Rhytiphora delicatula
Creators: name: Ashman, Lauren G.
name: Keyzer, Roger De
name: S ́ Lipińsk, Adam
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cerambycidae
Rhytiphora
Rhytiphora delicatula

description: Rhytiphora delicatula (McKeown, 1948) (Figs. 6E, 8B, 9D, 10A–B)
Rhytiphora uniformis Blackburn, 1901: 40. TL: “N. W. Australia ”. Junior secondary homonym of Aegomomus uniformis (Pascoe, 1864)
Rhytiphora blackburni Tavakilian & Nearns 2014a: 106. Replacement name for R. uniformis (Blackburn, 1901)
Platyomopsis delicatula McKeown, 1948: 60. TL: Carnarvon, Western Australia. New synonym
Moved to Rhytiphora (Setomopsis) delicatula: Breuning, 1961a: 273
Diagnosis. This species has not been sequenced, but it is morphologically similar to R. garnetensis sp. nov. (see above), R. piperitia, R. amicula and R. collaris (Figs. 6–8). The latter three species have distinct transverse grooves on the pronotum; R. piperitia and R. collaris also have mottled or banded antennae (with tubercules slightly closer together: 3.2–3.3 widths apart), and R. amicula and R. collaris have fully divided eyes. Rhytiphora piperitia has larger eyes (lower lobes 3.5–3.7 widths apart) and different colouring (heavily mottled ochre and brown, with diagonal white and brown patches in the apical third of the elytra). Rhytiphora amicula is slightly less elongate (body 3.0 times as long as wide) with no dorsal dark patches or brown mottling on the elytra. Rhytiphora collaris has a short clypeus (in line with mandibular articulation), striped pronotum, white metanepisternum, heavily mottled elytra with no dorsal dark patches and the lateral white stripe usually extending beyond the basal third.
Description. Body small to medium-sized, elongate: body length 15.0–17.0 mm, width 4.4–5.1 mm. Winged. Dark brown with pale grey setae, slight ochre mottling and distinct brown patches on elytra (Figs. 6E, 8B).
Head with frontoclypeus rectangular. Eyes moderately faceted, ringed with white setae, deeply emarginate, lobes connected by 1 row ommatidia. Lower lobes separated by 4.3–4.4 times eye width, slightly longer than gena (gena 0.8–0.9 times as long as lower lobe). Upper lobes separated by 2.3 times width of antennal socket, 0.9 times as long as antennal socket. Antennal tubercules fairly prominent, separated by 3.8 times width of antennal socket. Clypeus arcuate, slightly extended beyond mandibular articulation, sometimes covering membranous anteclypeus; mandibles apically pointed, maxillary and labial palps fusiform. Frontoclypeus grey-white, sometimes mottled with ochre. Antennae extending slightly beyond elytral apices in male, with ventral fringe of long, dense setae on antennomeres 2–11. Scape smooth, expanding apically, 2.3 times as long as wide, 4 times longer than pedicel, shorter than antennomere 3, posteriorly extending to anterior margin of pronotum. Antennomere 3 longer than 4. Antennomeres covered with fine grey setae.
Prothorax subquadrate, 0.8 times as long as wide, base distinctly narrower than humeri. Lateral margins with distinct anterior ridge; pronotal disc finely punctate with no distinct grooves or granules, setae pale grey with slight ochre mottling. Prosternal process narrow, arcuate. Procoxae without spiniform projection in males.
Elytra finely punctate, granulate in basal third, without distinct basal projections. Humeri each with large brown patch; thin, curved white line on lateral margin, not extending beyond basal third. Rest of elytra pale grey, lightly mottled with ochre and brown, with small brown patch at beginning of apical third. Elytral apices truncate.
Legs covered with fine grey setae; male protibial tubercule absent. Mesoventrite arcuate without anterior projection. Metaventrite twice as long as mesoventrite, setae pale grey with central white strip.
Ventrite 2 with broad yellow-brown sex patches in male, covering majority of ventrite length; fringe of ventrite 1 slightly thicker in male than other ventrite fringes. Ventrite 5 slightly longer than 4 in female, with slight apical divot and endocarina.
Male genitalia: parameres narrowly separated at base, thick, apically blunt and setose; penis tip rounded (Fig. 9D).
Types examined. Lectotype female, here designated (Rhytiphora uniformis): “ Type ” // “N. W. Australia ” // “ Rhytiphora uniformis (Type) Blackburn”(BMNH; Fig.10B). Holotype male (Platyomopsis delicatula): “ Carnarvon, N. W. Australia H. W. Brown ” // “ Platyomopsis delicatula McKeown ” // “Type” (AM; Fig. 10A).
Other material examined: Marloo Stn. Wurarga, WA 1931–1941, A. Goerling (2 specimens, ANIC 25-061931; Figs. 6E, 8B, 9D).
Distribution and host plants. Western Australia. Localities include: Carnarvon, Wurarga. Host plants for this species are unknown.
Remarks. The replacement name R. blackburni was instated for R. uniformis Blackburn, 1901 because there was no synonym available at the time. Here, we use R. delicatula as the oldest available name for this species, however we retain the record of the replacement name R. blackburni in case this synonymy is undone in the future (see ICZN Article 60).
description: Published as part of Ashman, Lauren G., Keyzer, Roger De & S ́ Lipińsk, Adam, 2023, The Australian genus Rhytiphora (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) with a revision of the Rhytiphora collaris group, pp. 1-62 in Zootaxa 5312 (1) on pages 19-20, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5312.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8129680