Psyrassa zacki Botero & Bezark & Santos-Silva 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Botero, Juan Pablo
name: Bezark, Larry G.
name: Santos-Silva, Antonio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cerambycidae
Psyrassa
Psyrassa zacki

description: Psyrassa zacki sp. nov.
(Figs. 6–10)
Description. Female. Integument mostly dark reddish-brown; mentum reddish-brown and remaining areas of mouthparts orangish-brown; apex of mandibles black; antennae reddish-brown; elytral punctures surrounded by dark area; legs reddish-brown, slightly darkened on apex of femora, basal area of profemora, and anterior half of tibiae; ventrites reddish-brown, lighter than elytra.
Head. Frontal plate ill-defined, somewhat rugose, with a few coarse punctures interspersed; with a few short light yellowish-brown setae laterally. Remaining surface of frons coarsely, abundantly punctate centrally, finely, sparsely punctate laterally; with both short and long, erect, sparse yellowish-brown setae. Central area between antennal tubercles smooth; remaining surface of vertex, between antennal tubercles and posterior ocular edges, coarsely, moderately sparsely punctate; area between posterior ocular edges and prothoracic margin coarsely, densely punctate (punctures transverse and finer than anterior area of vertex); with short, sparse yellowish-brown setae except glabrous area close to prothorax, with a few long, erect yellowish-brown setae interspersed. Area between eyes and antennal sockets with dense grayish-white pubescence, with short yellowish-brown setae interspersed. Area behind upper eye lobes coarsely, abundantly punctate (punctures close to prothorax transverse, finer than on area close to eye); with short, sparse yellowish-brown setae close to superior area of eye, glabrous on remaining surface. Area behind lower eye lobes nearly smooth close to upper eye lobe, transversely striate-punctate on remaining surface (more densely punctate close to inferior margin of eye); glabrous, except short yellowish-brown setae close to inferior margin of eye. Genae distinctly shorter than lower eye lobe; finely, abundantly punctate except smooth apex and area close to clypeus; with short, moderately sparse, decumbent yellowish-brown setae with a few long, erect yellowish-brown setae interspersed. Antennal tubercles with a few coarse punctures, more abundant frontally; with a few minute yellowish-brown setae basally, glabrous on remaining surface. Median groove distinct from clypeus to area between antennal tubercles. Postclypeus finely, moderately sparsely punctate on wide central area, smooth laterally; with both short and long, sparse yellowish-brown setae on wide central area, glabrous laterally. Labrum coplanar with anteclypeus posteriorly, strongly inclined anteriorly; glabrous close to anteclypeus, with long, erect yellowish-brown setae anteriorly, longer laterally. Last segment of maxillary and labial palpi cuneiform. Gulamentum smooth, glabrous on posterior half, transversely striate-punctate, with both short and long, erect, sparse yellowish-brown setae on anterior half. Upper eye lobes with five rows of ommatidia; distance between upper eye lobes 0.65 times length of scape (0.37 times distance between outer margins of eyes); in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes equal to length of scape (0.57 times distance between outer margins of eyes). Antennae 1.7 times elytral length (only holotype measured), reaching elytral apex at posterior third of antennomere X. Scape moderately coarsely, sparsely punctate except nearly smooth apex; with moderately short, erect, sparse yellowish-brown setae, with a few long, erect yellowish-brown setae ventrally. Pedicel and antennomeres with short, decumbent yellowishbrown setae not obscuring integument (denser and shorter toward distal antennomeres); pedicel and antennomeres III–V with long, erect yellowish-brown setae ventrally; antennomeres IV–XI with short, erect yellowish-white setae interspersed throughout; antennomeres III–IV with short, straight, acute spine at inner apex; antennomere V with spicule at inner apex; antennomere VI slightly acutely projected at inner apex; remaining antennomeres with apex not projected. Antennal formula (ratio) based on length of antennomere III (excluding spine; only holotype measured): scape = 0.80; pedicel = 0.20; IV = 0.82; V = 0.92; VI = 0.88; VII = 0.84; VIII = 0.80; IX = 0.80; X = 0.76; XI = 0.90. Length of apical spine of antennomeres compared with length of antennomere: III = 0.16; IV = 0.16.
Thorax. Prothorax cylindrical; sides slightly widened centrally. Pronotum coarsely, moderately abundantly punctate (punctures slightly coarser on anterocentral half) except smooth central area between middle and posterior eighth; posterior eighth with dense white pubescence, projected forward on sides; remaining surface with minute yellowish-white setae emerging from nearly all punctures, with a few long, erect yellowish-brown setae interspersed. Sides of prothorax coarsely, abundantly punctate close to pronotum, with punctures gradually finer, smoother toward prosternum, except nearly smooth anterior area (this region gradually widened toward prosternum). Prosternum coarsely striate-punctate on posterior half, somewhat striated between middle and anterior quarter, with a few coarse punctures interspersed, especially laterally, finely, sparsely punctate on anterior quarter; posterior half with abundant grayish-white pubescence not obscuring integument, with long, erect yellowish-brown setae interspersed; anterior half with both short and long, erect, sparse yellowish-brown setae, nearly absent on center between anterior quarter and middle. Narrowest area of prosternal process 0.12 times width of procoxal cavity. Procoxal cavities distinctly open posteriorly. Ventral surface of mesothorax, metanepisternum and sides of mesoventrite with abundant grayish-white pubescence; remaining surface of metaventrite with long, erect, sparse yellowish-brown setae, absent centrally. Scutellum with dense white pubescence. Elytra. Coarsely, moderately abundantly punctate on basal half, punctures gradually finer, sparser on posterior half; apex truncate, slightly concave between short, triangular projection at outer angle and rounded projection at sutural angle; with long, erect, moderately sparse yellowish-brown setae. Legs. Profemora nearly fusiform; meso- and metafemora nearly pedunculate-clavate; with long, both erect and nearly decumbent, sparse yellowish-brown setae. Tibiae with long, erect, moderately abundant yellowish-brown setae, dense yellowish-brown pubescence ventrally on protibiae, especially on posterior half, and yellowish, bristly pubescence ventrally on posterior third of meso- and metatibiae; metatibiae distinctly longitudinally carinate laterally.
Abdomen. Ventrites with long, erect, sparse yellowish-brown setae, and short, nearly decumbent yellowishbrown setae laterally on I–IV; apex of ventrite V slightly rounded.
Male. Differs from female by the longer antennae (2.0 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at apex of antennomere VIII), and apex of ventrite V truncate. Last segment of palpomeres as in females.
Variation. Integument from mostly dark brown to orangish-brown (Fig. 10).
Dimensions in mm (holotype male/ paratypes male/ paratypes female). Total length, 8.70/7.35–8.40/6.95–8.80; prothoracic length (centrally), 1.70/1.45–1.60/1.30–1.70; anterior prothoracic width, 1.25/1.10–1.25/1.00–1.35; posterior prothoracic width, 1.30/1.10–1.25/1.00–1.20; widest prothoracic width, 1.40/1.25–1.40/1.15–1.50; humeral width, 2.05/1.75–2.00/1.60–2.10; elytral length, 5.60/4.85–5.45/4.75–5.60.
Type material. Holotype female from GUATEMALA, Petén: Rout CA-13, near Santa Ana, 319 m, N16.87027º / W89.82339º, Parque Natural Ixpanpajul, 6.VI.2016, R.S. Zack col. (CASC, formerly LGBC). Paratypes—MEX- ICO, Quintana Roo: 20 km N San Felipe Puerto Carrillo, 2 females, 12–14.VI.1983, J.E. Wappes col. (ACMT); 18–24 km N San Felipe Puerto Carrillo, 1 male, 2 females, 27.V–1.VI.1984, J.E. Wappes col. (male, MZSP; female, ACMT); 5 km S Playa Del Carmen, 1 male, 2.VI.1984, J.E. Wappes col. (ACMT). Yucatán: 1 km S Xcalacoop, 1 male, 11.VI.1983, J.E. Wappes col. (ACMT); 10 km S Piste, 1 female, 14.VI.1991, F.W. Skillman col. (FWSC). GUATEMALA, Petén: Parque Natural Ixpanpajul, near Santa Ana, 206 m, N16.87341º / W89.81496º, 1 female, 6.VI.2016, R.S. Zack col. (LGBC).
Etymology. This species is named after Richard S. Zack, Washington State University, who has provided the second author with numerous cerambycids from Guatemala for study.
Remarks. Psyrassa zacki sp. nov. can be included in the alternative of couplet “20” from Toledo (2005) (modified):
20’(18). Antennomere IV with short, distinct spine at inner apex. Mexico, Guatemala ................. Psyrassa zacki sp. nov. - Antennomere IV, at most, with minute spine at inner apex................................................. 20 20(20’). Integument black; lower eye lobe surpassing the antennal insertion laterally; sides of prothorax nearly straight, and prono-
tum with a pair of callosities at anterior half. Mexico ................................... P. oaxacae Toledo, 2002
- Integument yellowish brown; lower eye lobe not surpassing the antennal insertion laterally; prothorax with sides slightly rounded and pronotum without callosities. USA ..................................... P. unicolor (Randall, 1838)
Psyrassa zacki sp. nov. also differs from P. ebenina Linsley, 1935 by the lighter integument and elytra not pubescent (noticeably darker and pubescent in P. ebenina); and from P. levicollis Chemsak & Noguera, 1993 by the integument of prothorax not contrasting with that of the elytra, and by the distance between lower eye lobes ventrally equal to about length of antennomere IV (color of the integument contrasting, and distance between lower eye lobes ventrally distinctly shorter than length of the antennomere IV in P. levicollis).
description: Published as part of Botero, Juan Pablo, Bezark, Larry G. & Santos-Silva, Antonio, 2020, A new genus, new species and taxonomic notes on American Cerambycinae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae), pp. 157-175 in Zootaxa 4758 (1) on pages 161-163, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4758.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/3730901