Embera Santos-Silva and Botero

Santos-Silva, Antonio & Botero, Juan Pablo, 2024, The unbelievable fauna of American Lamiinae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae): description of two new species, transference, and notes in Acanthocinini, and a new record in Calliini, Insecta Mundi 2024 (28), pp. 1-17 : 7

Embera Santos-Silva and Botero , new genus

( Fig. 15–19 )

Type species. Embera flava Santos-Silva and Botero , new species, here designated.

Etymology. The genus name refers to the name of the indigenous people that inhabit Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. Feminine gender.

Description. Female. Small-sized; body convex and stouter ( Fig. 15–17 ). Head not elongated behind eyes ( Fig. 15 ), not retractile ( Fig. 17 ). Frons ( Fig. 18 ) transverse. Upper eye lobes wide; distance between them about twice width of one upper lobe ( Fig. 15 ). Lower eye lobes ( Fig. 18 ) slightly longer than genae. Antennae 11-segmented, about as long as body; scape slightly, gradually widened from base to near apex, widened apically on inner margin, without apical cicatrix; pedicel about as long as basal diameter of scape, with a few long, erect setae ventrally; antennomeres III–XI cylindrical, without erect setae ventrally; antennomere III distinctly longer than IV; antennomeres V–X gradually shorter; antennomere XI slightly longer than X. Prothorax ( Fig. 15 ) wider than long; anterior constriction narrow, well marked; sides divergent from base to middle, with rounded protuberance from this point to posterior fifth. Pronotum with three gibbosities, one subcircular on each side of anterior third, another elongated, located centrally from slightly before middle to about posterior quarter; moderately abundantly, coarsely punctate, punctures coarser on posterior fifth, not aligned centrally, aligned and following toward sides of prothorax laterally. Central area of prosternal process ( Fig. 16 ) distinctly narrowed and about one-fifth procoxal width. Mesoventral process ( Fig. 16 ) slightly narrowed centrally; apex not emarginate, slightly convex, slightly wider than half mesocoxal width. Elytra with erect, very thick setae with their apices subtruncate ( Fig. 19 ); with small, slightly elevated tubercles without tufts of erect setae, tubercles more distinct and abundant basally between scutellum and humeri; humeral carina slightly marked, not reaching elytral apex; centrobasal crest elongated, slightly elevated, tuberculate; apex narrowly rounded; dorsal surface with three longitudinal carinae almost reaching elytral apex, innermost slightly distinct, starting on apex of centrobasal crest, one starting on base near centrobasal crest, another starting on base close to humerus; abundantly, coarsely punctate. Femora pedunculate-clavate. Tibiae gradually widened from base to apex, more distinctly in protibiae. Metatarsomere I about as long as II–III together. Apical margin of ventrite 5 rounded.

Remarks. The general appearance of Embera new genus is similar to that of Leptostylus LeConte, 1852 and Leptostylopsis Dillon, 1956 . However, Embera differs from them by the presence of erect setae on the elytra. American Acanthocinini are divided in two groups of genera: one with erect setae on the elytra, the other without erect setae. Leptostylus is a problematic genus including very different species (shape of the body, shape of the elytral apex, shape of the elytra, width of the prosternal and mesoventral processes, etc.). The most problematic feature is the width of the prosternal and mesoventral processes, which cannot be used as a differential feature due to their extremely variable size in the species currently included in Leptostylus . Although many species have the prosternal process centrally wider than 1/3 of the procoxal width, there are species with the prosternal process centrally narrower than 1/3 of the procoxal width, as well as some species with the prosternal process about as wide as procoxal width. In all species of Leptostylopsis examined by us, the prosternal and mesoventral processes are wide, especially the latter, which often is wider than mesocoxal width. Embera is also similar to Carpheolus Bates, 1885 differing especially by the presence of erect setae on the elytra (absent in Carpheolus ), and by the last abdominal segment short (distinctly surpassing elytral apex in females of Carpheolus ). Among the genera with erect setae on the elytra, Embera is more similar to Oxathres Bates, 1864 (only some species) but differs by the last abdominal segment short (distinctly surpassing elytral apex in females of Oxathres ).

Embera can be included in the alternative of couplet “21” in the key by Monné et al. (2020):

21(19). Prothorax without distinct lateral tubercle.................................................. 21 ′ — Prothorax with distinct lateral tubercle...................................................... 22

21′(21). Body slender; antennae distinctly longer than body; erect elytral setae thin........................

......................................................... Graphisurus Kirby, 1837 (part) — Body stout; antennae about as long as the body; erect elytral setae thick...........................

.............................................. Embera Santos-Silva and Botero , new genus

Figures

Figures 15–19. Embera flava new species, holotype female. 15) Dorsal habitus; 16) Ventral habitus; 17) Lateral habitus; 18) Head, frontal view; 19) Elytral erect setae.