Plocamocera

OPITZ, WESTON, 2004, Classification, Natural History, And Evolution Of The Epiphloeinae (Coleoptera: Cleridae). Part Ii. The Genera Chaetophloeus Opitz And Plocamocera Spinola, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2004 (280), pp. 1-82 : 24-27

DESCRIPTION OF PLOCAMOCERA

Plocamocera Spinola, 1844 a: 17 . Type­species Plocamocera sericella Spinola, 1844 a: 19 . By monotypy. Lacordaire, 1857: 468. Desmarest, 1860: 265. Gemminger and Harold, 1869: 1747. Guerin­Meneville, 1874: 274. Gorham, 1877: 249; 1882: 167. Kuwert, 1893: 492. Lohde, 1900: 88. Schenkling, 1903: 86, 88. Gahan, 1910: 73. Chapin, 1927: 5. Blackwelder, 1945: 388. Corporaal, 1942: 142; 1950: 255. Winkler, 1961: 59. Opitz, 1997: 55.

DESCRIPTION: Size: Length 4.0–8.0 mm; width 1.5–2.8 mm. Form: Elongate, elytra somewhat ovate, about three times longer than wide; pronotum (fig. 7) conspicuously transverse; epipleural margin feebly or strongly arcuate. Integument: Head, thorax, and abdomen concolorous or bicolorous, if bicolorous stramineous or castaneous, frons and vertex often infuscated; antenna bicolorous, scape flavotestaceous, remainder piceous; pronotum usually vested with pale setae at sides, disc usually infuscated; elytral surface usually variegated, rarely concolorous, when bicolorous stramineous or castaneous, or mixture of both. Vestiture: Integument copiously vested with decumbent and declinate setae; antenna (figs. 6, 40) with very long sensilla trichodea, discal and paralateral trichobothrial setae of pronotum (figs. 7, 9) particularly well developed, sides of pronotal disc matted with light setae whose apices extend toward middle; elytral disc abundantly vested with stout bristles, bristles are particularly notable along sutural and epipleural margins, disc also vest­ ed with pale or dark patches of setae, patches often transverse, sometimes oblique or angular in shape, epipleural margin minutely serrulate, adorned with row of chaetosomes and with three to eight trichobothria of various degree of development (fig. 55). Head (fig. 6): Cranium usually finely punctate, very rarely coarsely punctuated; frons plane; eyes prominently bulging, finely faceted, deeply incised along frontal margin, incision nearly bisects eye; antenna (fig. 6) inserted at lower angle of eye incision (ocular notch, fig. 136), comprised of 10 antennomeres, loosely clubbed, vested with filamentous setae (fig. 40), scape as long as combined length of funicular antennomeres, pedicel globose, funicular antennomeres subcylindric, except fourth antennomere sometimes, and sixth antennomere always, expanded laterally, basal club antennomere subovoid or subquadrate, about as long as combined length of funicular antennomeres, ninth antennomere abruptly narrowed distally (fig. 145) or gradually narrowed distally (fig. 148): labrum (fig. 125) deeply incised; mandible (fig. 124) not falciform, dentes poorly developed, anterior dens broadly accuminate, medial and posterior dens minute, mandibular penicillus absent; maxilla (fig. 122) well developed, terminal palpomere digitiform, laterolacinia present; labium well developed, terminal palpomere digitiform; gula (fig. 126) crescentic. Thorax: Pronotum (figs. 7, 127) conspicuously trans­ verse, anterior margin sinuous, prominently projecting medially, posterior margin broadly sinuous, subapical depression prominent, slightly depressed at sides where discal and paralateral trichobothria (figs. 7, 9) are prominent; disc with a pair of swellings that vary in expression; epimeral prolongations (fig. 127) only feebly extended mesad; procoxal cavity open (fig. 127); elytra moderately oval

Figs. 52–59. Elytra. 52, 53, Plocamocera castanea . 54, 55, P. pupula . 56, 57, P. confrater , 58, 59,

P. aliguantula .

when viewed from above, punctations variable in size, not seriate, epipleural margin feebly or prominently explanate; mesoscutellum (fig. 129) quadrate­transverse; protibia (fig. 75) with one to five stout spines on anterior margin, protibial spur absent, protarsus with three pulvilli; mesotibia with one spur, mesotarsus with three pulvilli; metatibia (fig. 128) with one spur, metatarsus with one pulvillus (no. 1 in fig. 25); tibial spurs (no. 2 in fig. 20) particularly robust, metafemur (fig. 109) and metacoxa (fig. 128) particularly robust; tibial apices crowned with short stout setae (no. 1 in fig. 20); metabasitarsus slightly longer than metatarsomere two (fig. 108) or twice length of metatarsomere two (fig. 109), tarsal claw with large subquadrate denticle at base; appendiculate; metathoracic wing as in figure 130. Abdomen: Six visible sterna; pygidium broad­scutiform (fig. 95) or trigonalscutiform (fig. 89), posterior margin plane (fig. 96), sinuous (fig. 87), or convex, usually with two discal and six marginal stout setae (fig. 95). Male Genitalia: Aedeagus usually long and slender, lanceolate (fig. 110), or sagittate (fig. 111); phallic struts usually extended beyond phallobasic apodeme (fig. 120), rarely not so extended (fig. 111); interspicular plate (fig. 134) of spicular fork slender, and bifid distally; parameres highly reduced. Female Genitalia: Ovipositor (fig. 131) long and slen­ der, dorsal lamina (fig. 132) bilobed, ventral lamina (fig. 131) trilobed. Alimentary Canal (fig. 135): Ventricular papillae feebly developed; four cryptonephridial malpighian tubules. Male Internal Reproductive Organs (fig. 102): One pair of accessory glands; seminal vesicle particularly robust and elongate (fig. 102); testis comprised of 12 follicles. Female Internal Reproductive Organs (fig. 133): Spermatheca not visibly sclerotized; spermathecal gland attached to subapex of spermatheca; bursa copulatrix well developed.

DISTRIBUTION: These beetles are distributed from Mexico to Paraguay. They are most commonly known from the Amazon Basin.