Pseudoechthistatus hei Xie & W. Wang, 2019

Wang, Ping, Xie, Guanglin & Wang, Wenkai, 2019, A new species of Pseudoechthistatus Pic, 1917 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae) from Yunnan, China, Zootaxa 4619 (1), pp. 184-188 : 184-187

Pseudoechthistatus hei Xie & W. Wang , sp. nov.

Material examined. Holotype (male), China: Yunnan, Weixi county, Weideng country, 21 July, 2018, coll. by Tianlong He and Chao Zhou . Paratypes: five males and seven females, same data as the holotype. The holotype (male) and one paratype (female) are deposited in the Entomological Museum , Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei, China . Five paratypes (two males and three females) are deposited in the private collection of Tianlong He (Huainan, Anhui); six paratypes (three males and three females) are deposited in the private collection of Chao Zhou (Chengdu, Sichuan) .

Distribution. China: Yunnan.

Description. Male (holotype): Length 18.0–21.0 mm (measured from vertex to elytral apices), width 5.0– 5.7 mm (measured across humeri). Body dark brown to black, clothed with ochraceous to yellow pubescence forming markings. Head, pronotum, basal several antennomeres and underside mixed with grayish-white short pubescence. Yellow pubescence around lower eye lobe denser. Pronotum fringed with dense short gold hairs at anterior and posterior margin, oriented anteriorly and posteriorly respectively; each side of midline decorated with a longitudinal ochraceous stripe, nearly reaching anterior and posterior edge; each side covered with a vague, short longitudinal patch and scattered with several long hairs above and behind each lateral spine. Scutellum mostly glabrous except the edge clothed with dense yellow pubescence. Elytral surface covered with uniform, fine yellow pubescence and decorated with maculae consisted of dense yellow pubescence as following: each elytral base equipped with an annular marking around subbasal tubercle which is opened anteriorly; basal fourth and middle respectively provided with an irregular short transverse band near suture, former band sometimes dispersed into small spots and latter band wider and more obvious, sometimes oblique, basal third also embellished with a distinct transverse spot close to outer margin; apical fourth furnished with a distinct short longitudinal spot; remaining irregularly scattered with spots of different sizes. Legs and underside clothed with grayish-yellow to ochraceous pubescence forming irregular spots.

Body elongate. Head coarsely punctured; frons transverse, with a smooth, longitudinal median sulcus extending to occiput; lower eye lobe about 1.3 times as long as wide, about 0.8 times as long as gena. Antennae about 2.1 times as long as body, reaching elytral apex at antennomere V; antennomeres coarsely punctured, denser and deeper on basal segments; antennal tubercles strongly elevated, angulate internally; antennomere III distinctly longer than scape (about 2.2 times as long as scape), about 1.3 times as long as IV; antennomeres IV–X decreasing in length, XI subequal to VIII. Pronotum slightly longer than wide, with weak anterior and posterior constriction; anterior margin subequal to posterior margin in width, lateral spine acute distally; disc slightly convex, with irregular transverse wrinkles. Scutellum broadly linguiform, indistinctly punctate. Elytra about 2.0 times as long as humeral width, humeri slightly constricted, widest near middle, gradually narrowing towards apex, rounded apically; elytral surface dotted with coarse, partially coalesced punctures; humeri with distinct granules, each elytron provided with a moderately developed and raised subbasal tubercle with nearly smooth and glabrous surface, followed by a transverse depression before basal fourth. Prosternum finely and transversely rugose, procoxal cavities slightly open posteriorly, mesocoxal cavities open; metasternum moderately long, about 1.5 times as long as mesosternal length, with a smooth longitudinal median sulcus. Hindwings strongly reduced, slightly less than 0.7 times as long as elytral length. Legs long and slender, metafemora not reaching elytral apices, claws divergent.

Male genitalia: Tergite VIII transverse, nearly truncated apically, length about 1.1 times as long as wide, clothed with sparse and short setae at sides, and slightly long and dense at middle; spiculum gastrale slightly longer than ringed part of tegmen; spiculum relictum shorter than a half of spiculum gastrale. Tegmen slightly bent in lateral view, paramere moderately long, length 1.3 times as long as width, apex with moderately dense setae; median lobe moderately curved in lateral view, distinctly shorter than tegmen; median struts about half length of median lobe, apex of ventral plate rounded; endophallus long, mostly membranous.

Female. Length 20.1–20.8 mm (measured from vertex to elytral apices), width 7.0– 7.4 mm (measured across humeri). Similar to male, but body distinctly broader; antennae about 1.3 times as long as body, reaching elytral apex at antennomere IX, antennomere III longer than IV, about 1.7 times as long as scape, remaining gradually shorter in length, antennomeres I–V fringed with short hairs on ventral side, denser on antennomeres I–IV; pronotum nearly as long as wide, dorsal longitudinal stripe more conspicuous; elytra about 2.2 times as long as humeral width; ventrite V slightly emarginate apically.

Remarks. The new species has the quite reduced preapical stripe on elytron (nearly presenting a very short and narrow longitudinal spot), which is obviously different from other members in this genus, in spite of some individuals of P. granulatus Breuning, 1942 also having the preapical stripe with varying degrees of reduction (but at most slightly shorter than one-fifth of elytral length, according to Bi and Lin, 2016).

The new species shares the similar feature of strongly reduced hindwings with P. obliquefasciatus Pic, 1917 P. granulatus Breuning, 1942 (the ratio of length of hind wing to elytron is not more than 0.8), but can be easily distinguished from P. obliquefasciatus by the less developed pubescence markings on pronotum, broadly interrupted middle band (forming a short transverse band near the outer margin and a transverse/oblique band close to the suture) and the remarkably reduced preapical stripe on each elytron, and elytral base only granulated on and near humeri; it can be easily distinguished from P. granulatus by the elytron without large and raised granules throughout and strongly reduced preapical stripe (much shorter than one-fifth of elytral length).

At first glance, the new species is also similar to P. acutipennis Chiang, 1981 due to the elytral markings in some degree (especially the broadly interrupted middle band, strongly reduced preapical stripe and the surface without large and raised granules), but can be easily distinguished from it by the elytral apices rounded instead of strongly pointed. Furthermore, P. acutipennis Chiang has no preapical stripe at all.

According to the notes from the collectors, several specimens were caught by hand on unidentified fallen trunks, and the others were captured by chopping trunks in the same locality.

Etymology. The new species is named after one of the collectors, Mr. Tianlong He, in appreciation of his generosity in offering the specimens to be described.