Ironeus curoei, Santos-Silva & Botero & Tirant, 2018

Santos-Silva, Antonio, Botero, Juan Pablo & Tirant, Stéphane Le, 2018, A new genus, four new species and taxonomic and geographic notes in Mexican Cerambycidae, Zootaxa 4420 (2), pp. 189-210 : 194-196

Ironeus curoei , sp. nov.

( Figs. 10–13 )

Description. Female. Head, scape, prothorax and femora dark reddish brown, slightly darkened on some areas; mouthparts dark reddish brown except yellowish brown apex of palpomeres; pedicel black; basal antennomeres black, gradually dark brown toward XI; mesoventrite mostly dark reddish brown (darker than on prosternum); mesoventral process dark reddish brown centrally, dark brown laterally; mesanepisternum, mesepimeron, metanepisternum and metaventrite, tibiae and tarsi blackish; elytra black; abdomen black, except slightly reddish distal area of abdominal ventrites I–IV.

Head. Frons widely, rounded carina-shaped laterally, from antennal tubercles to clypeus; moderately coarsely, abundantly punctate except smooth, subtriangular, large central area close to clypeus and nearly smooth area close to lower eye lobes; with short, sparse yellowish white setae laterally. Area between antennal tubercles finely, longitudinally striate-punctate; nearly glabrous. Area between upper eye lobes somewhat finely rugose laterally, smooth centrally; with short, decumbent, abundant yellowish white setae on rugose area, glabrous centrally. Remaining surface of vertex finely, transversely, abundantly rugose; glabrous. Area behind upper eye lobes finely, transversely, abundantly rugose; glabrous except short yellowish white setae close to eye; area behind lower eye lobes smooth close to eye, rugose close to prothorax; glabrous; area between lower eye lobes and gulamentum with longitudinal yellowish pubescent band. Genae finely, sparsely punctate; with short, sparse yellowish white setae. Antennal tubercles with moderately coarse and sparse punctures (sparser on central area), smooth on distal area; with a few short, decumbent yellowish white setae, glabrous on smooth area. Median groove distinct from clypeus to area between upper eye lobes. Gulamentum smooth glabrous on area between prothorax and eyes, coarsely, transversely striate, with short and long, moderately sparse yellowish setae on area between eyes. Last segment of maxillary and labial palpi slightly widened toward apex, which is obliquely truncate. Galea long, with dense long fringe of golden setae distally. Eyes finely faceted; distance between upper eye lobes 0.56 times length of scape; in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes equal to length of scape. Antennae 1.8 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at middle of antennomere IX; scape moderately coarse, abundantly punctate, with short, sparse, decumbent yellowish setae interspersed with long, erect yellowish setae; antennomeres with yellowish white pubescence, gradually denser toward antennomere XI; antennomeres III–VIII with long, erect yellowish brown setae ventrally, shorter, sparser toward VIII; antennomeres IX–X with long, erect yellowish setae distally; antennomeres III–VIII with spine at inner apex, gradually shorter toward VIII. Antennal formula (ratio) based on length of antennomere III (excluding apical spines): scape = 0.56; pedicel = 0.15; IV = 0.85; V = 0.87; VI = 0.85; VII = 0.92; VIII = 0.85; IX = 0.81; X = 0.72; XI = 0.85. Length of apical spines of antennomeres compared with greatest width of segment: III = 0.90; IV = 0.95; V = 0.83; VI = 0.87; VII = 0.43; VIII = 0.21. Ratio of spines of antennomeres based on length of spine of antennomere III: IV = 1.00; V = 0.83; VI = 0.72; VII = 0.33; VIII = 0.14.

Thorax. Prothorax slightly longer than wide; sides slightly rounded between basal and distal constrictions. Pronotum transversely, abundantly striate throughout, with moderately fine, sparse punctures interspersed; with transverse, wide yellowish white pubescent band at about basal fifth, narrowed centrally, prolonged toward sides of prothorax (more whitish depending on angle of light source); with large yellowish white pubescent macula on each side of distal fifth, not reaching margin, reaching superior area of sides of prothorax, narrowly prolonged toward at about middle (more whitish depending on angle of light source); remaining surface with short, sparse yellowish white setae. Sides of prothorax with longitudinal yellowish white pubescent band, connected to that on base, slightly surpassing middle; remaining surface with short, sparse yellowish white setae, and a few moderately short, erect yellowish setae on distal area. Prosternum transversely depressed centrally; finely, somewhat rugose-punctate on basal half, transversely striate between middle and distal transverse sulcus, subsmooth toward distal margin; with dense yellowish white pubescence on basal half (more whitish depending on angle of light source), slightly less denser centrally, with short, sparse yellowish white setae on distal half. Prosternal process slightly longitudinally sulcate centrally; with short, moderately sparse yellowish white setae. Mesoventrite with yellowish white pubescence not obscuring integument centrally (more whitish depending on angle of light source), distinctly denser laterally. Mesoventral process longitudinally sulcate at each side of central area; distal margin distinctly emarginate, and sides of apex distinctly projected toward mesocoxa. Mesanepisternum, mesepimeron, metanepisternum and sides of metaventrite with dense yellowish white pubescence (more whitish depending on angle of light source); metaventrite moderately finely and sparsely punctate laterally, smooth centrally; wide central area of metaventrite with sparse yellowish white setae laterally, gradually glabrous toward center. Scutellum with dense yellowish white pubescence. Elytra. Moderately finely, abundantly punctate; with nearly golden pubescence obscuring integument (paler depending on angle of light source) except glabrous, irregular area at about basal seventh, starting at level of apex of scutellum, not reaching suture; apex slightly obliquely truncate, unarmed. Legs. Femora with short, sparse, decumbent golden setae with long, erect golden setae interspersed. Tibiae laterally carinate; with short and long, erect, sparse golden setae, distinctly denser on distal third of ventral side.

Abdomen. Ventrites with dense yellowish white pubescence laterally, sparser and only centrally on ventrite V; with short, sparse, decumbent yellowish white setae centrally on ventrites I–IV with long, erect golden setae interspersed; ventrite V with moderately short, sparse, erect golden setae; apex of ventrite V almost truncate.

Dimensions in mm. Total length, 16.65; prothoracic length, 3.10; basal prothoracic width, 2.45; distal prothoracic width, 2.20; widest prothoracic width, 2.70; humeral width, 3.70; elytral length, 11.00.

Type material. Holotype male from MEXICO, Guerrero: Xalitla (588 m), 12.VI.2010, D. Curoe col. ( MZSP).

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Daniel Curoe, our friend who supply us so many interesting beetles over the years.

Remarks. Ironeus curoei sp. nov. differs from I. pulcher Bates, 1880 , as follows: integument of head, prothorax, scape and femora dark reddish brown, elytra without longitudinal glabrous bands; elytral apex distinctly wider than distal width of metatibiae. In I. pulcher , the integument of head, prothorax, scape and femora is light reddish brown, elytra with distinct glabrous longitudinal bands, and elytral apex about as wide as distal width of metatibiae.

According to Bates (1880) on I. pulcher : “Differs from I. duplex in the eyes being rather more prominent and more coarsely faceted… The same may be said of the subcylindrical unarmed thorax, the dorsal surface of which is slightly uneven in both species, faintly transverse-strigose in I. pulcher , and marked with scattered punctures in I. duplex .” However, according to Lingafelter (1998), who listed I. pulcher as specimen examined by him: “transverse ridges on pronotal disc absent.” In the same way, it is not possible to included I. pulcher and I. curoei in the key to genera of Elaphidiini by Lingafelter (1998), alternative of couplet “86”, because they have transverse ridges on pronotum, while in the key Ironeus is described as not having them.

Although I. pulcher has been recorded from Venezuela by Freude (1954), and from Bolivia by Monné & Giesbert (1994), Ironeus was not included in Martins (2005).

Figures

FIGURES 10–13, Ironeus curoei sp. nov., holotype female, 10, dorsal habitus, 11, ventral habitus, 12, lateral habitus, 13, head, frontal view.