Pseudomeges aureus Bi, Chen & Lin, 2022

Bi, Wen-Xuan, Chen, Chang-Chin & Lin, Mei-Ying, 2022, Taxonomic studies on the genera Meges Pascoe, 1866 and Pseudomeges Breuning 1944 from China (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae, Lamiini), Zootaxa 5120 (2), pp. 242-250 : 248-249

Pseudomeges aureus Bi, Chen & Lin sp. nov.

( Figs. 4 , 11 )

Type material. Holotype: male, “ Yunnan, Pingbian, Daweishan / 2021.IV.9 / leg. Jin Chen ” “ 2041 m / 22˚54.6524̓ N / 103˚41.8066̓ E” ( IZAS).

Paratypes: 1 male, same data to holotype ; 2 males, “ Yunnan, Pingbian, Daweishan / 2,022 m / 2016.IV.22 / leg. Xiao-Dong Yang ” ( CCCC) ; 1 male, ditto except 1,982 m, 2016.IV.21, leg. Chao Wu ( CCCC) .

Description. Male ( Fig. 4 ). Body length 52.6–58.1 mm, humeral width 15.9–18.1 mm. Integument of body, elytra and appendages blackish.

Head with mandibles, frons, genae and vertex moderately covered with fine pale yellow pubescence. Antennae with scape, pedicel and the base of antennomere III to V vaguely covered with similarly colored pubescence, which gives the entire antennae a uniformly darkened appearance. Pronotum mostly covered with similarly colored pubescence as head but denser, except for the tip of lateral spine, a discal median short line and two small spots at sides of the former line which are glabrous. Scutellum covered with the same pubescence as pronotum. Elytra predominantly covered with dense pale pubescence, plus some dark golden colored pubescence forming irregular pattern over the whole elytron. Ventral surface and legs covered with moderately dense yellowish pubescence, relatively denser on posterior margin of prosternum, entire metanepisternum, posterior margin of metaventrite and anterior margin of abdominal ventrite I.

Body elongate. Head slightly wider than pronotal base; moderately large, protruding toward sides near the lower eye lobe in front view, thence gradually convergent anteriorly; lower eye lobe 0.9 times as long as gena; frons ca. 1.7 times wider than high, with a fine median groove extending from anterior margin to occiput; vertex moderately concave, with prominent antennal insertions. Antennae ca. 1.9 times as long as body length, with apical 5 antennomeres surpassing elytral apices; antennomere III 1.4 times as long as scape, slightly longer than IV, antennomere IV to X gradually decreasing in length and width, antennomere X slightly longer than XI.

Pronotum cylindrical, more than 0.8 times as long as the basal width; lateral spines conical with sharply pointed apex, slightly curved backwards; disk smooth, weakly convex, provided with an indistinct postmedian callus and two lateral calli slightly behind the middle; with a few setigerous punctures at both sides of the postmedian callus and behind the lateral spines. Scutellum subequal in length and width, broadly rounded posteriorly.

Elytra elongate, widest across humeri, ca. 1.7 times as wide as pronotal base, 2.3 times as long as the humeral width; subparallel-sided in most of its length, then gradually convergent toward separately rounded apices; disk smooth, sparsely punctate mainly at base or near the suture, with two weak longitudinal carinae extending from the base to apical one-fifth.

Abdomen with ventrite I about twice as long as each of the following ventrites. Legs moderately long and stout, metafemora extending ventrite IV in ventral view.

Endophallus in everted condition ( Fig. 11 ) similar to Pseudomeges marmoratus as described above except BPH distinctly swollen and bb of APH less protruding near middle in dorsal view.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. From the Latin aureus , meaning gold-colored, referred to the appearance of the elytral maculae.

Distribution. China: Yunnan (Pingbian County).

Remarks. The relatively more widely distributed species Pseudomeges varioti Le Moult, 1946 has the coloration or pattern of the elytral pubescence variable and some individuals are similar to this new species. But this new species can be distinguished from males of P. varioti by the body relatively slenderer; head smaller, in front view only protruding laterally near the lower eye lobe (instead of protruding in most of the head height); lower eye lobe larger, about 0.9 times as long as gena (instead of 0.6 times); antennae indistinctly annulated; scutellum not transverse; elytra relatively narrower, about 2.3 times as long as the humeral width (instead of 1.9–2.0 times).

Figures

FIGURES 1–5. Male habitus of Meges spp. and Pseudomeges spp. 1, Meges gravidus (Pascoe, 1858) from Hangzhou City, Zhejiang, China; 2, M. tonkineus (Clermont, 1932) from Ledong County, Hainan, China; 3, Pseudomeges marmoratus (Westwood, 1848) from Motuo County, Xizang, China; 4, P. aureus Bi, Chen & Lin sp. nov. from Pingbian County, Yunnan, China; 5 Pseudomeges varioti Le Moult, 1946 from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

FIGURES 8–11. Endophallus of Meges spp. and Pseudomeges spp. 8, Meges gravidus (Pascoe, 1858); 9, M. tonkineus (Clermont, 1932); 10, Pseudomeges marmoratus (Westwood, 1848); 11, P. aureus Bi, Chen & Lin sp. nov. a, apical phallomere in dorsal view; b, apical phallomere in non-everted condition.