squamiform, arched whitish setae interspersed throughout, more abundant dorsally. Antennomere IV without depressed and flattened area on apex of dorsal surface ( Fig. 65 ); with abundant pale yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument on basal 4/5, and moderately abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument on apical fifth; basal 4/5 with sparse, both squamiform, arched whitish setae and slender, arched dark-brown setae interspersed. Antennomeres V–VII with abundant pale yellowish-brown pubescence on basal half and abundant yellowish-white pubescence on apical half; with short, erect yellowish-white setae interspersed, more abundant ventrally. Antennomeres VIII–XI mostly with abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument, pubescence denser toward XI; with short, erect yellowish-white setae interspersed. Antennal formula (ratio) based on length of antennomere III: scape = 0.85; pedicel = 0.19; IV = 0.62; V = 0.28; VI = 0.26; VII = 0.24; VIII = 0.24; IX = 0.24; X = 0.24; XI = 0.28.

Thorax. Prothorax about as long as wide; sides rounded, slightly less so close to posterolateral angles. Pronotum without tubercles; moderately abundantly, coarsely punctate, with the general surface irregular; with abundant light yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument, with short, decumbent whitish setae interspersed, except longitudinal, moderately narrow whitish pubescence band close to anterior and posterior margins, posterior band denser and longer; with a few short, squamiform, arched whitish setae interspersed, denser on whitish anterior band. Sides of prothorax with sculpturing, pubescence, and setae as on pronotum, without whitish pubescent bands. Prosternum sparsely, coarsely punctate, punctures shallower toward central region; with moderately abundant pale yellowish-brown pubescence laterally, and sparse whitish pubescence on remaining surface, whitish pubescence gradually sparser toward central region. Prosternal process abundantly, coarsely punctate; with sparse, bristly yellowish-white pubescence; narrowest area 0.22 times procoxal width. Mesoventrite with very sparse whitish pubescence centrally and abundant pale yellowish-brown pubescence partially obscuring integument laterally. Mesanepisterna sparsely, coarsely punctate; with abundant pale yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument and slender, whitish setae interspersed. Mesepimera, metanepisterna, and sides of metaventrite with sparse pale yellowish-brown pubescence and slender whitish setae interspersed; remaining surface of metaventrite with abundant whitish pubescence not obscuring integument, whitish pubescence denser close to mesocoxal cavities. Mesoventral process sparsely, coarsely punctate; with sparse whitish pubescence; apex 0.31 times mesocoxal width. Scutellum with its exposed region subtriangular ( Fig. 64 ), with base of this area about 3.0 times its length; with dense whitish pubescence except glabrous anterolateral areas. Elytra. Ovoid, with epipleural margin slightly inclined on posterior third; with sparse, slightly elevated, not aligned tubercles with blunt apex, tubercles slightly more elevated between middle and posterior third; abundantly, coarsely, deeply punctate; with abundant pale yellowish-brown pubescence obscuring integument on some areas, especially on posterior quarter, sparser or absent on others; with a few short, squamiform, arched whitish setae interspersed. Legs. Femora slightly concave near apex of ventral surface; with dense pale yellowish-brown pubescence and short, squamiform, arched whitish setae interspersed. Tibiae with dense pale yellowish-brown pubescence, except apex with sparser whitish pubescence dorsally and laterally, this area larger on metatibiae, dense, bristly yellowish-brown pubescence on ventral quarter of protibiae, abundant yellowish-brown pubescence on apical sixth of meso- and metatibiae, and dense pale-yellow setae on dorsal sulcus of mesotibiae; with both short, squamiform, arched whitish setae and short, slender, arched dark brown setae interspersed on pale yellowish-brown pubescence. Dorsal surface of tarsomeres with abundant whitish pubescence not obscuring integument, except glabrous central region of tarsomeres I–II; central apex of tarsomeres I–II with a few short whitish setae directed backward.

Abdomen. Ventrites 1–4 with moderately sparse whitish pubescence, denser on sides of intercoxal process; ventrite 5 with moderately abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument, longer on apical half, and short, moderately thick whitish setae interspersed, especially on basal half.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology. The epithet “ zacapensis ” refers to the name of the Guatemalan department where the type locality of this species is located.

Type material. Female holotype from GUATEMALA, Zacapa: Sierra de Las Minas, “El Naranjo,” S slope below San Lorenzo Mine , 15.07329 -89.68481, 1600–1700 m, oak forest, 21–24.V.2010, P. Skelley, G. Steck & B. Sutton leg. ( FSCA) .

Remarks. Phrynidius zacapensis is similar to P. wibmeri and P. hondureno but differs from both by the pronotum without tubercles or gibbosities (present in these two species). It is also somewhat similar to P. echinus (see photographs on Bezark (2025) and in Noguera & Santos-Silva (2023)), but differs as follows: antennae not reaching middle of elytra; antennae stouter; scape and antennomere III shorter; narrowest area of prosternal process is narrower, about 0.2 times procoxal width; and pronotum without tubercles or elevated areas. In females of P. echinus , the antennae distinctly surpass the middle of the elytra and are slender, scape and antennomere III are distinctly longer, narrowest area of the prosternal process wider, about 0.3 times the procoxal width, and the pronotum has elevated areas. The new species differs from P. inaequalis by the antennal tubercles not close to each other (close in P. inaequalis ) and by antennomere III longer than the scape (distinctly shorter in P. inaequalis ).

Figures

FIGURES 60–68. Phrynidius zacapensis, holotype female: 60) Dorsal habitus; 61) Ventral habitus; 62) Lateral habitus; 63) Latero-oblique habitus; 64) Scutellum; 65) Antennomere IV; 66) Apex of protibia; 67) Head, frontal view; 68) Eye lobes.