Uracanthus dubius Lea, 1916

Thongphak, Duangrat & Wang, Qiao, 2007, Taxonomic revision of the longicorn beetle genus Uracanthus Hope 1833 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Uracanthini) from Australia., Zootaxa 1569 (1569), pp. 1-139 : 25-26

Uracanthus dubius Lea, 1916

(Figs 27, 65, 97)

Uracanthus dubius Lea, 1916: 371 .— McKeown, 1947: 64.

Description

Male. Body length, 25.08–36.08 mm; width, 4.91–7.19 mm.

Colour (Fig. 27). Body reddish brown to blackish with head, thorax, femora, and basal elytra darker. Head covered with dense white pubescence except median frontal groove and a longitudinal glabrous area on vertex. Pronotum with 2 longitudinal stripes of dense white pubescence on each side: 1 on disc, narrow and vague, and 1 near ventral side, wide and distinct; remaining prothorax with fairly dense white pubescence. Each elytron with an indistinct subtriangular mark covered with sparse, short, white pubescence, starting from the shoulder and extending to basal 1/3, and the mark margined with dense white pubescence; remaining part of elytra covered with dense white pubescence arranged like several longitudinal lines. Body colour varies from blackish brown to reddish brown.

Head. Postclypeus triangular, convex and finely dense punctate; frontoclypeal suture wide and deep in middle; distance between lower lobes of eyes 1.77–1.9 × as long as distance between upper lobes of eyes; distance between upper lobes of eyes 1.05–1.09 × as long as distance between eyes on ventral side; genal length 0.38–0.46 × as long as head width below eyes. Antennae slightly shorter than body, segments 5–10 flattened and distinctly produced on one side at apex; apical ¼ of segment 11 clearly thinner than basal ¾.

Thorax and abdomen. Pronotum 1.17–1.34 × as long as wide, with a very small angular process at each side; posterior margin 1.13–1.33 × as wide as anterior margin; disc finely punctate with 2 small nodules on disc; disc and sides strongly rugose transversely. Scutellum semicircular, with dense pubescence. Elytra 4.05– 4.55× as long as prothorax and 3.38–3.60 × as long as shoulder width; each elytron with 3 feeble longitudinal carinae; apex widely emarginate and strongly bispinose. Elytral apex may vary from widely to narrowly emarginate. Apex of terminal sternite truncate.

Male terminalia. Apex of ventral lobe strongly and widely emarginate and apex of dorsal lobe rounded or weakly pointed; ventral lobe much longer than dorsal lobe; spined region of internal sac 5.3–5.42 × as long as basal unspined regions; spined region divided into two sections without unspined gap between sections: first section with dense clustered long simple spines and fairly dense multi-branched spines; second section with sparse short simple spines ( Fig. 65a). Eighth sternite rounded or slightly obliquely truncate at sides, very shallowly emarginate at apex, with long and fairly long setae arising terminally; ventral surface with cloud-like processes ( Fig. 65b). Eighth tergite with a small notch at apex; dorsal surface with dense simple spines and multi-branched spines ( Fig. 65c). Paramere 2.0–2.3 × as long as wide, cylindrical in shape, apex rounded with long and short setae ( Fig. 65d).

Female. Body length, 25.27–38.04 mm; width, 5.07–8.17 mm.

Similar to males but differs in having more robust body and shorter antennae; elytra 3.46–3.69 × as long as shoulder width and 4.03–4.75 × as long as prothorax; apical ¼ of antennal segment 11 slightly thinner than basal ¾.

Ovipositor and spermatheca. Ovipositor short; styli arising terminally with short hairs ( Fig. 65e). Spermatheca heavily curved; spermathecal gland very long and arising near base ( Fig. 65f).

Distribution Southeastern Western Australia, southwestern South Australia and central New South Wales ( Fig. 97).

Biology

Hosts are unknown. Adults were collected by light trap during September–January and a pitfall trap in Febuary.

Comments

This species resembles U. regalis but differs in having the subtriangular mark on the elytral disc almost completely covered with sparse short pubescence; elytra with more longitudinal lines of dense white pubescences.

Material examined

Holotype. ♂. SA: Fowlers Bay (31º58'S, 132º28'E), Coll. no. 5482, bearing a name label on which ‘TYPE’ was written in red ( SAM).

Paratypes. 3 ♀, 1 ♂. SA: 2 ♀, 1 ♂, same data as above ( SAM) ; 1 ♀, no data ( SAM) .

Other material examined. 19 ♂, 8 ♀. NSW: 1 ♂, 16 km W of Euabalong West , 27.x.1992, M. S. & B. J. Moulds ( AM) . SA: 1 ♂, Ceduna (32°07'S, 133°40'E), 29.xii.1957, P. Aitken ( SAM) ; 1 ♀, 5 km S by E of Ceduna (32°10'S, 133°41'E), 10.x.1968, M. S. Upton & J. E. Feehan ( ANIC) ; 5 ♂, Yumbarra National Park , 11.xi.1975, at light, J. A. Herridge ( SAM) ; 1 ♂, same data as above but Inila Rock Waters (13°46'S, 133°25'E), 20–30.ii.1995, pitfall, H. Owen ( SAM) ; 2 ♂, Yalata , 4.x.1989, P. R. B. Det. 1971 by E. G Matthews ( WINC) ; 2 ♂, Wittelee Point , 10 km SE Ceduna, 1.iii.1975, at light, J. A. Herridge ( SAM) ; 1 ♀, Calpatanna, W. H. Cons Pk. Wedina Well , Eyre Pen., 30.xi.1986, at light, J. A. Forrest ( SAM) ; 2 ♀, 10 mi E by SE of Koonalda HS, SA, 19.x.1968, no abdomen, Britton, Upton & Balderson ( ANIC) . WA: 2 ♂, Eucla , 5.xi.08, C. French’s Collection ( NMV) ; 1 ♀, Officer Basin, N. E. of Stretch Mound Great Vict Desert , 24–28.ix.1991, R. P. McMillan ( SAM) ; 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Warbla , 9.i.1960, at light, P. Aitken ( SAM) ; 1 ♂, 7 mi E by N of Balladonia HS, 13.x.1968, Britton, Upton & Balderson ( ANIC) ; 2 ♀, WA ( ANIC) . Locality unknown : 1 ♂, Australia ( SAM) ; 1 ♂, S & W Australia ( QM) .