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

description: Meridiotroctes obliquus sp. nov.
(Figs. 35–38)
Holotype male. Integument black. Frons and antennal tubercles with brown pubescence, obliterating integument; with some long setae near lower eye lobes; area between acetabulum of antennae and ocular emargination with narrow band of whitish pubescence; area between upper eye lobes and margin of prothorax with brown pubescence, obliterating integument, but exposes some coarse, deep punctures (except on triangular basal central portion, where pubescence not obliterate integument). Area behind lower eye lobes with band of whitish pubescence, extending towards gena; glabrous between this band and margin of prothorax.
Genae with yellowish-white pubescence, not obliterating integument. Distance between upper eye lobes equal to 1.35 times width of one lobe; distance between lower eye lobes, in frontal view, equal to 0.75 times length of the scape; lower eye lobes 1.6 times as long as genal length. Antennae length equal to 1.8 times elytral length; reaching elytral apex at distal third of antennomere VIII; scape with whitish pubescence, denser on ventral side, dorsally not obliterating integument on two large areas; apex of pedicel and base of antennomere III with greyish-white pubescence; antennomeres III–XI with integument of apex distinctly exposed by the pubescence; pubescence of ventral side of antennomeres III–IV greyish-white; other areas of antennomeres with brownish pubescence; antennomeres III–X with band of short setae at inner side (less conspicuous on antennomere X); antennal formula based on length of antennomere III: scape = 0.89; pedicel = 0.21; IV = 1.04; V = 0.81; VI = 0.71; VII = 0.62; VIII = 0.54; IX = 0.50; X = 0.41; XI = 0.39.
Lateral tubercle of prothorax acute at apex, slightly facing up. Pronotum with two large tubercles at each side of anterior half, and at basal half a third tubercle central longitudinal, distinctly less elevated; coarse, deeply, moderately abundantly punctate, partially obliterated by the pubescence; pubescence predominantly brownish, greyish-white on some areas; laterally with longitudinal band of pubescence, not obliterating integument, from base to over lateral tubercles, ending on anterior margin of the latter. Prosternum and mesosternum with brownish pubescence, not obliterating integument. Metasternum with yellowish-white pubescence, not obliterating integument, distinctly denser on area near metacoxal cavities and apex of metepisterna. Elytra coarsely punctate, partially obliterated by pubescence; each puncture with short, coarse, white setae; pubescence predominantly white with brownish areas (Fig. 35); two oblique bands at distal half where pubescence not obliterate integument (at two elytra together form design resembling rhombus shape); elytral apex obliquely truncated; external apical angle slightly projected; carina center-longitudinal distinct to after middle.
Femoral clubs with greyish-white pubescence, mixed with brownish areas; femoral peduncles with pubescence distinctly shorter than on clubs, not obliterating integument. Tibiae with greyish-white pubescence obliterating integument, except for: ring at basal half of protibiae; most of distal third of protibiae; ring at each half of meso- and metatibiae (incomplete second ring in latter). Protarsi not remarkably wide; protarsomere I approximately as long as protarsomeres II‒III together. Urosternites with yellowish-white pubescence, not obliterating integument, laterally denser.
Variability (paratype male). Margin of the upper eye lobes with small isolated tufts of whitish pubescence; pubescence of pronotum predominantly greyish-white, brownish on some areas.
Dimensions in mm (male). Total length, 11.5–11.7; length of prothorax at center, 2.1–2.1; width of prothorax between the apices of lateral tubercles; 3.2–3.5; humeral width, 3.6–3.9; elytral length, 7.6–7.9. The smallest dimensions are those of the holotype.
Type material. Holotype male, BRAZIL, Bahia: Aracatu (“Fazenda Lagoa do Tamburi”; "área de Caatinga arbórea"; 14º30.295’S / 41º27.982’W), 08–09. VI.2013, A. S. Ferreira col. (MZUSP). Paratype male, same locality as holotype, 06–07. VI.2013, A. S. Ferreira col. (MZUSP).
Etymology. Latin, obliquus = oblique, inclined; allusive to the oblique dark spots on elytra.
Remarks. Meridiotroctes obliquus differs from the other species of the genus, mainly by the oblique dark spots at distal half of elytra. It also differs from M. bicristata and M. meridionale by the truncate elytral apex (rounded in these species).
description: Published as part of Martins, Ubirajara R., Galileo, Maria Helena M. & Santos-Silva, Antonio, 2015, New taxa and new records in Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) from the state of Bahia (Brazil) and notes on Meridiotroctes (Acanthoderini), pp. 271-299 in Zootaxa 3973 (2) on pages 285-286, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3973.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/237561