Rhytiphora piperitia Hope HOPE DEPT. OXFORD 1842
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 piperitia

description: Rhytiphora piperitia Hope, 1842 (Figs. 7B, 8F, 9E, 10J–L)
Rhytiphora piperitia Hope, 1842: 429. TL: Port Essington, Northern Territory
Symphyletes humeralis White, 1858: 269. TL: Port Essington, Northern Territory
Moved to Rhytiphora (Setomopsis) piperitia: Breuning, 1961a: 272
Rhytiphora truncata Breuning, 1940: 424. TL: Duringo, Queensland. Junior secondary homonym of Aegomomus truncatus (Pascoe, 1864). New synonym
Rhytiphora truncatoides Tavakilian & Nearns 2014a: 106. Replacement name for R. truncata (Breuning, 1940)
Diagnosis. One specimen from the Kimberley has been sequenced (ANIC 25-066534; Ashman et al. 2022a): R. piperitia is closely related to R. garnetensis sp. nov. (see above), R. collaris and R. amicula, and is also morphologically similar to R. delicatula (Figs. 6–8). Rhytiphora collaris and R. amicula have fully divided eyes; R. amicula and R. delicatula have plain grey antennae (with tubercules slightly further apart: 3.8–3.9 widths apart). Rhytiphora collaris has a short clypeus (in line with mandibular articulation), usually mottled antennae, white metanepisternum, elytra with no dorsal dark patches and the lateral white stripe usually extending beyond the basal third. Rhytiphora amicula has grey elytra with fine ochre mottling and no dorsal dark patches, but when R. piperitia specimens are faded (i.e. no distinct markings on elytra) it can be difficult to tell these species apart; in these cases, the male genitalia may be helpful (R. amicula has apically blunt parameres and a rounded penis; Fig. 9B). Rhytiphora delicatula has smaller eyes (lower lobes 4.3–4.4 widths apart), no distinct grooves on the pronotum, and pale grey, lightly mottled elytra with small circular brown patches in the apical third.
Description. Body small to medium-sized, elongate: body length 12.0–23.0 mm, width 3.9–7.4 mm. Winged. Dark brown with grey setae, heavily mottled ochre and brown, elytra with brown dorsal patches (Figs. 7B, 8F).
Head with frontoclypeus rectangular. Eyes moderately faceted, ringed with yellow-white setae, lobes connected by 1 row ommatidia. Lower lobes separated by 3.5–3.7 times eye width, approximately same length as gena. Upper lobes separated by 2.3 times width of antennal socket, 1.0 times as long as antennal socket.Antennal tubercules fairly prominent, separated by 3.2 times width of antennal socket. Clypeus flat or arcuate, extended beyond mandibular articulation, usually covering membranous anteclypeus; mandibles apically slightly pointed, maxillary and labial palps fusiform. Frontoclypeus yellow, occipital suture with yellow outline. 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 3–7 distinctly banded with grey-white setae (apical quarter of antennomeres glabrous).
Prothorax subquadrate, 0.8 times as long as wide, base distinctly narrower than humeri. Lateral margins with small anterior tubercule; pronotal disc finely punctate with transverse grooves, setae grey with ochre and brown mottling. Prosternal process narrow, arcuate. Procoxae without spiniform projection in males.
Elytra finely punctate, granulate in basal and central thirds, 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 grey, heavily mottled ochre and brown, usually with diagonal white and brown patch at beginning of apical third. Elytral apices distinctly truncate.
Legs grey, mottled with ochre and brown; male protibial tubercule absent. Mesoventrite arcuate without anterior projection. Metaventrite twice as long as mesoventrite, setae grey with ochre mottling and central white strip.
Ventrite 2 with broad yellow 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 tapered and setose; penis tip with slight projection (Fig. 9E).
Types examined. Lectotype female, here designated (Rhytiphora piperitia): “Port Essington” // “ piperitia Hope ” // “TYPE Hope Proc. Evol. Soc. 1841 P. 49 Coll. Hope Oxon.” // “TYPE COL: 1863 Rhytiphora piperitia Hope HOPE DEPT. OXFORD ” (OUMNH; Figs. 10J, 2F). Lectotype, here designated (Symphyletes humeralis): “Type” // “Port Essington” // “ Symphyletes humeralis (Type) White” (BMNH; Fig. 10K).
Other material examined: 11.50S, 142.30E Bertie Creek, 12km SW of Heathlands, Qld, 13 Mar. 1992, D. C. F. Rentz, Stop 6 (1 specimen, ANIC 25-058414; Figs. 7B, 8F); CSIRO Entomology NT. Tony Ahern’s 12°40’42.1”s 131°21’43.8”e 13 Nov. 1998 M. Hoskins // Adelaide River Floodplains ex. Mimosa pigra pupa 23 Nov. - em 14 Dec. 1998 (1 specimen, ANIC; male genitalia dissection, Fig. 9E); Lee Point, Darwin, NT 8 Mar 1967, M. S. Upton (1 specimen, ANIC); 12°11’S; 131°0’E (GPS) NT: Gunn Point Rd, nr Howard Springs Nat. Res., 7 March 1999, D. C. F. Rentz, Stop 36 (1 specimen, ANIC); 128.0232°E 16.0135°S WA, El Questro, Zebedee Springs carpark, 150m a.s.l., 5 APR 2014, MV-lamp. Cocking, Su & Zwick leg (1 specimen, ANIC 25-066534).
Distribution and host plants. North coast (Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland). Localities include: Kununurra, Cobourg Peninsula, Borroloola, Cape York, Cairns, Rockhampton. This species has been collected from Acacia, Bauhinia, Casuarina and Peltophorum trees, as well as the weed Mimosa pigra.
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 21-22, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5312.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8129680