Mimasyngenes venezuelensis Breuning, 1956

Clarke Abstract, Robin O. S., 2007, Synopsis of the Bolivian species of MIMASYNGENES Breuning, 1950 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Desmiphorini) with two new species Robin O. S. Clarke ABSTRACT, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 47 (26), pp. 359-368 : 365-366

Mimasyngenes venezuelensis Breuning, 1956

( Fig. 5)

Redescription: Female. General colour dark chestnut to blackish without metallic reflection, underside chestnut; antennomeres narrowly rufous at base; femora chestnut with dusky claves. General pubescence uniform, sparse, short, grey and recumbent, arranged in rows on elytra; below denser and longer, the hairs straight and white on urosternites; base of antennomeres with ring of white hairs. Setae short, ratio of longest ones to scape 1:2. General puncturation dense and relatively small, larger and strongly sculptured on pronotum and extreme sides of pronotum; sparse on elytra. Elytra strongly reticulate (40x); underside with fine, dense, reticulate punctures, shagreened on urosternites.

Head below and behind inferior lobes strongly tumescent; frons with long, grey, disorderly pubescence, the puncturation rugose, dense and reticulate; eyes large and convex; superior lobes with 5-6 ommatidia/row, separated by more than twice their own width. Antennae long, reaching apex of elytra at middle of antennomere IX; scape (0,80 mm) large and parallel sided; antennomere III (0,75 mm) distinctly shorter than IV (0,90 mm) and protibia (1,1 mm), V-X (0,70- 0,45 mm) steadily decreasing, XI (0,45 mm).

Prothorax strongly transverse, 1,5 times broader than long; front margin wider than basal margin; sides from lateral tubercle to front margin straight and convergent, moderately constricted from tubercle to hind margin; lateral tubercles large and prominent, occupying middle half of sides, outer edge rounded, but notched by three setose, tuberculate punctures, tooth moderately long and straight, almost perpendicular to sides of prothorax, situated just in front of basal third. Pronotum somewhat depressed, sides adjacent to front margin slightly tumid; surface detail almost hidden by dense pubescence but appears to be scabrous or densely micro-tuberculate; pubescence disorderly, with patches of hairs lying in one direction, others another, even crossing each other.

Elytra wide, parallel sided, convex, especially area around scutellum; with nine well defined rows of long pubescence, even the half row is almost entire; and eight rows (including half row) of punctures, the six innermost rows evanescent on apical half, the outer two rows barely traceable to apex.

Femora not enlarged, not strongly pedunculateclavate, peduncles short, 1/5 length of femur, metafemora without apical patch; metatibia not enlarged and without differentiated pubescence; metatarsus about 1/4 shorter than metatibia (1,2 mm).

Urosternite V very long, as long as II-IV, truncate at apex, with a deep transverse depression occupying apical half.

Measurements (mm): 1 female: total length 5,7; width of pronotum 1,6; length of pronotum 1,1; length of elytra 4,1; width at humeri 2,1.

Specimens examined: BOLIVIA, Santa Cruz, Hotel “Flora & Fauna”, 5 km SSE Buena Vista, 17°29’96”S/ 63° 39’13”W, 440 m, 28.X.2004, 1 female, R . Clarke/ S. Zamalloa col., at white light ( RCSZ) .

A male identified as M. venezuelensis by Drs. Martins and Galileo from Brazil (Goiás, Serra do Colinas) in the MZSP collection was compared with the Bolivian female by Dr. Martins and the author, and considered conspecific, even though it shows the following differences from the Bolivian female: general colour pale chestnut, uniform on underside and femora; superior lobes distinctly closer together and separated by 1,5 times their own width; antenna reach apex of elytra at apex of antennomere VIII, antennal formula as female, except X (0,45 mm) is shorter than XI (0,55 mm); prothorax distinctly less transverse, lateral spine much shorter, represented by a triangular tooth; urosternite V as long as IV, truncate at apex, slightly convex and without depressions. The measurements of this male are: total length 5,3; width of pronotum 1,5; length of pronotum 1,2; length of elytra 4,2; width at humeri 1,9.

Discussion: Group 2 species, but shares some characters with group 1. M. venezuelensis (maybe, sensu lato as discussed below) is readily separated from M. multisetosus and M. ytu by the transverse prothorax and its characteristic puncturation, and the weak puncturation of the elytra.

Galileo & Martins (1996:878) state that they had not examined the holotype of M. venezuelensis and referred to Breuning’s description of the species, which can be paraphrased as follows: similar to M. lineatipennis by the rows of pubescence on the elytra; differing by antennomere III slightly shorter than IV, pronotal puncturation sparser, base of femora without contrasting chestnut colour.

The Bolivian female differs from this short description in three respects: the femora are bicoloured, antennomeres III is distinctly shorter than IV, and the pronotum is covered by scabrous puncturation very different to that of M. lineatipennis , and certainly not sparse. Since the pronotal puncturation of the Goiás male is the same as the Bolivian female, the inference is that the Goiás and Bolivian specimens may not be conspecific with M. venezuelensis Breuning.

The presence of M. venezuelensis in Bolivia represents a considerable range extension for this species.