Rosalba rufescens
Creators: name: Santos-Silva, Antonio
name: Galileo, Maria Helena M.
name: Joly, Luis J.
name: Tavakilian, Gérard L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cerambycidae
Rosalba
Rosalba rufescens

description: Rosalba rufescens (Breuning, 1940)
(Figs. 45–48)
Redescription. Male. Integument brown; head and prothorax dark brown; mouthparts, antennae and legs (except dark brown distal quarter of tarsomere V and claws) light reddish-brown; distal area of elytra more reddish.
Head. Frons moderately finely, abundantly punctate; with pale yellow pubescence not obscuring integument except denser area close to lower eye lobes; with some long, erect dark brown setae close to lower eye lobes. Area between antennal tubercles moderately finely, abundantly punctate (punctures slightly finer than on frons) except smooth area along median longitudinal groove; with pale yellow pubescence partially obscuring integument, except glabrous area along median longitudinal groove. Area between upper eye lobes with yellow pubescence obscuring integument, connected to narrow band also with yellow pubescence behind and close to upper eye lobes; with some long, erect dark brown setae close to eyes. Remaining surface of vertex and area behind upper eye lobes with yellow pubescence except large, transverse band of yellowish brown pubescence exposing integument. Median longitudinal groove not carinate. Area behind lower eye lobes with yellow pubescence obscuring integument. Antennal tubercles basally with sculpture as on frons, minutely punctate toward apex; with yellow pubescence partially obscuring integument. Area between eyes and antennal socket with dense yellow pubescence (more yellow than other areas of head). Postclypeus with pale yellow pubescence on large central area, glabrous laterally.Labrum slightly convex and coplanar with anteclypeus; with yellowish pubescence interspersed with short, erect yellowish and brown setae, with dense fringe of yellow pubescence distally. Distance between upper eye lobes 0.07 times length of scape; in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 0.75 times length of scape. Antennae 1.9 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at base of antennomere IX; scape with pale yellow pubescence not obscuring integument; ventral side of scape, pedicel and antennomeres III–X with long, erect dark brown setae, gradually sparser, shorter toward antennomere X; antennal formula (ratio) based on antennomere III: scape = 1.38; pedicel = 0.33; IV = 1.62; V = 1.43; VI = 1.33; VII = 1.26; VIII = 1.19; IX = 1.14; X = 1.00; XI = 1.04.
Thorax. Prothorax 1.15 times wider than long; sides without tubercle, rounded centrally. Pronotum coarsely, abundantly punctate densely punctate; with three wide, longitudinal bands of pale yellow pubescence (one centrally, denser basally and distally, one on each side obscuring integument); remaining surface with brownish pubescence distinctly exposing integument. Sides of prothorax with sculpture as on pronotum; with pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument except on sinuous, wide band exposing integument close to lateral band of pale yellow pubescence on pronotum. Prosternum with pale yellow pubescence, denser laterally.Prosternal process moderately finely, abundantly punctate; with yellowish pubescence not obscuring integument.Mesoventrite with yellowish white pubescence, slightly conspicuous, on depressed area, yellowish, moderately dense laterally. Mesanepisternum, mesepimeron, metanepisternum and metaventrite with pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument, except glabrous central area of metaventrite. Scutellum with dense pale yellow pubescence. Elytra. Coarsely, abundantly punctate throughout. With dense pale yellow pubescence as follows: wide band on basal third, from epipleura to middle of dorsal surface, forming semicircle at inner margin, irregularly dentate distally; wide band on dorsal surface, fused with the former, distally reaching apex, interrupted at its midlength by large elliptical area with brownish pubescence distinctly exposing integument; narrow longitudinal band on basal seventh between suture and semicircle of lateral band; wide band on distal half, from near epipleura to side of dorsal surface, interrupted at about its center by wide, longitudinal band with brownish pubescence distinctly exposing integument, distally fused with longitudinal dorsal band. Elytral apex rounded. Legs. Femora with pale yellow pubescence partially obscuring integument. Metatarsomere I as long as II–III together; metatarsomere V (without claws) as long as 0.75 times I–III together.
Abdomen. Ventrites with pale yellow pubescence obscuring integument. Apex of ventrite V slightly rounded.
Female. Differs from female mainly by the abdominal ventrites more convex.
Variation. Integument dark brown; elytra entirely brown or dark brown; scape dark brown and antennomeres brown or dark reddish brown; legs entirely brown or dark brown.
Dimensions in mm (Male/Female). Total length, 4.75–5.70/5.00–6.20; prothorax: length, 0.90–1.05/0.95– 1.10; anterior width, 0.95–1.10/0.95–1.15; posterior width, 0.95–1.05/0.90–1.15; widest prothoracic width, 1.05– 1.15/1.05–1.25; humeral width, 1.45–1.70/1.35–1.40; elytral length, 3.30–4.05/3.55–4.30.
Material examined. BRAZIL, RiΟ de JaneirΟ: Jussaral (Angra dos Reis), 1 male, X.1934, Travassos & Lopes col. (MZSP). SãΟ PaulΟ: São Roque, 1 male, 25.XII.1971, F. Lane col. (MZSP); Amparo, 1 female, no date and collector indicated (MZSP); Presidente Epitácio, 1 male, X.1926, Ohaus col. (MZSP).
Remarks. Breuning (1940) described RΟsalba rufescens based on a single specimen from Brazil (Rio de Janeiro). According to Breuning (1971) (translated): “Red, covered with sparse pale yellow pubescence (not well conserved in the single specimen).” Currently, the holotype of R. rufescens (Fig. 78), deposited in the BMNH, is damaged, missing the head, prothorax and left elytron. According to Keita Matsumoto (personal communication), they were not found in the unit tray of the holotype. Additionally, Breuning (1971) reported (translated): “Perhaps this is just a poorly preserved specimen of malleri MELZ.” Actually, the description (Breuning 1940) and redescription (Breuning 1971) of R. rufescens do not allow us to be sure about the differences regarding to R. malleri (Fig. 70). However, from what it is possible to see, the holotype of R. rufescens has the elytra apex less narrowed toward apex than in R. malleri. Furthermore, examination of the pubescence that remained on the elytron of the holotype suggests that the arrangement is more similar to that of the specimens studied by us than in R. malleri.
description: Published as part of Santos-Silva, Antonio, Galileo, Maria Helena M., Joly, Luis J. & Tavakilian, Gérard L., 2018, The genus Rosalba Thomson, 1864 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae, Apomecynini), pp. 201-258 in Zootaxa 4387 (2) on pages 234-235, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4387.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1187360