Solenoptera dominicensis ( Gahan, 1890 )

Devesa, Sergio, Fonseca, Elier & Barro, Alejandro, 2016, Solenoptera Audinet-Serville, 1832 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae, Solenopterini) in Cuba, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4184 (1), pp. 104-116 : 108

Solenoptera dominicensis ( Gahan, 1890)

( Figs 12–17 )

Prosternodes dominicensis Gahan, 1890: 26

Solenoptera fraudulenta Galileo & Martins, 1993: 445 , new synonym

Specimens examined: S. dominicensis : holotype male, Santo Domingo ( BMNH) and three of the five type specimens of S. fraudulenta : holotype male, Cuba ( IRSNB) and 2 paratypes females, Cuba ( IRSNB) .

Discussion: Solenoptera fraudulenta is very similar to S. dominicensis ( Gahan, 1890) , which is distinguished by having the scutellum pubescent ( Galileo & Martins, 1993b: 445). The description of S. dominicensis was based on a single male specimen. The specimen is in very bad condition, which is probably why the description was so brief. There is no information about the scutellum, as it was apparently damaged or missing. Galileo and Martins (1993b) assumed the glabrous state of the scutellum of S. dominicensis based only on a photograph of the holotype as they did not examine any specimens of this species. Examination of the holotypes of both species (BMNH, IRSNB) and descriptions and photographs provided by Lingafelter and Woodley (2007) and Lingafelter (2015) show that these species are quite similar, almost identical. Therefore general morphology, color, punctures, and pubescence (variable among different individuals) cannot be used to separate these species.

Distribution. Solenoptera dominicensis (= S. fraudulenta ) is endemic to Hispaniola. The specimens used for the description of S. fraudulenta were collected over a century ago and the labels do not provide any other information except “ Cuba ”. This species has not been found in any Cuban collections and has not been collected again, despite numerous surveys. It is peculiar that a species so strikingly colored, diurnal, and of a considerable size (17–38 mm length) has not been collected again in Cuba. Maybe those specimens were mislabeled after their arrival in Europe, similar to those of S. thomae and S. bilineata that Galileo and Martins (1993b) decided to leave as “specimens with locality to be verified but probably mislabeled”, and that is why we propose that S. dominicensis should be removed from the list of Cuban Cerambycidae .

Figures

FIGURES 12 – 17. Solenoptera fraudulenta Galileo & Martins: HOLOTYPE male: 12) dorsal; 13) ventral; 14) specimen labels; PARATYPE female, 15) dorsal; 16) ventral; 17) specimen labels. Photos: IRSNB (J. Pirkl).