Ceresium thyra Dillon & Dillon, 1952

Waqa-Sakiti, Hilda, Winder, Linton & Lingafelter, Steven W., 2015, Review of the genus Ceresium Newman, 1842 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) in Fiji, ZooKeys 532, pp. 15-53 : 37-38

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Cerambycidae

Ceresium thyra Dillon & Dillon, 1952 Fig. 15

Ceresium thyra : Dillon and Dillon 1952: 21, Fiji: Viti Levu, Tailevu, holotype (BPBM).

Description.

Based on photograph of the holotype specimen (BPBM) and five specimens from 1992 and 2004-2005 surveys (FNIC, USP). Size 13.0 mm long, 3.0 mm wide at humeri; integument color maroonish brown (Fig. 15a). Head with shallow interantennal tubercle region, tubercles only slightly raised; coarsely punctate with very sparse ochraceous pubescence on tubercles and throughout frons; vertex and occiput with sparser ochraceous pubescence almost bare. Ochraceous pubescence denser around eye margins. Frons and frontoclypeal margin densely, coarsely punctate with sparse, long, ochraceous hairs (Fig. 15b). Antennae long, extending beyond elytra by 2 antennomeres. Antennae with vestiture of short, dense, ochraceous setae (longer at apices of antennomeres). Antennomeres unspined and not expanded at apices; last antennomere about 1.1 times length of penultimate. Antennomere 4 shorter than scape; 3 almost subequal in length to scape; 5 longest. Scape long, clavate, extending to apical quarter of pronotum.

Pronotum arcuate, widest across middle, and almost as long as wide. No tubercles or callus present. Pronotum with sparse ochraceous pubescence. Pronotum with sparse, ill-defined punctures (Fig. 15c). Elytron with sparse, evenly spaced ochraceous pubescence. Punctation shallow, sparse, gradually becoming shallower and indistinct towards apex. Elytral apex narrowly rounded to suture. Scutellum narrowly rounded, covered with dense, white pubescence. Legs moderate in length, femora distinctly but gradually clavate, hind femora extending to beyond base of fourth ventrite.

Venter of abdomen with sparse white pubescence and metasternum with sparse white pubescence at center and moderately dense on sides. Mesosternum also moderately dense with white pubescence. Prosternal process moderately narrow, vertical and acutely declivous, approximately 1/3 width of procoxa, notched and expanded at apex. Procoxal cavities open posteriorly (Fig. 15d). Mesocoxae closed laterally to mesepimeron. Mesosternum process broad, declivous but not tuberculate and sulcate anteriorly; at apex each side expands into a triangular tooth inserted into mesocoxae. Metasternum with black line running full length longitudinally along middle. Apex of terminal ventrite truncate with a small bump in middle.

Remarks.

The very dense, nearly white pubescence of the scutellum is distinctive, along with the dorsally callous pronotum. This species is endemic to Fiji and known only from Viti Levu where specimens were collected in September ( Dillon and Dillon 1952).