Anoplophora siderea Bi, Chen & N. Ohbayashi, 2020

Bi, Wen-Xuan, Chen, Chang-Chin & Ohbayashi, Nobuo, 2020, Notes on the poorly known Anoplophora species, with description of one new species from South China (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae), Zootaxa 4853 (2), pp. 265-274 : 267-268

Anoplophora siderea Bi, Chen & N. Ohbayashi , sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–3 , 10 )

Type material. Holotype: male, “ CHINA. Guangxi, Xingan / Jinshixiang / 1,230m 2017.VII.15 / leg. Yan-Quan Lu ” ( SNUC) . Paratypes: 1 male, same data as holotype ( CCCC) ; 1 male, ditto except 1,229 m, 2016.VI.18 ( CCCC) ; 1 male, ditto except 2016.VII.6 ( CCCC) ; 1 male, ditto except 2016.VII.7 ( CCCC) ; 1 male, Guangxi, Jianghuan, Jiuwanshan , 980 m, 2015.VIII.5, leg. Y.-Q. Lu ( CCCC) ; 1 male, Guangxi, Jinxiu, Dayaoshan , 1,300 m, 2016.VII.8, leg. J.-T. Zhao ( CCCC) ; 1 male, ditto except 1,370 m, 2017.VII.25 ( CCCC) ; 1 female, Guangdong, Shaoguan, Ruyuan, Nanling , 2008.VII, leg. Lei Gao ( CCCC) .

Description. Male ( Figs. 1, 2 ). Body length 25.0–30.0 mm, humeral width 9.4–11.3 mm. Integument of body and appendages blackish, elytra blackish with weak bluish green sheen.

Head with mandibles, frons, genae and vertex very sparsely covered with pale to bluish short appressed pubescence; temples densely covered with pale pubescence. Antennae with scape and pedicel covered with pale bluish pubescence though relatively sparse on scape; remaining antennomeres annulated by same kind of pubescence at each extreme apex and base; the annulation becoming broader apically and apical 4 antennomeres almost fully covered by the pubescence especially on dorsal surface. Pronotum mostly glabrous, very sparsely covered with pale to bluish pubescence near lateral margins. Scutellum moderately clothed with bluish pubescence. Elytra mostly glabrous; each elytron provided with several small maculae of whitish to bluish pubescence which are roughly arranged in 4–5 transverse rows and intermixing additional ones along suture, and a relatively large incomplete oval spot along apical margin. Ventral surface predominantly covered with fine pale pubescence, except for posterior angle of metaventrite, sides of abdominal ventrite I–V with bluish pubescence forming bright maculae (sometimes very vague). Legs mostly covered with pale short pubescence, and provided with bluish pubescence on basal half of meso- and metatibiae, and dorsum of tarsi.

Body elongated oval in general proportion. Head slightly narrower than pronotal base; lower eye lobe 1.4 times as long as gena; labrum about 1.4 times as wide as long with emarginated apical margin; frons slightly wider than height, with a fine median groove extending from anterior margin to occiput; vertex moderately concave with developed antennal insertions. Antennae moderately long and slender, ca. 1.8–1.9 times as long as body length, with apical 5 antennomeres surpassing elytral apices; scape feebly thickened from middle to apex, with distinct cicatrix; antennomere III 2 times as long as scape, 1.2 times as long as IV, 1.4 times as long as V; relative lengths of antennomeres as follows: 5.0: 1.0: 10.0: 8.1: 7.0: 6.7: 6.6: 6.2: 5.8: 5.4: 7.3.

Pronotum glabrous, 0.8 times as long as the basal width, lateral spine conical with subacute apex, directed laterally, disk with median callus moderately developed, with a few umbilicated granules and rugosities at sides. Scutellum broadly rounded posteriorly. Prosternum with procoxal cavities closed posteriorly. Mesoventral process provided with a developed median tubercle.

Elytra elongate, ca. 1.7 times as wide as pronotal base, 1.9 times as long as the humeral width, distinctly widest across humeri, then gradually convergent toward conjointly rounded apices; disk provided with granules of variable size (ca 35 to 45 for each elytron) at base area to humeri; remaining surface smooth with very indistinct microreticulations and sparse fine punctures which are lacking any hairs or setae. Legs moderately long and stout, metafemora hardly extending ventrite IV.

Endophallus in everted condition ( Fig. 10 ) moderately long, about 3.4 times as long as median lobe; relative lengths of APH: MPH: BPH: PB: CT: MT = 1.0: 2.1: 0.5: 0.6: 0.4: 1.2.

BPH with crescent-shaped sclerites (cs) on the apicalmost. MPH strongly curved dorsally near middle; subdivided into MT, CT and PB by constrictions; MT cylindrical, weakly expanded apically; CT with basal-lateral swellings and ventral surface covered with minute spicules; PB with anterior bulb strongly developed. APH clearly divided into apical bulb (ab) and apical bubble (bb). Apical bulb barrel-shaped, ca. 1.6 times as long as maximum width, slightly swollen near basal third, moderately sclerotized; surface with microspinules irregular, not forming transverse rows, which are getting denser apically. Apical bubble provided with a pair of apical rod-like sclerite which is about half of its length, ca. 2.5 times as long as maximum width in dorsal view ( Fig. 10a ).

Female ( Fig. 3 ). Body length 36.5 mm, humeral width 12.8 mm. Almost identical to male in general appearance. Antennae ca. 1.5 times of body length, with base and apices of antennomeres III-XI evenly annulated by pale blue pubescence. Elytra with pubescent maculae more evenly scattered, hardly arranged in transverse rows. Ventral surface with bright pubescent maculae more distinct. Legs relatively slenderer and shorter.

Etymology. From the Latin sîdereus, meaning starry, referring to the elytral appearance.

Distribution. China: Guangxi (Huanjiang County; Jinxiu County), Guangdong (Ruyuan County).

Remarks. This new species similar to Anoplophora elegans (Gahan, 1888) , A. chiangi Hua & Zhang, 1991 , A. imitator (White, 1855) , and A. similis by the distinctive antennal banding, but can be readily separated from A. elegans and A. imitator due to the numerous granules at the elytral base (instead of with a few or absent). Also, A. siderea differs from A. similis by the pronotum lacking a pubescent macula, and also by lacking long erect hairs or setae arising from punctures. It is most similar to A. chiangi with regard to the overall form of the endophallic structures (Bi & N. Ohbayashi 2015, Fig. 11 ), but it is distinguishable by bright pubescent maculae on temples, elytra, metaventrite and abdominal ventrites instead of being glabrous; elytra with bluish green sheen instead of nearly blackish, surface smooth, with microreticulation almost imperceptible instead of pronounced.

The arrangement of the elytral maculae of this new species is variable from roughly in 4–5 transverse rows to nearly evenly scattered and hardly arranged in rows. The former is found in the population of western area of their distributional range, e.g. Xing’an County ( Fig. 1 ) or Jinxiu County ( Fig. 2 ) of Guangxi Province. The latter is found in one female from Ruyuan County of Gaungdong Province ( Fig. 3 ), the easternmost locality of this species. These differences of elytral maculae are merely considered as intraspecific variation in this study.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Habitus of Anoplophora spp. 1–3, Anoplophora siderea Bi, Chen & N. Ohbayashi, sp. nov.; 4, A. chiangi Hua & Zhang, 1991; 5, A similis (Gahan, 1900); 6, A. ankangensis (Chiang, 1981). 1, from Xingan County, Guangxi; 2, from Jinxiu County, Guangxi; 3, from Ruyuan County, Guangdong. 1, 2, 4–6, Male; 3, female.

FIGURES 10–15. Endophallus of Anoplophora spp. 10, Anoplophora siderea Bi, Chen & Ohbayashi, sp. nov. (a: the rod-like sclerite of apical bulb, dorsal view); 11, A. similis (Gahan, 1900); 12, A. ankangensis (Chiang, 1981); 13, A. cheni Bi & N. Ohbayashi, 2015; 14, A. multimaculata (Xie & Wang, 2015); 15, A. flavomaculata (Gressitt, 1935).