Psyrassa ocularis Garcia and Santos-Silva 2022, new species
Creators: name: García, Kimberly
name: Santos-Silva, Antonio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cerambycidae
Psyrassa
Psyrassa ocularis

description: Psyrassa ocularis García and Santos-Silva, new species
(Fig. 83–90, 95–96)
Description. Holotype male (Fig. 83–90). Integument mostly black; ventral mouthparts reddish-brown, except pale yellow apex of palpomeres; anteclypeus and labrum brownish, with irregular dark brown maculae; scape dark brown except brown apex; pedicel dark brown; antennomeres dark brown, gradually lighter toward XI. Coxae and trochanters mostly reddish-brown; femora reddish-brown; tibiae mostly dark brown on basal 2/3, reddish-brown on apical third; tarsi mostly dark brown.
Head. Frontal plate almost smooth, slightly transversely striate laterally, glabrous; remaining surface of frons coarsely, densely punctate, anastomosed laterally, except smooth central area; with a few short, decumbent yellowish-white setae. Area between antennal tubercles coarsely, abundantly punctate laterally, smooth centrally; with short, sparse, whitish setae on punctate area, glabrous centrally. Remaining surface of vertex coarsely, densely punctate; with short, sparse, decumbent yellowish-white setae arising from punctures, and a few long, erect yellowish setae close to eyes. Antennal tubercles coarsely, sparsely punctate, except smooth apex; with a few short, decumbent whitish setae, absent on apex. Area behind upper eye lobes with sculpturing and setae as on vertex on upper half, smooth close to eye, coarsely, shallowly punctate close to prothorax on lower half; with a few short decumbent yellowish-white setae on upper half, glabrous on lower half. Area behind lower eye lobes smooth close to eye on upper region, coarsely, shallowly punctate close to eye on lower region, somewhat rugose close to prothorax; glabrous, except a few yellowish setae close to eye on lower region. Genae very short, posterior margin rounded; with the anterior margin of lower eye lobe distinctly separating it from clypeus; finely, somewhat abundant punctate; with short, yellowish-white setae not obscuring integument. Maxillary palpomere IV and labial palpomere III securiform. Median groove from frontal plate to area between upper eye lobes. Wide central area of postclypeus coarsely, shallowly, confluently punctate; with short, sparse, decumbent whitish setae, and one long, erect yellowish-brown seta on each side. Sides of postclypeus smooth, glabrous. Posterocentral area of labrum finely, somewhat sparsely punctate; anterior region finely abundantly punctate; with both short and minute, sparse whitish setae posteriorly, tuft of long, erect yellowish-brown setae on sides of middle, and abundant, short, bristly yellowish-brown setae anteriorly. Gulamentum smooth, glabrous on posterior half; anterior half coarsely, transversely striate-punctate, with somewhat short and abundant yellowish-brown setae, and long, erect setae of same color interspersed. Outer side of mandibles coarsely, partially confluently punctate, except smooth apex; with short, decumbent yellowish-white setae, and a few long, erect yellowish-brown setae interspersed on punctate region, and tuft of yellowish-brown setae close to smooth apex. Upper eye lobes with five rows of ommatidia; distance between upper eye lobes 0.22 times distance between outer margins of eyes (1.25 times maximum diameter of scape); in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 0.38 times distance between outer margins of eyes. Antennae 1.85 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at posterior third of antennomere IX. Scape coarsely, densely punctate, except smooth apex (this area widened toward side of dorsal surface); with short, decumbent, sparse yellowish-white setae dorsally and laterally, and somewhat long, erect yellowish-brown setae on posterior half of ventral surface. Pedicel and antennomeres III–XI with abundant yellowish-white setae not obscuring integument, denser toward distal segments; antennomeres III–VI with long, erect, sparse yellowishbrown setae ventrally, gradually sparser toward VI; antennomeres III–X with a few long, erect yellowish-brown setae apically; antennomeres III–XI not carinate dorsally; inner apex of antennomere III spine as long as pedicel, with acute apex; inner apex of antennomere IV with spicule. Antennal formula (ratio) based on length of antennomere III (excluding spine): scape = 0.70; pedicel = 0.17; IV = 0.97; V = 1.07; VI = 1.11; VII = 1.07; VIII = 1.07; IX = 1.00; X = 0.97; XI = 1.27.
Thorax. Prothorax distinctly longer than wide; anterior and posterior constrictions well-marked, especially posterior one. Pronotum with one slightly distinct gibbosity on each side of anterior and posterior quarters; coarsely, sparsely punctate except smooth longitudinal central area from about middle to posterior constriction, and punctures slightly more abundant close to posterior margin; punctures with three types of yellowish setae, minute and decumbent, short and decumbent, or long and erect, but a few punctures lacking seta. Sides of prothorax coarsely, somewhat sparsely punctate on wide central area, coarsely, abundantly punctate close to posterior constriction, striate punctate close to posterior margin, somewhat rugose punctate close to anterior margin; setae as on pronotum. Prosternum coarsely, somewhat rugose-punctate on posterior half, transversely striate, with a few punctures interspersed on anterior half; with abundant grayish-white pubescence not obscuring integument on posterior half, and sparse, both short and decumbent and long and erect yellowish-white setae on anterior half. Prosternal process with grayish-white pubescence not obscuring integument; narrowest area 0.09 times procoxal width. Procoxal cavities distinctly opened posteriorly (Fig. 88). Ventral surface of mesothorax with grayish-white pubescence not obscuring integument, denser laterally. Metanepisternum and sides of metaventrite with abundant grayish-white pubescence not obscuring integument; remaining surface of metaventrite with somewhat long and sparse, erect yellowish setae, absent on center of posterior half, close to metathoracic discrimen; metaventrite coarsely, somewhat abundantly punctate (general appearance somewhat rugose). Scutellum with yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument.
Elytra. Coarsely, abundantly punctate on anterior half, punctures gradually finer, sparser on posterior half; punctures with short, decumbent yellowish-white seta, but some punctures with long, erect yellowish-brown seta, especially on basal and apical quarters, and a few punctures lacking seta; apex emarginate centrally, with outer and sutural angles shortly, triangularly projected.
Legs. Femora with somewhat long, bristly yellowish-white setae, longer and more abundant ventrally, and long, erect yellowish-brown setae interspersed; inner and outer apex of meso- and metafemora with rounded projection. Tibiae with abundant, long, erect yellow setae, and denser, bristly yellowish-brown pubescence on ventral surface, more distinctly apically on meso- and metatibiae. Metatarsomere I shorter than II–III together.
Abdomen. Ventrites coarsely, somewhat abundantly punctate; with abundant grayish-white pubescence not obscuring integument laterally, sparser on central area of ventrites 2–5, and somewhat long, erect, sparse yellowish setae on wide central area; apex of ventrite 5 widely emarginated centrally.
Dimensions in mm (holotype male/ paratype male). Total length, 10.80/8.20; prothoracic length, 1.90/1.45; anterior prothoracic width, 1.35/1.10; posterior prothoracic width, 1.35/1.10; maximum prothoracic width, 1.50/1.25; humeral width, 2.15/1.65; elytral length, 7.25/5.60.
Type material. Holotype male from GUATEMALA, ZACAPA: San Lorenzo Quarry Rd., Sierra Las Minas, 15.050609 -89.670787, 675 m, MV/UV lights, 29–31.V.2019, Skillman, Wappes and Monzón leg. (FSCA, formerly FWSC). Paratype male from GUATEMALA, ZACAPA: El Arenal, Heloderma Conservation Reserve, 14°18′N 89°78′W, 530 m, MV/UV lights, 23–25.V.2019, Skillman, Wappes and Monzón leg. (FWSC).
Etymology. The specific epithet “ ocularis ” comes from the Latin (of the eyes), referring to the ommatidia, which are a diagnostic character of the new species.
Remarks. Psyrassa ocularis new species can be included in the alternative of couplet “19” from Toledo (2005), with P. ebenina Linsley, 1935 and P. levicollis Chemsak and Noguera, 1995. The new species is more similar to P. ebenina for having black integument on the prothorax and elytra and reddish femora, but differs as follows: ommatidia proportionally coarser (Fig. 89); and distance between upper eye lobes slightly wider than maximum diameter of the scape in males (Fig. 90). In P. ebenina, the ommatidia are finer (Fig. 91), and the distance between upper eye lobes in males 1.5 times maximum diameter of the scape (Fig. 94).
description: Published as part of García, Kimberly & Santos-Silva, Antonio, 2022, The multiform genus Psyrassa Pascoe (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Elaphidiini): new species, new records, synonyms and transfers, pp. 1-26 in Insecta Mundi 2022 (953) on pages 12-13, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7398949