Mephritus meyeri, Galileo, Maria Helena M., Martins, Ubirajara R. & Santos-Silva, Antonio, 2014

Galileo, Maria Helena M., Martins, Ubirajara R. & Santos-Silva, Antonio, 2014, New species of Elaphidiini (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) from Bolivia, Zootaxa 3884 (3), pp. 275-281 : 278-279

Mephritus meyeri , sp. nov.

( Fig. 3 )

Description. Integument dark-brown. Frons and vertex densely punctate, with silky whitish short pubescence. Superior ocular lobes with six rows of ommatidia. Antennae pubescent; in males, reaching elytral apices at basal third of antennomere VII; in females attaining elytral apex near middle of antennomere IX; antennomere III–V with short apical spines. Antennomeres III–VI with short inner apical spine; VII with spicule; scape enlarged, punctate, basally depressed on dorsal surface; antenomere III longer than IV.

Prothorax with lateral tubercle; sides punctate, covered with long, white, dense pubescence in males and silky yellowish pubescence in females. Pronotum with five shallow tubercles: anterolateral tubercles, projecting forward; central tubercle flat. In males, lateral band of white pubescence, wide, dense; in females, pubescence whitish, silky, more concentrated on sides of anterior half; dense punctation mixed in pubescence, with smooth, glabrous, central area. Prosternum punctate, covered with dense white pubescence continuing up lateral margin of pronotum, narrow glabrous stripe next to anterior margin, with transverse striae, laterally more conspicuous; in females, pubescence silky, yellowish. Meso- and metasternum with short, silky, yellowish pubescence and sparse, shallow punctation. Scutellum with whitish-yellow pubescence, denser in males.

Elytra covered by silky, whitish, very short pubescence. Piliferous punctures small, only slightly contrasting near suture, very sparse on apical third, visible, depending on light incidence. Elytral apices obliquely truncated, with small spicule at marginal angle.

Femora clavate, with scattered setigerous punctures. Tarsomere I longer than II–III combined.

Abdominal ventrites covered with silky pubescence and small, sparse punctures with long setae.

Measurements in mm, holotype male/ paratype female. Total length 14.6/15.6; prothorax length, 3.0/2.9; prothorax width, 3.5/3.5; elytron length, 10.3/11.3; humeral width, 3,9/4,1.

Etymology. The species epithet honors Fernando Rodrigues Meyer insect collection manager of Museu Anchieta, Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Type material. Holotype male, BOLIVIA, Santa Cruz: Potrerillo del Guenda, Snake Farm, 1740’S 6327’W, 370–400 m, 21–24.X.2011, Wappes & Skillman col. ( MNKM). Paratype female, BOLIVIA, Santa Cruz: 4 km SSE Buena Vista,Hotel Fauna & Flora, 1729’S 6339’W, 300–400 m, 17–20.X.2011, Wappes & Skillman col. ( ACMT).

Discussion. Meprithus meyeri sp. nov., keys to couplet 12 of Martins (2005), with the species M. castaneus Martins & Napp, 1992 and M. fraterculus Martins & Napp, 1992 . It can be separated from M. fraterculus by the short elytral pubescence with scattered piliferous punctures. In M. fraterculus , the pubescence is longer, denser, the piliferous punctures have long setae, dense, on body and appendages. Meprithus meyeri can be separated from M. castaneus by the sides of the prothorax with tubercle, elytral apices with outer spicule. In M. castaneus , the sides of the prothorax are spinose, and the elytral apices is transversely truncate and without spines.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. 1, Mephritus bonasoi, sp. nov., holotype male, total length, 15.7 mm; 2, Mephritus punctulatus, sp. nov., holotype female, total length, 23.0 mm; 3, M. meyeri, sp. nov., holotype male, total length, 14.6 mm; 4, M. eleandroi, sp. nov., holotype female, total length, 13.4 mm; 5, Anelaphus maculatus sp. nov., holotype male, total length, 10.4 mm.