Hermerius Newman, 1844

Jin, Mengjie, Keyzer, Roger De, Hutchinson, Paul, Pang, Hong & Ślipiński, Adam, 2020, A Review Of The Australian Macrotomini (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae), Annales Zoologici 70 (1), pp. 33-96 : 64-65

Hermerius Newman, 1844

( Figs. 10 , 11 A–G, 14K , 15N , 18 A–B)

Hermerius Newman, 1844: 415 . Type species Hermerius impar, Newman, 1844 , by monotypy. Jin et al. 2020: 22 .

Arimaspes Thomson, 1864: 301 . Type species Arimaspes howei, Thomson, 1864 , by monotypy.

Dioclides Thomson, 1864: 302 . Type species Dioclides prionoides Thomson, 1864 , by original designation and monotypy.

Cnemoplites (Dioclides) : Lameere 1903a: 48, 1913: 21, 1919: 40; McKeown 1947: 9.

Cnemoplites (Hermerius) : Lameere 1903a: 45, 1913: 20, 1919: 40; McKeown 1947: 9.

Diagnostic combination (Male). Moderately large beetles, 25–40 mm long. Dorsum usually unicoloured,

black to dark brown or slightly reddish brown, sometimes with elytra yellowish. Sexually dimorphic, dense punctures absent. Head distinctly narrower than prothorax; frontoclypeal suture arcuate or angulate; medi- an groove complete. Antennal tubercles prominent, rounded or slightly pointed apically. Eyes large, weakly emarginate near antennal insertion, narrowly to moderately separated dorsally. Mandibles 1/3–1/2 of head capsule length, not sexually dimorphic, not bent towards ventral side and unidentate apically. Antenna in male extending beyond middle of elytra, sometimes reaching elytral apex. Scape about as long or slightly shorter than half of head capsule length, posteriorly extending beyond posterior margin of eye, moderately expanding apically, flat with blunt external edge; antennomere 3 longer than or about as long as scape and distinctly longer than 4. Mentum not fused to submentum. Terminal palpomere of maxillary and labial palps elongate oval and apically rounded. Prothorax transverse with lateral carina regularly dentate; anterior and posterior margins with complete beads. Pronotal disc at least bearing some hairs, surface usually with smaller and sparse punctures near central and coarser and denser punctures laterally. Prosternal process subparallel, extending beyond procoxae, rounded apically. Elytral surfaces coriaceous, with or without adpressed hairs; inner apical angle with short spine. Legs relatively long; femora with rows of sharp spines on ventral side. Protibia without rows of spines, with two sharp external projections apically and a pair of subequal spurs; tarsomere 3 moderately lobed; tarsomere 5 shorter than tarsomeres 1 and 2 combined.

Description. Male. Length 25-40 mm. Dorsum usually unicolored, black, dark brown or reddish brown, sometimes with yellowish elytra. Head approximately as long as wide, narrower than pronotum. Mandibles not sexually dimorphic, about as long or shorter than half of head capsule length, moderately curved inwards; each mandible wedge-shaped, very thick and strong on lateral side and near the base, unidentate at apex, with two extra teeth on incisor edge. Labrum transverse, anterior margin weakly emarginate medially with very dense setae; labrum separated from clypeus by deep arcuate groove, weakly scelerotised; dorsal surface of labrum and clypeus covered with long golden setae. Frontoclypeal suture angulate or arcuate; median groove distinct and complete. Antennal tubercles prominent, apex rounded. Antenna 11-segmented, mostly filiform, in H. prionoides antennae moderately serrate, mostly extending beyond the middle of elytra, reaching to elytral apices in H. prionoides . Scape long and weakly flat, reaching beyond posterior margin of eyes; antennomere 3 as long as or slightly longer than scape, distinctly longer than antennomere 4. Eyes large, transverse, coarsely facetted, slightly emarginate near antennal foramen; narrowly or moderately separated dorsally. Submentum rather straight at apex, mentum well exposed. Terminal palpomere of maxillary and labial palps elongate oval and apically truncate. Pronotum transverse, usually trapezoid with posterior margin broader than anterior margin; anterior emarginate medially with complete bead; posterior margin with complete bead; lateral carina with rather regular small sharp teeth. Disc surface covered with dense long hairs or at least with long adpressed setae, usually with less and smaller punctures in the central, and much coarser and dense punctures laterally. Prosternum moderately punctate; hypomeron well-defined, broader than prosternal process; prosternal process projecting towards mesoventrite, narrowly rounded apically. Mesoventral process narrow, emarginate at apex. Ventral side of thorax and coxae covered with golden hairs. Metanepisternum almost sub-parallel, only weakly constricted at base. Scutellum rounded apically; surface moderately to densely setose. Elytral surfaces dull covered with irregular coriaceous sculpture, mostly glabrous except in H. howei , only H. prionoides with two weak traces of venation presenting on basal half of elytra; elytral apices rounded with short sutural spine; epipleuron almost complete, narrowing apically. Legs strong; femur sub-parallel, with two rows of sharp spines on ventral side; tibia weakly expanded towards apex, surface rough but without spines along outer margin, bearing sensory setae on ventral side apically; each tibia with two or three apical projections and a pair of subequal spurs; tarsi strong; tarsomere 3 moderately lobed; tarsomere 5 shorter than tarsomeres 1 and 2 combined. Abdominal ventrites 1–4, each with sexual setal patch in all species, except of H. prionoides , surfaces smooth and bearing few adpressed hairs on lateral areas. Long setae present along the edge of ventrites 1–5, especially on the apex of ventrite 5. Male genitalia ( Fig. 14K ). Tegmen longer than sternite VII; parameres moderately long, 0.15–0.3 times length of tegmen, rounded apically with triangular projections at the base; penis as long as tegmen, dorsal apex emarginate while ventral apex narrowly pointed.

Female. Antennae usually shorter than in male, filiform, only extending to middle of elytra. Pronotal disc usually shiny and smooth in the central, with fine punctures in H. impar ; the whole body less setose than in males, sexual setal patches absent on abdominal ventrites. Ovipositor moderately long in H. impar ( Fig. 15N ) and H. prionoides , relatively short in H. howei ; apical sclerosed part at least longer than 2/3 length of baculus, distal gonocoxites long and expanded; stylus rather short, inserted laterally and relatively distant to apex, expanded apically.

Remarks. The monophylly and internal classification of Hermerius were supported by the previous molecular analyses ( Jin et al. 2020). With further mor- phological research, we revealed the following morphological characters which can be used to support this newly defined taxon: (1) pronotum completely covered with golden hairs in males, with the length and density of hairs variable in different species; (2) the dorsal piece of penis emarginate apically; (3) ovipositor with very small styli and distal gonocoxites moderately emarginate near stylus insertion. Of the five species currently recognised in Hermerius , four were formerly classified in different subgenera of Cnemoplites , and one is here newly described from Western and South Australia. Unfortunately, females of H. fairmairei and H. occidentalis sp. nov. are still unknown.

Figures

Figure 10. Hermerius spp. A–B: H. fairmairei (Lameere); C–D: H. occidentalis sp. nov., Holotype; E–G: H. howei (Thomson); H–J: H. impar Newman. A, C, E, H: male, dorsal; B, D, F, I: male, ventral; G, J: female, dorsal.

Figure 11. A–G: Hermerius spp. A–C: H. prionoides (Thomson); D: H. fairmairei (Lameere); E: H. occidentalis; F: H. impar Newman; G: H. howei (Thomson); H–J: Geoffmonteithia queenslanda Jin, de Keyzer et Ślipiński. A, H: male, dorsal; B, I: male, ventral; C, J: female, dorsal; D–G: male, abdominal ventrite 3.

Figure 14. Male genitalia, each figure from left to right: tegmen (ventral), tegmen (lateral), penis (ventral). A: Agrianome spinicollis (Macleay); B: Analophus parallelus Waterhouse; C: Anomophysis coxalis (Gahan); D: Archetypus marginatus sp. nov.; E: Brephilydia jejuna (Pascoe); F: Cnemoplites edulis Newman; G: Cryptipus frenchi (Blackburn); H: Eurynassa servillei Thomson; I: Hagrides princeps (Gahan); J: Geoffmonteithia queenslanda Jin, de Keyzer et Ślipiński; K: Hermerius impar Newman; L: Pseudoplites hamali (Lameere).

Figure 15. A–C: male genitalia, each figure from left to right: tegmen (ventral), tegmen (lateral), penis (ventral). A: Teispes insularis (Hope); B: Utra nitida Jordan; C: Xixuthrus microcerus (White). D–R: ovipositor. D: Agrianome spinicollis (Macleay); E: Analophus parallelus Waterhouse; F: Anomophysis coxalis (Gahan); G: Archetypus marginatus sp. nov.; H: Brephilydia jejuna (Pascoe); I: Cnemoplites edulis Newman; J: Cryptipus frenchi (Blackburn); K: Eurynassa servillei Thomson; L: Geoffmonteithia queenslanda Jin, de Keyzer et Ślipiński; M: Hagrides princeps (Gahan); N: Hermerius impar Newman; O: Pseudoplites hamali (Lameere); P: Teispes insularis (Hope); R: Utra nitida Jordan; R: Xixuthrus microcerus (White).

Figure 18. Distribution maps based on specimens examined.