Sphalloeme mexicana Galileo, Martins & Santos-Silva, 2015, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Galileo, Maria Helena M.
name: Martins, Ubirajara R.
name: Santos-Silva, Antonio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cerambycidae
Sphalloeme
Sphalloeme mexicana

description: Sphalloeme mexicana sp. nov.
(Figures 19–21)
Description. Integument yellowish-brown; lateral side of prothorax brown, gradually lighter towards prosternum; meso- and metasternum, and urosternites I–III light brown; palpi, ocular carinae and legs yellowish; elytra more yellowish towards apex.
Head. Frons transverse, distinctly sulcate along coronal suture; microsculptured, with moderately coarsely, sparsely, shallowly punctate; with moderately short, sparse setae, slightly denser close to lower eye lobes. Antennal tubercles with sculpture as on frons; setae moderately long and abundant. Coronal suture well marked from clypeus to near anterior margin of prothorax. Ocular carina well marked from middle to posterior edge of upper eye lobes; area between ocular carinae triangularly depressed; with moderately long, sparse setae (with one very long seta near apex). Vertex with sculpture as on frons; setae shorter than on frons. Area behind upper eyes lobes opaque, microsculptured, gradually narrowed to apex of lower eye lobes; remaining area shiny, very finely, longitudinally striate; margin of lower eye lobe with sparse, long setae (longer towards inferior margin). Submentum microsculptured, with long, sparse setae (longer laterally and near gula). Distance between upper eye lobes equal to 0.2 times length of scape; distance between lower eye lobes, in frontal view, equal to length of scape. Antennae, from base of scape to apex of antennomere VII, as long as elytron; apex of antennomere VII reaching distal quarter of elytra; scape, pedicel, and antennomeres with moderately long, sparse setae throughout, mixed with very long setae; antennal formula based on antennomere III: scape = 0.68; pedicel = 0.32; IV = 1.48; V = 1.35; VI = 1.13; VII = 1.00.
Thorax. Prothorax as long as 0.18 times elytral length. Sides of prothorax with sculpture as on pronotum, gradually shiner towards prosternum. Pronotum distinctly depressed at center basal half (depression possibly caused during the process of drying the specimen); microsculptured, with shallow, slightly distinct punctures; with short, moderately abundant setae. Prosternum shiny, finely transversely striate; with short, sparse setae (slightly longer, more abundant near anterior margin). Metasternum laterally with short, sparse setae, gradually sparser towards center. Scutellum with short, moderately sparse setae. Elytra. Finely, densely punctate; each elytron with two carinae from base to distal quarter; with short, abundant setae, interspersed with moderately long, sparse setae; apex individually rounded.
Abdomen. Urosternites with long, sparse setae. Legs. Femora remarkably flattened laterally.
Type material. Holotype female from MEXICO, Nuevo León: 3 miles E Galeana (5,000’), 7–8.VIII.1963, Duckworth & Davis col. (USNM).
Dimensions in mm (female). Total length, 6.70; length of prothorax at center, 0.95; largest width of prothorax, 1.10; anterior width of prothorax, 0.85; posterior width of prothorax, 0.85; humeral width, 1.35; elytral length, 5.10.
Etymology. Related to the country of the type locality.
Remarks. Female of Sphalloeme mexicana sp. nov. differs from that of S. costipennis Melzer, 1928 (Fig. 22), as follows: body slender; elytra gradually lighter towards apex; pro- and mesofemora laterally more distinctly flattened. In females of S. costipennis the body is wider, the elytra are darker at about distal quarter, and the pro- and mesofemora are less flattened laterally.
The following are missing in the holotype specimen: antennomeres VIII–XI of left antenna; antennomeres VI– XI of right antenna.
Currently, the unique species of Sphalloeme Melzer, 1928, S. costipennis, is recorded only from Brazil (Espírito Santo to Rio Grande do Sul) and Argentina (Misiones) (Monné 2015). Monné (2015) questioned the occurrence of S. costipennis in Honduras (“ Honduras?.”). The record of that species for Honduras is by Turnbow et al. (2003): “ Sphalloeme costipennis Melzer / Yoro, 45 km. S Tela, 800 m., V-22-79, E. Giesbert (EFGC)”. Bezark (2015) figured a specimen from Guatemala (Petén) as being S. costipennis. This latter agree very well with S. mexicana, and it is not S. costipennis. Thus, it is possible that S. mexicana also occurs in Guatemala and Honduras.
description: Published as part of Galileo, Maria Helena M., Martins, Ubirajara R. & Santos-Silva, Antonio, 2015, New species of Cerambycinae from the Neotropical Region, and nomen novum for Anelaphus maculatus Galileo, Martins, and Santos-Silva, 2014 (Elaphidiini), pp. 373-386 in Zootaxa 3986 (3) on pages 384-385, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3986.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/233750