Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus occidentalis, López & Baena, 2022

López, Marcos A. & Baena, Manuel, 2022, A new subspecies of Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus (Herbst, 1784) from southern Spain, Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), Zootaxa 5154 (5), pp. 557-576 : 558-570

Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov.

( Figs. 1–22 )

Type specimens studied. Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov.: Holotype (male, MLCJ): SPAIN, Jaén , Sierra de Cazorla , Segura y las Villas, 7–25.VII.2018, M. López & M. Baena leg. ; Allotype (female, MLCJ): with the same data as holotype but 20.VI.2015, M. López & M. Baena leg. Paratypes: 15 specimens (9 males — 6 females) with the same data as holotype but 20–30.VI.2016 : 2 males — 3 females; 16.VI–7.VII.2018: 2 males — 1 female; 7.07.2018: 1 male; 15.VI–1.VII.2019: 3 males — 1 female; Spain , Albacete prov. Bogarra, Cuerda de las Almenaras , 1 female, 23.IV.2008, J. J. de la Rosa leg., ex larvae from branchs of Acer opalus Mill. ; Spain , Albacete prov. Bogarra, Cuerda de las Almenaras , 1 male, 19.VI.2008, J. J. de la Rosa leg., ex larvae from branchs of Acer opalus Mill. Paratypes deposited in MNCN, AVCC, JRCG, LTCZ, MBCC, MLCJ and SDCM collections. The specimen recorded by Verdugo & Pérez-López (2004), was not found in the Javier Pérez López collection, is presumably lost and have not could include in the type series .

Description of the holotype male ( Fig. 1 ).

Lenght: 16.94 mm, width: 5.1 mm, width behind middle: 5.8 mm. Head blackish, narrower than pronotum, relatively small and completely covered with coarse punctures. Labial and maxillary palps dark brown, elongated and relatively wide and covered with sparse short setae; maxillae with triangular last segment. Labrum testaceous, rectangular, wide and with long, erect setae. Mandibles strong, outer ridge with long and straight black setae. Eyes salient, emarginated, finely faceted and with the superior lobe, 3.7 times wider than interocular space. Antennal insertions moderately prominent, elevated, separated on medium with a depth longitudinal furrow.

Antennae dark brown, relatively long and robust, exceeding the elytral apex from the last antennomere. Ratio: 17: 4: 20: 18: 20: 20: 21: 19: 18: 16: 15. Scape subtriangular, 2.2 times longer than wide, with sparse punctures and short thick setae in the surface. Pedicel triangular ( Fig. 2 ), about as long as wide, covered with erect setae. Remaining antennomeres with scattered punctures and clearly erect setae beneath. 3rd–10th joints with apical spines on inner side.

Pronotum blackish ( Fig. 3 ), transverse, hexagonal, somewhat angulate laterally in middle, 1.6 times longer than wide at medium. Sides with some erect setae. Punctuation with densely microgranulate-puncture, clearly separated at the upper and lower margins. Lustrous area in the middle of disc rhomboid, defined, irregularly covered by deep punctures except on center. Anterior and posterior margin almost straight, with a row of short and dense yellowish setae. Prosternum densely punctate with sparse pubescence. Prosternal process ( Fig. 4 ) relatively wide and rounded at apex. Scutellum black, slightly wider than long and sparsely punctate.

Elytra greenish with light copper metallic lustre ( Fig. 5 ). Length 11.8 mm, width 5.4 mm, 2.18 times longer than wide at base. Humeral angles rounded. Longitudinal concavity on basal part deep. Parallel-sided from base to medium, laterally expanded behind the middle, apex rounded. Marked edge, slightly widened. Elytral sculpture of the basal half formed by irregularly creased ( Fig. 6 ), less pronounced toward apex ( Fig. 7 ). Elytral pilosity short and lying, more abundant from half to the apex.

Legs short, blackish. Femora wide, clavate. Meso and metatibiae slighltly curved, somewhat widened at apex with long erect setae on the internal side. Tarsi completely covered with short setae. Abdominal sternites dark brown with scattered punctuation and long and sparse hairs.

Male Genitalia: Tegmen ( Fig. 8 ) slightly arcuate in lateral view. Lateral lobes ( Fig. 9 ) relatively short, robust and almost parallel sided, with external margin slightly convex, rounded apically with erect long setae, about 0.46 times length of entire tegmen. Margin of phallobase roof ( Fig. 9 ) almost straight without setae at apex. Annellum rounded, wider than the distance between the outer edges of the lobes. Manubrium short and with two small opposite bumps. Penis ( Fig. 10 ) 0.27 mm length, short and falciform, somewhat bulky on middle; tectum with the apical portion rounded ( Fig. 11 ), basal spatuliform apophysis almost straight.

Description of the allotype female ( Fig. 12 )

Length: 22.66 mm, width: 6.9 mm, width behind middle: 8.3 mm. The habitus is similar to male, although more biggest and robust. Integument dark brown. Antennae somewhat robust than male and distinctly shorter than elytra, reaching two-thirds of elytral length. Pronotum ( Fig. 13 ) notably transverse, hexagonal, angulate laterally in middle, 1.46 times longer than wide at medium. Punctuation finer and scattered on surface, densely puncture on sides. Last abdominal ventrite pubescent, with margin rounded and clearly emarginated medially.

Variability. The length and width in males and females show some variability, so, the length in males oscillates between 14.48–20.7 mm, in females 14.61–22.66 mm; the width in males between 4.8–6.9 mm, in females 4.6–7.0 mm; the width behind middle in males 5.5–6.7 mm, females 5.7–8.6 mm. Others variable characters are: the shape of pronotum somewhat rounded at sides, especially near of the base (2 males) ( Figs. 14–15–16 ); the extension and punctuation of the lustrous area on pronotum in males ( Figs. 14–15–16 ), and in females, the density of this punctuation ( Fig. 17 ); the length of the antennae in males, as long as the elytra or exceeding only the last segment; coloration of the integument are black, blackish, dark mahogany or light brownish; the copper lustre in elytra occupies almost his complete extension (2 males — 1 female) ( Figs. 18–19 ).

Discussion. The Ropalopus ungaricus complex is a homogeneous group in which the external appearance of the different subspecies is rather similar, although some clear differences are observed on external and genital morphological characters.

Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. differs clearly to the nominative subspecies because the basal half of the elytra is only slightly reticulated or less marked wrinkles whiles in R. (R.) ungaricus the surface is covered with strong and pronounced irregular wrinkles. Also the pronotum in ungaricus is lustrous and evenly tapered, with stains at the sides almost merged at the upper and lower margins in males. In Ropalopus (R.) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. the shape is hexagonal and densely punctate or rugose with a small unpunctured area on disc and the stains at sides are clearly separated at the upper and lower margins in males. The prosternal process is also variable in ungaricus , it is relatively wide and rounded at the apex, sometimes expands or even bifurcates at end. In occidentalis ssp. nov., is rather stable in the shape, is also wide but always rounded at apex.

To Ropalopus (R.) ungaricus insubricus differs by the length of antennae, clearly longer than the elytra in this subspecies, while in occidentalis ssp. nov., reach only the elytral apex or if are longer than elytra, exceed only the last antennomere. In insubricus the rhomboid area on pronotum is, at most, slightly punctate, while in occidentalis ssp. nov. is densely punctate or rugose except the small smoth area on center. The altitude allow to separate both subspecies, while insubricus lives in lowland areas at elevations not higher than 600 m a.s.l., the ssp. occidentalis ssp. nov. is located only at altitudes above 1300 m a.s.l.

The main characteristic to separate Ropalopus (R.) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. from R. (R.) ungaricus gallicus , is the dense, long and whitish pubescence of the ventral side of the body in gallicus , never present in occidentalis ssp. nov. Also the ssp. gallicus , have the pronotum with the lustrous area barely punctate or wrinkled and the antennae usually much shorter than elytra in males, something longer in the males of occidentalis ssp. nov.

Ropalopus (R.) ungaricus boreki and R. (R.) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. can be easily separated by the elytral sculpture. In the first subspecies, its consists on deeper and larger punctures, clearly separated around the middle on the basal half and much thinner and denser points on the second half, while in occidentalis ssp. nov., the elytral sculpture is formed with creased and convex surface of basal half, and less pronounced towards the apex. Another character which separates both subspecies is the shape of pronotum, in boreki is unevenly tapered towards the anterior and posterior margins and uniformly densely punctate. The habitat of these two subspecies is also different, while occidentalis ssp. nov. lives in high montane places, ssp. boreki is found at coastal and low regions around 200– 400 m. a.s.l.

Ropalopus (R.) ungaricus siculus differs significantly to occidentalis ssp. nov. by the dense and yellowish ventral pubescence, especially on the prosternum and mesosternum. Also vary in the shape of pronotum, hexagonal in the new subspecies.

Several characters allow the separation of occidentalis ssp. nov. from R. (R.) u. ossae . This subspecies have a pronotum uniformly tapering towards the anterior and posterior margins, usually is completely stippled with a small smooth glabrous area on disc; antennae clearly longer than elytra and the prosternal process relatively narrower than occidentalis ssp. nov.

In male genitalia there are slight differences. The lateral lobes of tegmen in R. (R.) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. are much more similar to ungaricus . The margin of the phallobase roof of occidentalis ssp. nov. share an almost straight shape like ssp. insubricus , gallicus , siculus and boreki . Differs clearly from ungaricus and ossae because both subspecies have a clearly depression in the middle, pronounced in ungaricus and less marked in ossae .

The new subspecies share features of the two groups of the Ropalopus ungaricus complex. The pronotum have two lateral punctured areas and a wide and smooth discal area with big and sparse punctures.

Etymology. The subspecific name occidentalis is a Latin adjective in the nominative singular meaning “western”, referring to the localisation of the Iberian Peninsula, where is situated the type locality of the new subspecies, the westernmost area in Europa where exist populations of R. (R.) ungaricus .

Habitat & bionomy. The specimens of the new subspecies from Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park (province of Jaén), has only been found in a few places at levels between 1600–1900 m a.s.l. ( Fig. 20 ). The geological structure of this area is dominated by carbonate rocks, limestones and dolomites, with intercalations of marls and detrital levels, mainly sands. The climate is the Oceanic-Mediterranean type with mild summers. Average temperatures show records that oscillate between 20–25ºC in summer, and extremely cold temperatures during winter, sometimes below -13ºC. Precipitation fluctuates between 600 and 1100 mm, reaching 1150 mm in the highest areas, with significant snowfalls in the winter months.

The vegetation of the locality belongs to the association Daphno latifoliae-Aceretum granatensis Rivas Martínez, 1964, typical of the subhumid ombroclimate in the mountains of Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park. The primitive extension of this forest have been reduced due to the plantations of Pinus nigra salzmannii (Dunal) Franco ( Gómez Mercado & Valle, 1990).

In this area is located an important population of the Iberian-Mauritanian endemism Acer granatense , in which Ropalopus (R.) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. is doubtlessly and solely associated. We have found larvae developing inside healthy or somewhat weakened trunks and branches. Adults are mainly present in late spring to midsummer (June–July principally). Most are active at midday and are too difficult to find. Generally are found on the leaves or bark in the canopy region of the live host trees ( Fig. 21 ), although, some active adult specimens were also located at night on maple trunks. The specimens are attracted to a mix of red wine, sugar and fruit.

The specimens from the province of Bogarra (province of Albacete), also emerged from branches around 7 cm in diameter of A. granatense , under laboratory conditions and had been collected on July 2006. In these branches small accumulations of sawdust were observed on the surface, that could correspond to the beginning of galleries feeding of newly hatched larvae. These branches were alive and vegetating perfectly, although already had abundant exit holes compatible with Ropalopus (R.) ungaricus . The place is located above 1550 m, and are numerous specimens of maples scattered in an environment dominated by repopulated pine forests.

Ropalopus (R.) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. is the taxon located at the highest elevation of all the known subspecies of Ropalopus ungaricus . Thus R. (R.) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. is more related to the highland taxa grouped by Karpiński et al. (2020) ( ssp. ungaricus , siculus and ossae ), than with the subspecies living at medium ( ssp. gallicus ) or lowland elevations ( ssp. insubricus and boreki ).

Distribution. Southeast Spain ( Fig. 22 ). Located on the northeast of the provinces of Jaén and Granada (Andalusia autonomous community) and southeast of the Albacete province (Castilla-La Mancha autonomous community). At present the known localities for R. (R.) u. occidentalis ssp. nov. in Spain are indicated in the following table. The locality indicated in Vives & Sama (1998) as Acero is inexact. We do not know any toponym with that unique denomination within the Sierra de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park, surely should be refer to “Casa forestal refugio de Fuente Acero”.

Possibly the new subspecies is more widely dispersed than is currently known, since the distribution of Acer granatense reaches the mountains to the south and east of the Iberian Peninsula, the island of Mallorca and the Rif mountain range in Morocco ( Gómez Aparicio, 2004).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov., male, holotype. Scale bar 1 cm.

FIGURE 2. Pedicel.

FIGURE 3. Pronotum of the holotypus.

FIGURE 4. Prosternal process.

FIGURE 5. Left elytra of holotypus.

FIGURE 6. Elytral sculpture of the basal half of the elytra of the holotypus.

FIGURE 7. Elytral sculpture fom medium to apex of holotypus.

FIGURE 8. Tegmen. Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 9. Lateral lobes and phallobase roof.

FIGURE 10. Penis in lateral view. Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 11. Apical portion of tectum in dorsal view.

FIGURE 12. Habitus of Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov., female, allotype. Scale bar 1 cm.

FIGURE 13. Pronotum of the allotype.

FIGURES 14-16. Variability on sides and lustrous area of pronotum in males.

FIGURE 17. Variability on punctuation of pronotum in females.

FIGURES 18-19. Variability of coloration in the elytra of males.

FIGURE 20. Area and aspect of the typical locality in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park (province of Jaén, Spain).

FIGURE 21. Male of Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. on trunk of Acer granatense Boissduval, 1838.

FIGURE 22. Distribution of Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ungaricus occidentalis ssp. nov. in SE of Spain.