Hemilissopsis fernandezae, Hovore & Chemsak

Hovore, Frank T. & Chemsak, John A., 2006, New species of Hemilissopsis Lane, 1959 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae, Elaphidionini), Zootaxa 1340, pp. 45-49 : 46-48

Hemilissopsis fernandezae, Hovore & Chemsak , new species

Figure 1 b

Type material: Holotype male, ( INBio), from COSTA RICA: Limón Province, Sector Cerro Cocori, Finca de Elías Rojas, A.C. Tortuguero, 150m, June 1993 (E. Rojas) L.N. 286000_567500, #2179. Paratypes: COSTA RICA: Heredia Province, La Virgen, El Ceibo, 12 Mar 2003 (D. Maslov); PANAMA: Panama Province, 1 female, 10 km N El Llano, 1400’, 16–20 May 1984 (E.F. Giesbert); 1 male, 10–15 km N El Llano, 25/ 26 May 1986 (F.T. Hovore); 2 males, 1 female, 8–10 km N El Llano, 26 April–04 May, 1992 (E.F. Giesbert). Paratypes deposited in EMEC, FSCA, FTHC, and DMC.

Male: Form moderately robust, subcylindrical; integument shining, with head and pronotum dull, opaque­appearing; coloration red­brown, elytral pattern comprised of piceous fasciae and paler yellow­brown maculae, arrayed as follows: piceous sutural vitta extending from behind scutellum to apical 1/3, vitta extending laterally as two irregularly arcuate fasciae, one at basal 1/3, arching across disk to near lateral margin, the other slightly behind middle, arching more obliquely toward lateral margin at apical 1/3, disk between the fasciae and immediately behind the posterior fascia, light yellow­brown, and a transverse light yellow­brown macula behind the margin of the posterior fascia; mandibles piceous apically. Body sparsely clothed with long, erect setae; sternum with patches of fine, appressed pale pubescence. Head opaque with a very fine, shining line extending longitudinally from front to vertex, impunctate, but irregularly impressed on front and vertex, basal articulation lightly punctate; antennal tubercles elevated, obtusely angulated apically; genae triangular, shorter than lower eye lobes, apices acute, dentiform; mandibles impunctate, surface irregularly impressed, apices acuminate; antennae with 11 antennomeres, surpassing elytral apex by 1 ­ 2 antennomeres, scape robust, irregularly, shallowly punctate, some punctures bearing erect setae, antennomeres 3–10 thickened and flattened laterally, 3 and 4 shining and impunctate, remaining antennomeres minutely pubescent laterally, pubescent area increasing in extent distally, 9–11 entirely pubescent, dorsal and ventral surfaces of 3–10 bicarinate, one or a few erect setae on dorsal surface, erect setae irregularly scattered along margins and on ventral surface, 3–7 with long, incurved apicolateral spines, outer angles dentate or acutely rounded, 8 ­ 10 with a short apicolateral spine or tooth, 11 simple, oblong, a single median carina on each surface. Prothorax rotundate, slightly longer than wide, anterior margin abruptly narrowed, posterior margin broadly constricted, sides broadly rounded; discal surface unevenly rounded, a pair of irregular tubercles at either side of midline and a single, irregularly shaped tubercle basally before constriction, punctures coarse, shallow, crateriform or eroded, erect hairs arising from minute asperites in punctures, sides with broad areas of sexual punctation, consisting of small, shallow, evenly distributed punctures, delimited from disk by an irregular longitudinal impression. Prosternum with sexual punctation across basal 2/3, apical area shining, impunctate, glabrous, intercoxal process narrow, deeply impressed longitudinally; mesosternum broad, impressed, opaque, intercoxal process broad, irregularly impressed; metasternum shining, glabrous and impunctate laterally, minutely punctate medially, punctures bearing erect setae; coxae, epimera and episterna opaque, sparsely clothed with minute, appressed pale pubescence. Scutellum ligulate, glabrous and impunctate. Elytra elongate, narrowly impressed behind scutellum and behind humeri to basal 1/4, centrobasal elevations distinct, lateral margin sinuate, median portion of elytra distinctly narrowed in dorsal outline, apices abruptly rounded, flared laterally to outer angles; centrobasal crest and humeral area closely set with coarse, asperites and tubercles, each bearing a long seta at apex, apical 3/4 of disk coarsely, shallowly punctate, coarse punctures arrayed longitudinally in 6 irregular rows, becoming shallower, with rows less clearly defined, at apical 1/3, smaller punctures interspersed between rows, erect setae arising from each of the coarse linear punctures; outer apical angles acute, spinose, sutural angles narrowly rounded. Legs with bristling erect setae on femora, tibia and basal tarsomeres; posterior tibiae strongly multicarinate; basal 3 tarsomeres broad, impressed medially on dorsum. Abdomen concave, basal urosternite as long or longer than following two together, surface shining, glabrous and impunctate laterally, a few minute punctures medially, each bearing an erect seta, terminal sternite and tergite narrowly, evenly rounded apically. Dimensions: pronotum: 2.25–3.25 mm long, 2.1–3.1 mm wide; elytra 7.0–12.0 mm long, 2.75–5.0 mm wide at humeri; total length: 11.0– 15.5 mm.

Female: similar to male in form and coloration, slightly more robust; antennae attaining apical 1/4 of elytra; pronotal disk slightly less distinctly punctate, more erodedappearing, pronotal sides and prosternum lacking sexual punctation, moderately coarsely, sparsely punctate; terminal abdominal urosternite slightly more broadly rounded apically. Dimensions: pronotum: 2.75–3.5 mm long, 3.25–3.5 mm wide; elytra: 9.0– 13.5 mm long, 3.0– 4.5 mm wide at humeri; total length: 13.0– 18.5 mm ..

Remarks: The red­brown integument color and bold elytral pattern immediately differentiate this species from H. clenchi (entirely piceous­brown, elytra with narrow pale fasciae) ( Figure 1 a). Additionally, H. clenchi has white erect hairs, shining pronotal integument, smaller and more discreet pronotal discal punctation, and inconspicuous elytral discal punctation. The known distribution of the two species is entirely separate, with H. clenchi occurring within the Amazon drainage from eastern Ecuador to French Guiana and central Brazil ( Monné & Hovore, 2006).

The larval biology of Hemilissopsis is not recorded, but the senior author found numerous individuals and mating pairs of H. clenchi walking slowly over the bark of thick, woody lianas at night in French Guiana. Some specimens of H. fernandezae were collected from beneath fallen limbs and trunks in recently clear­cut lowland forest in central Panama.

Etymology: We are pleased to dedicate this species to María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, First Vice­President of Spain, in recognition of that country’s strong support of the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad of Costa Rica (INBio).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal habitus, Hemilissopsis spp: a) H. clenchi Lane, female; b) H. fernandezae, new species, female