Psyrassa garciai, Santos-Silva & Botero & Tirant, 2018

Santos-Silva, Antonio, Botero, Juan Pablo & Tirant, Stéphane Le, 2018, A new genus, four new species and taxonomic and geographic notes in Mexican Cerambycidae, Zootaxa 4420 (2), pp. 189-210 : 196-199

Psyrassa garciai , sp. nov.

( Figs. 14–17 )

Description. Male. Integument, mostly dark brown, almost black; mouthparts reddish brown; scape reddish brown; remaining antennal segments dark brown, gradually light reddish brown toward antennomere XI; elytra dark brown basally, gradually lighter toward apex; legs reddish brown, darker on tarsomeres; abdominal ventrites I–IV narrowly dark reddish brown on apex.

Head. Frons coarsely, densely punctate laterally, sparsely punctate centrally (finer, notably denser close to lower eye lobes); with short, decumbent yellowish setae laterally (more whitish depending on angle of light source), nearly glabrous centrally; sulcus between frons and clypeus moderately deep. Area between antennal tubercles sparsely punctate laterally, nearly smooth centrally; with sparse yellowish setae laterally, glabrous centrally. Remaining surface of vertex coarsely, abundantly, partially confluent punctate; with short, sparse yellowish setae (more whitish depending on angle of light source), interspersed with a few long, erect yellowish setae. Area behind upper eye lobes coarsely, abundantly punctate toward vertex, smooth toward lower eye lobe; with sparse yellowish decumbent setae on punctate area, glabrous on remaining surface. Area behind lower eye lobes nearly smooth and glabrous. Genae short, finely, moderately abundantly punctate; with short, decumbent, sparse yellowish setae (more whitish depending on angle of light source); apex rounded. Antennal tubercles coarsely, abundantly punctate frontally, gradually finer, sparser toward vertex, except on smooth distal area; with short, decumbent, sparse yellowish setae except on glabrous distal area. Median groove distinct from clypeus to prothoracic margin (less distinct from upper eye lobes to prothorax). Postclypeus finely, abundantly punctate on wide central area, smooth laterally; with moderately abundant yellowish pubescence not obscuring integument (more whitish depending on angle of light source), glabrous laterally; with a few long, erect yellow setae on each side of wide central area. Labrum coplanar with anteclypeus at basal half, inclined at distal half; with short, sparse yellowish setae interspersed with a few long, erect yellow setae on basal half, with fringe of golden setae on distal half, denser centrally. Gulamentum smooth, glabrous between prothoracic margin and distal margin of lower eye lobes, striate-punctate and with long, erect, sparse yellowish setae on remaining surface. Distance between upper eye lobes 0.83 times length of scape; in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 1.10 times length of scape; upper eye lobes with 3 rows of ommatidia. Antennae 1.15 times elytral length, reaching distal sixth of elytra. Scape coarsely, densely punctate dorsally and laterally, except for smooth distal laterodorsal area; nearly smooth ventrally; with short, decumbent, sparse yellowish setae interspersed with long, erect yellowish setae ventrally, except glabrous smooth area; with long, erect, sparse yellowish setae ventrally. Antennomeres with short, decumbent yellowish setae, gradually denser toward XI; with long, erect yellowish setae ventrally, gradually shorter and sparser toward XI; III–X with a few long, erect yellowish setae at apex of dorsal surface; antennomeres III–IV slightly carinate dorsally. Apical spine of antennomere III slightly curved, rounded at apex, with 0.39 times length of antennomere; apical spine of antennomere IV with 0.19 times length of antennomere; antennomere V with short triangular projection at inner apex. Antennal formula (ratio) based on length of antennomere III (excluding spine): scape = 0.78; pedicel = 0.26; IV = 0.78; V = 0.82; VI = 0.82; VII = 0.80; VIII = 0.78; IX = 0.76; X = 0.65; XI = 0.76.

Thorax. Prothorax longer than wide (1.2 times); parallel-sided between basal and distal constrictions. Pronotum coarsely, abundantly punctate except smooth central area from basal constriction to distal third (narrowed from base to apex); with short and long, erect, moderately sparse yellowish setae throughout (more whitish depending on angle of light source), except glabrous smooth area. Sides of prothorax coarsely, abundantly punctate (punctures slightly denser than on pronotum), except striate basal and distal areas (the latter narrowed toward pronotum); with short and long, erect yellowish setae, sparser toward prosternum. Prosternum rugosepunctate on basal half, transversely striate on distal half; with grayish white pubescence on basal half (more yellowish depending on angle of light source), not obscuring integument, interspersed with long, erect yellowish setae; with long, erect, sparse yellowish setae on distal half; prosternal process narrowed centrally, triangularly expanded toward apex. Procoxal cavities open posteriorly. Mesoventrite with sparse grayish white pubescence centrally (more yellowish depending on angle of light source), denser laterally. Mesanepisternum and mesepimeron with grayish white pubescence nearly obscuring integument (more yellowish depending on angle of light source). Metanepisternum with grayish white pubescence partially obscuring integument (more yellowish depending on angle of light source). Metaventrite coarsely, moderately abundantly punctate except for smooth central area; sides with grayish white pubescence not obscuring integument (more yellowish depending on angle of light source); remaining surface with long, erect, sparse yellowish setae except glabrous central area. Scutellum with grayish white pubescence obscuring integument. Elytra. Parallel-sided; apex truncate, with rounded outer angle and triangular projection at sutural angle; coarsely, abundantly punctate on basal half, gradually finer sparser toward apex; with short, decumbent, moderately abundant yellowish setae interspersed with long, erect yellowish setae. Legs. Femora gradually coarsely, densely, confluently punctate toward apex; with short and long, erect, sparse yellowish setae. Tibiae with short and long, erect, moderately sparse yellowish setae.

Abdomen. Ventrites I–IV finely, moderately sparsely punctate; with short and long, erect, sparse yellowish setae on wide central area, with short, dense grayish white pubescence laterally. Ventrite V nearly smooth, with short and long, sparse yellowish setae; distal margin truncate.

Dimensions in mm. Total length, 10.85; prothoracic length, 1.90; basal prothoracic width, 1.45; distal prothoracic width, 1.40; widest prothoracic width, 1.55; humeral width, 2.15; elytral length, 7.90.

Type material. Holotype male from MEXICO, Tamaulipas: Aldama (Sabino Gordo; 100 m), 22–25.VIII.2009, Curoe & Fierro col. ( MZSP).

Etymology. This species is dedicated to our collaborator Jose Hector Garcia.

Remarks. The inclusion of the new species among the genera of Elaphidiini is somewhat problematic. It may be included in Psyrassa Pascoe, 1866 , Megapsyrassa Linsley, 1961 , and Aneflomorpha Casey, 1912 , depending of the feature or set of features used. Lingafelter (1998) pointed out: “ Aneflomorpha strongly resembles Psyrassa ; indeed the two genera share many characters. In particular, wing venation is identical. Both of these genera are speciose and probably are polyphyletic; each containing some taxa that should belong in the other. The lack of a strong pronotal constriction, more heavily punctate and pubescent pronotum, general openness of the procoxal cavities posteriorly, and longer third antennomere in Aneflomorpha distinguish it from Psyrassa .” We agree that these genera are problematic and their currently definitions are not satisfactory. However, we are considering as distinctive the presence of decumbent and abundant setae on pronotum and elytra in Aneflomorpha as a feature differing it from Psyrassa . In the latter, when the setae are more or less abundant, they are erected. Furthermore, the basal pronotal constriction is present in both these genera. Linsley (1961) separated Megapsyrassa from Psyrassa in the alternative of couplet “18”: “Episterna of metasternum not covered by elytra—leading to Psyrassa / Episterna of metasternum very narrow, covered by elytra, except toward base… Megapsyrassa .” Still according to Linsley (1961) on Megapsyrassa : “The affinities of this genus are not clear. It should probably be placed next to Psyrassa , from which it differs in the extremely narrow metathoracic episterna, the unusually heavy, recurved spines of the third and fourth antennal segments (in Psyrassa the spines are nearly always slender and that of the third segment is usually disproportionately long) and the large size of the included species.” However, the spines of the basal antennomeres do not differ from those of many species placed in Psyrassa . Furthermore, the metanepisternum in most species currently placed in Megapsyrassa does not differ from that in the species of Psyrassa . In M. linsleyi Chemsak & Giesbert, 1986 , the metanepisternum is not hidden by the elytra, being as in nearly all species of Psyrassa ; in M. atkinsoni Chemsak & Giesbert, 1986 , the metanepisternum is hidden by the elytra, but usually not so much as in M. xestioides (Bates, 1872) , type species of Megapsyrassa ; in M. testacea Giesbert, 1993 , the metanepisternum is from slightly hidden by the elytra toward apex to entirely not hidden as in Psyrassa ; and in M. xestioides , the metanepisternum is visible only anteriorly, but the length of this visible area is variable, and can be somewhat long. Even the large size of the species included in Megapsyrassa is questionable as a distinctly feature between this genus and Psyrassa , since P. olegkozlovi Santos-Silva et al., 2017 is a somewhat large species (23.6 mm). Based on the problematic distinction between Psyrassa , Megapsyrassa and Aneflomorpha , we are describing the new species in Psyrassa , the oldest genus that already includes species with similar appearance.

Psyrassa garciai sp. nov. is slightly similar to P. aliena (Linsley, 1934) , especially by the prothorax and elytra parallel-sided, but differs by the longer antennomere III, apex of spine of antennomere III rounded (acute in P. aliena ), and outer angle of the elytra rounded (projected in P. aliena ).

Figures

FIGURES 14–22. 14–17, Psyrassa garciai sp. nov., holotype male, 14, dorsal habitus, 15, ventral habitus, 16, lateral habitus, 17, head, frontal view; 18–22, Psyrassa belangeri sp. nov., 18–21, holotype female, 18, head, frontal view, 19, dorsal habitus, 20, ventral habitus, 21, lateral habitus; 22, paratype male, dorsal habitus.