Palaeosphryon menatensis, Nel & Kirejtshuk & Garrouste, 2024

Nel, André, Kirejtshuk, Alexander & Garrouste, Romain, 2024, A ‘ giant’ Paleocene cerambycid (Coleoptera) from Menat Konservat-Lagerstätte, France, European Journal of Taxonomy 921 (1), pp. 136-157 : 139-142

Palaeosphryon menatensis sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0675FE7A-4423-439C-A970-10D656B071B6

Figs 1–3

Diagnosis

As for the genus, by monotypy.

Etymology

Named after the type locality Menat.

Material examined

Holotype

FRANCE • compression fossil of a body with left antenna, right fore and hind legs, basal part of right antenna and left mid leg, elytra preserved; Menat, Puy-de-Dôme; middle Palaeocene, Menat Basin; BDL 1828 Musée de Paléontologie, Menat, Puy-de-Dôme, France.

Notes

The holotype is represented by the print of the specimen with many deformations. Its head seems longer than what it should be by comparison with extant relatives – this means that this head in the print is somewhat turned by its anterior part while its anterior part was probably oriented almost downwards, thus appearing not so long from above. The pronotum was probably rather convex. During fossilization it was compressed and became flat and much wider than in a living specimen. The same deformation happened with the elytra that in the print seem much wider than in the present-day relatives.

Description

APPEARANCE. Body 70.0 mm long (measured from anterior edge of head to elytral apices), 30.0 mm wide (measured across humeri). Head 12.0 mm long, 11.0 mm wide. Dorsal integument apparently dark brown to blackish (left elytron noticeably lighter), with comparatively small and rather dense punctures on upper surface of head and pronotum and interspaces between them apparently alutaceous, about diameter of punctures on head and somewhat sparser on pronotum; elytra with distinctly coarser punctures separated by smaller than puncture diameter and alutaceous on interspaces and punctures becoming finer and sparser toward apex. Very fine and long hairs traced on integument of base of head, pronotum, and elytra (visible under UV light).

HEAD. Subtriangular, widest at base and declined downwards (can be traced in long frons on print); mandibles ca 2.0 mm long, moderately strong and short, but without visible inner tooth, with pubescence at base visible under UV light, separated from frons by line (probably suture); eyes emarginate, not surrounding antennal socket; antennae ca 38.0 mm, black, with 11 antennomeres, last antennomere incompletely preserved, but reaching two thirds of body; scape widened apically, subtriangular, slightly longer than antennomere 4; antennomere 2 (pedicel) very short and third almost double as long as antennomere 4; following antennomeres starting from antennomere 4 gradually decreasing in length; part of head behind compound eyes short, ca 2.0 mm long.

PRONOTUM. About 9.0 mm long, 18.0 mm wide, narrower than elytra, with anterior margin shallowly emarginate, setose (visible under UV light), no spine on antero-lateral shoulder; three minute spines on each side of pronotum. Scutellum large triangular, about twice as wide as long and widely rounded at apex, 5.0 mm long, 7.0 mm wide; thorax 27.0 mm long (ventral side partly visible under elytra).

ELYTRA. 48.0 mm long, 15.0 mm wide, widest at anterior third, broadly arcuate at sides, slightly narrowing to subtruncate (widely rounded) apex with very small processes (clear under binocular but scarcely visible in many photographs); elytral surface with unclear and irregular longitudinal furrows; apex rounded with smooth sutural spine and with small apico-lateral projection.

PROCOXA. Transverse, profemur 14.0 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, protibia without mesal sinus, 14.0 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, without apical spine; protarsus 6.0 mm long, pseudo-tetramerous with tarsomere 3 dilated and covering tarsomere 4. Mesofemur 18.0 mm long. Metafemur 16.0 mm long, metatibia 18.0 mm long.

ABDOMEN. Not preserved.

Figures

Fig. 1. Palaeosphryon menatensis gen. et sp. nov., holotype (BDL 1828).Photographs of general habitus. A. Under normal light. B. Under UV light. Scale bars = 10 mm.

Fig. 2. Palaeosphryon menatensis gen. et sp. nov., holotype (BDL 1828). Photographs. A. Head, base of antenna, fore leg and pronotum, under UV light. B. Elytra, under normal light. Scale bars = 10 mm.

Fig. 3. Palaeosphryon menatensis gen. et sp. nov., holotype (BDL 1828). Photographs of head and pronotum. A. Under normal light. B. Under UV light. Scale bars = 10 mm.