Trichotithonus thomasvlasaki Vlasak & Santos-Silva 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Vlasak, Josef
name: Santos-Silva, Antonio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cerambycidae
Trichotithonus
Trichotithonus thomasvlasaki

description: Trichotithonus thomasvlasaki sp. nov.
(Figs 30–33)
Description. Holotype female. Head capsule dark brown, except ventral surface brown anteriorly, gradually reddish brown toward prothorax; ventral mouthparts, anteclypeus, and labrum reddish brown; antennae dark reddish brown, except orangish-brown basal quarter of antennomere III, and pale yellow basal quarter of antennomeres IV–XI. Pronotum reddish brown anteriorly and posteriorly, dark brown on wide central area, except circular black macula on each side of anterior third, and almost black macula on each side of middle; sides of prothorax dark brown; prosternum dark brown laterally, reddish brown centrally; prosternal process reddish brown; ventral surface of mesothorax dark brown laterally, dark reddish brown centrally; ventral surface of metathorax dark brown, except anterocentral area slightly dark reddish brown, and reddish brown area close to metacoxal cavities. Elytra greenish, lighter on posterior third, except Y-shaped black band on center of anterior third, irregular, somewhat fragmented V-shaped black band slightly before middle of central area, irregular black macula on each side of anterior third, oblique, large dark brown band on each side of posterior half, surrounded by irregular, fragmented black band, and small, brownish maculae interspersed. Femoral peduncle pale yellow and femoral club dark brown. Tibiae dark brown except pale yellow central ring. Tarsomeres I pale yellow on basal 2/3, dark brown on posterior third; tarsomeres II dark brown; tarsomeres III dark brown basally, somewhat dark reddish brown toward apex; tarsomeres IV and basal area of V dark reddish brown, and remaining surface of V dark brown; tarsal claws reddish brown. Ventrites 1–4 orangish brown, except large dark brown macula laterally, which does not reach apex; ventrite 5 dark brown laterally, orangish-brown centrally.
Head. Frons finely, shallowly, abundantly punctate; with straw colored pubescence partially obscuring integument (slightly yellowish brown along median groove), and long, erect setae interspersed laterally (setae dark brown basally, gradually yellowish toward apex). Antennal tubercles with brownish pubescence basally, yellowish-brown on wide central area, and dark brown apically. Area between antennal tubercles with dense straw colored pubescence; remaining surface of vertex and area behind upper eye lobes with dense light yellowish-brown pubescence, except brownish pubescent macula on each side of central area of vertex close to prothorax; with a few long, erect, brownish setae close to eyes. Area behind lower eye lobes with dense yellowish-brown pubescence close to eye, and a few long, erect setae interspersed, glabrous on remaining surface. Genae with abundant light yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument, except glabrous apex, and a few long, erect setae interspersed (setae dark basally, gradually yellowish toward apex). Wide central area of postclypeus with abundant, bristly straw colored pubescence partially obscuring integument, and long, erect yellowish setae close to anteclypeus. Sides of postclypeus glabrous. Labrum with sparse yellowish-white pubescence posteriorly, and long, erect, mostly yellowish setae interspersed, almost glabrous anteriorly, except fringe of sparse yellowish setae close to anterior margin. Gulamentum smooth, glabrous, except anterior region narrowly depressed, with yellowish-brown pubescence not obscuring integument. Distance between upper eye lobes 0.24 times distance between outer margins of eyes; in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 0.58 times distance between outer margins of eyes. Antennae 2.3 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at base of antennomere VII. Scape with abundant straw colored pubescence on wide central area, sparser on basal quarter and posterior third, except apex with dense pubescence; with log, erect, somewhat abundant setae throughout, black basally, gradually yellowish toward apex. Pedicel with yellowish pubescence not obscuring integument, sparser toward apex, short, erect yellowish setae dorsally, and long, erect setae ventrally, black basally, gradually yellowish toward apex. Antennomeres with abundant yellowish pubescence on light area, sparser on dark area; with short, erect yellowish setae dorsally; ventral surface of antennomeres III–IV with long, erect, sparse setae, black basally, gradually yellowish toward apex, and short, thick, erect black setae (erect setae sparser on IV); ventral surface of antennomere V with a few long, erect setae ventrally, black basally, gradually yellowish toward apex; apex of antennomeres VI–VII with short, thick black seta ventrally. Antennal formula based on length of antennomere III: scape = 0.97; pedicel = 0.13; IV = 0.90; V = 0.77; VI = 0.70; VII = 0.67; VIII = 0.67; IX = 0.63; X = 0.60; XI = 0.63.
Thorax. Prothorax wider than long; sides slightly widened from anterolateral angles to lateral tubercles, subparallel-sided close to posterolateral angles; lateral tubercle conical, apex directed upward, placed about posterior third. Pronotum with five distinct tubercles, one on each side of anterior quarter, one on each side of middle, another elongate, placed centrally from anterior third to about posterior fifth; coarsely, somewhat sparsely punctate, except denser punctures near posterior margin; with sparse dark pubescence on anterior tubercles, somewhat sparse, brown on laterocentral tubercles, mostly yellowish brown on central tubercle, mostly straw colored on sides, except oblique, brownish pubescent band on anterior third, dense white pubescent macula on each side slightly before middle, and white pubescence on apex of lateral tubercle of prothorax, with dense, inverted V-shaped white pubescent band on central area, from near anterior margin to posterior margin, and whitish pubescent band centrally close to posterior margin. Sides of prothorax with yellowish-brown pubescence partially obscuring integument. Prosternum with light yellowish-brown pubescence laterally, and sparse yellowish-white pubescence on wide central area. Prosternal process with somewhat abundant yellowish-white pubescence on basal half, sparse on apical half; narrowest area 0.16 times procoxal width. Central area of mesoventrite and mesoventral process with somewhat abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument, sides of this area on mesoventrite almost glabrous, and apex of mesoventrite with dense yellowish-brown pubescence. Mesanepisternum, mesepimeron, metanepisternum, and sides of metaventrite with abundant yellowish-brown pubescence partially obscuring integument; remaining surface of metaventrite with abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument. Scutellum with wide greenish-brown pubescent band centrally, and dark brown pubescence laterally. Elytra. Subparallel-sided on basal half, then gradually narrowed toward apex; apex strongly obliquely truncate, making outer angle triangularly projected, and sutural angle slightly projected; centrobasal crest somewhat elevated, with long, erect, abundant black setae dorsally; with three somewhat distinct carina dorsally, from near base to posterior third; with abundant white pubescence on center of basal third, except nearly glabrous black Y-shaped macula, and area close to suture with yellowish-brown pubescence; sides with irregular white pubescent maculae, from base to oblique dark brown macula; with narrow white pubescent band surrounding oblique dark brown macula, narrow, oblique white pubescent band from dark brown macula to suture, and narrow white band on sutural area of posterior third with rounded brownish pubescent maculae interspersed; oblique dark brown macula with yellowish-brown pubescence, and small dark brown pubescent spots interspersed; black area surrounding dark brown macula with slightly conspicuous black pubescence (posteriorly with short, thick, erect black setae); brownish small maculae with brownish pubescence; remaining surface mostly with yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument; with long, erect, somewhat abundant setae throughout, setae black basally, gradually yellowish toward apex. Legs. Femoral peduncle and ventral surface of basal area of femoral club with abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument; dorsal and lateral basal region of femoral club with light yellowish-brown pubescence, and remaining surface with dense yellowish-white pubescence, except center of dorsal surface with brownish pubescence; femoral club with long, erect seta dorsally, black basally, gradually yellowish toward apex. Dark brown basal area of tibiae with abundant yellowish-white pubescence on basal half, brownish, slightly conspicuous posterior half; pale yellow ring with abundant yellowish pubescence; dark brown apical area with yellowish-brown pubescence on protibiae (denser, bristly ventrally), and mostly dark pubescence on meso- and metatibiae, except yellowish pubescence on dorsal sulcus of mesotibiae; meso- and metatibiae with thick, black setae on dorsal surface of posterior third; all tibiae with long, erect mostly yellowish setae. Metatarsomere I almost twice as long as II–III together.
Abdomen. Ventrites with abundant yellowish pubescence not obscuring integument.
Male. Similar to female. Differs by the antennae slightly longer (2.5 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at middle of antennomere VI), and meso- and metafemoral clubs stouter.
Dimensions (mm) (holotype female/ paratype males). Total length, 6.55/5.55–6.15; prothoracic length, 1.00/0.95–1.10; anterior prothoracic width, 1.30/1.05–1.15; posterior prothoracic width, 1.40/1.15–1.30; maximum prothoracic width, 1.70/1.55–1.70; humeral width, 2.10/1.85–2.10; elytral length, 4.35/3.80–4.35.
Type material. Holotype female from ECUADOR, Pichincha: El Septimo Paraiso Hotel, Mindo, 16.VI.2019, T. Vlasak leg. (MZSP). Paratypes (2 males) from ECUADOR, Pichincha: El Septimo Paraiso Hotel, Mindo, 18.VI.2021, J. Vlasak leg. (JVCO).
Etymology. We named this species to honor the first author’s younger son, Thomas Vlasak, who collected the holotype.
Remarks. Only two species of Trichotithonus Monné, 1990 have the elytra mostly greenish: T. albosetosus Monné, 1990, and T. viridis Monné, 1990. Trichotithonus thomasvlasaki sp. nov. differs from T. albosetosus (see photograph of the holotype on Bezark 2021) as follows: prothorax proportionally larger (proportionally smaller in T. albosetosus); antennae, elytra, and legs without thick, erect white setae (present in T. albosetosus), setae in T. thomasvlasaki are black basally, gradually yellowish toward apex; antennomere III orangish only on basal quarter (orangish, with only the apex dark in T. albosetosus); antennomeres IV–VI with basal quarter pale yellow (orangish, with only the apex dark in T. albosetosus); metafemoral club wide in female (slender in females of T. albosetosus). The new species differs from T. viridis (see photograph of the holotype on Bezark, 2021) as follows: antennomeres with only the basal quarter light (antennomeres light with only the apex dark in T. viridis); elytra with different pattern of integument and pubescence, but especially lacking orangish pubescent macula on posterior half of dorsal surface (present in T. viridis).
description: Published as part of Vlasak, Josef & Santos-Silva, Antonio, 2021, Description of five new species of American Acanthocinini (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae), pp. 476-492 in Zootaxa 5061 (3) on pages 489-491, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5061.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/5649877