Cyphosterna quadrilineatum Chevrolat, 1862

Cyphosterna quadrilineatum Chevrolat, 1862

( Fig. 459–477 View Figures 459–477 )

Cyphosterna (Dioxiotes) 4-lineata Chevrolat 1862: 757

Cyphosterna Quadrilineata Thomson 1864: 205 View in CoL

Cyphosterna quadrilineata Lacordaire 1869: 189 View in CoL ; Gemminger and Harold 1872: 2974 (cat.); Bates 1880: 86; Aurivillius 1912: 474 (cat.); Blackwelder 1946: 590 (cat.); Zajciw 1969: 226; Monné 1994: 67 (cat.); Monné and Giesbert 1994: 143 (cat.)

Neotaranomis australis Chemsak and Linsley 1982: 74 View in CoL (new synonymy); Chemsak et al. 1992: 84 (cat.); Monné 1994: 33 (cat.); Monné and Giesbert 1994: 147 (cat.); Noguera and Chemsak 1996: 402 (dist.)

Redescription. Female: Length 16–21 mm. Form moderate sized to large, slightly tapered posteriorly; integument black, pronotum reddish with apical and posterior margins narrowly black. Head small; vertex rugulose, coarsely, irregularly punctate with a prominent median polished longitudinal carina between the eyes; front finely punctate below and above antennal insertions; antennal tubercles divergent with apices obtusely angulate; postclypeus opaque with a narrow, transverse, densely punctate area in middle, upper and lower margins glabrate, sparsely, coarsely punctate; anteclypeus polished, dark reddish brown; labrum opaque, sparsely punctate apically; genae irregularly punctate near base; pubescence arising from punctures short, erect, obscure; antennae opaque, finely densely punctate, exceeding elytral apices by a half of antennomere; scape subconical, obtusely carinate externally from base to apex, pubescence obscure, very short, depressed; antennomeres II–XI cylindrical, externally carinate from III–XI and from VI on inside surface; antennomeres III–V finely punctate, pubescence minute, appressed with few short, suberect, black setae beneath, apices narrowly glabrous with tufts of black setae; antennomeres from VI opaque with apices slightly angulate externally and vaguely explanate, pubescence dense, minute, appressed; antennomere III longer than I; IV slightly shorter than I; subsequent antennomeres V–VIII subequal to I; IX–X subequal to IV; XI subequal to I, vaguely appendiculate on apical fourth. Pronotum broader than long (L/W: 0.72), lateral tubercles prominent; disc coarsely, densely punctate with five broad calli, one on each side of anterior half, and posterior half with a protuberant callus in middle and one each on either side near base; apical margin collared, narrowly constricted behind; base transversely impressed with margin sinuate and broadly lobed in middle; pubescence sparse, short, dark, depressed; prosternum vaguely convex, apical half finely, transversely plicate, basal half coarsely, sparsely punctate, pubescence pale, golden, and erect; prosternal process keeled medially; mesosternum finely, striate-punctate, punctures coarser and sparse in middle, pubescence fine, pale, appressed and suberect, mesosternal intercoxal process narrower than coxal cavity; mesepisterna and mesepimera densely clothed with pale, appressed golden pubescence; metasternum very, finely, densely punctate and densely clothed with appressed, golden pubescence, integument along midline and sides sparsely, coarsely punctate and sparsely clothed with depressed pubescence; metepisterna densely clothed with appressed, golden pubescence. Scutellum black, sparsely punctate with very short, appressed setae. Elytra 2.3 times as long as broad; each elytron with prominent submarginal and subsutural eburneous costae, subsutural costa extending from the base and submarginal one starting behind humerus with both costae reaching slightly beyond apical tenth; integument between and around ivory costae sericeous, very finely, densely punctate, minutely clothed with fine, appressed, black pubescence, apical half with obliquely appressed, silver pubescence along inside of subsutural costae extending to elytral apices ( Fig. 473–474 View Figures 459–477 ); apices obliquely emarginate with a small sutural spine ( Fig. 474 View Figures 459–477 ). Legs shining; femora shallowly punctate, sparsely pubescent, underside more densely punctate and clothed with suberect, golden setae; pro- and mesofemora slightly clavate; metafemora linear, slightly arcuate near base, attaining to slightly exceeding apex of abdomen; protibiae with inner surface clothed with short, depressed, golden pubescence; meso- and metatibiae finely punctate, underside densely clothed with short, black, suberect setae; metatarsomere I narrow, elongate, longer than tarsomeres II and III combined. Abdomen very finely, densely punctate, densely clothed with appressed pubescence, punctures and vestiture sparse in middle, sternite I longer than II, III shorter than II, IV subequal to or slightly shorter than III, V subequal to III, apical margins of sternite I–IV darker and glabrous; apex of last sternite truncate, and vaguely emarginate at middle.

Male: Length 17–19 mm. Form moderate size, slightly narrower than female, integument including pronotum black ( Fig. 459–460 View Figures 459–477 ) with dorsolateral calli and lateral tubercles occasionally reddish. Head with vertex between eyes finely punctate with a prominent median polished longitudinal carina. Antennae exceed apices of elytra by three and a half antennomeres; apices of antennomeres III–VII are slightly enlarged; scape and antennomeres III–XI externally carinate as in female, inside surface carinate from IV; antennomere III distinctly longer than I, IV is shorter than III and longer than I, and antennomeres V–X are subequal in length to III, and XI longest with apical third vaguely appendiculate. Prosternum more thinly clothed than female. Elytra with apices more narrowly attenuated, “separately emarginate with subsutural dentation” ( Chemsak and Linsley 1982: 74) ( Fig. 473 View Figures 459–477 ). Middle and hind legs more elongate than female, metafemora exceeding apices of elytra. Abdomen with apex of last sternite narrower than female, and deeply emarginate at middle.

Materials examined. Holotype male and four paratypes males of Neotaranomis australis Chemsak and Linsley , MEXICO: Oaxaca, 23 mi (36.8 km) south of Matias Romero , 14 Aug. 1963, F.D. Parker and L.A. Stange . Other materials examined: Chiapas: 9 km N Arriaga, 26 June 1987, E. Giesbert (1 male, FSCA) ; 9 km N Arriaga , 23 June 1987, E. Giesbert (1 male, 2 females, FSCA) ; MX 190, 17 km N of Arriaga , 13 June 2009, beating slash, Skillman, Hildebrant (1 female, FWSC) ; La Sepultura , 26 June 1988, D.B. & A.M. Thomas (1 female, FSCA) .

Discussion. Chevrolat (1862: 757) described Cyphosterna (Dioxiotes) 4-lineata (i.e., Cyphosterna quadrilineatum ) as a male with integument matte black, head black, punctate, and front furrowed terminating as a carina on vertex. Palpi are black and apically testaceous. Antennae are slender, slightly longer than the body with apices of antennomeres III to X enlarged and angulate. Prothorax is reddish and narrowly black on anterior and posterior margins, sides angulate in middle, and basal margins expanded on sides over the humeri. The pronotal disc is unevenly convex with three obtuse tubercles on the basal half, one in the middle, and two on either side near the base. The scutellum is triangular, black, and depressed medially. The elytra are black, wider than prothorax, parallel-sided, and emarginate apically near suture. There are two narrow elevated ivory yellow costae on each elytron. The underside is covered with silky silver white pubescence. Abdominal segments frequently appear reddish with middle broadly denudate. Length 19 mm, width 5 1/ 2 mm, and the habitat is Yucatan.

Chevrolat (1862) and Thomson (1864: 432) described the above species with red pronotum as male; however, the described specimen is a female. The specimens current in hand from Chiapas, Mexico, which are females, fits the above description. There are two photographs of syntypes ( Bezark 2024, id: 6392, 15968) both with red pronotum. The obliquely appressed silver pubescence on the apices of elytra and along the inside margin of subsutural costae is another key feature of this species, which also can be found on the photos of syntypes ( Fig. 464, 475 View Figures 459–477 ).

Neotaranomis australis Chemsak and Linsley is synonymous with Cyphosterna quadrilineatum Chevrolat (new synonymy), and the detailed description for the male is provided by Chemsak and Linsley (1982: 74). The male Cyphosterna quadrilineatum is moderate sized (17–19 mm) with black integument including the pronotum. “This species is closely related to” C. sinaloanum (Chemsak and Linsley) new combination “but is slightly smaller with a more prominent median carina between” upper lobes of eyes. “The pronotal disc is less coarsely punctate, and lacks the dense, appressed golden pubescent margins” on each side above the lateral tubercles. The prosternum is also more thinly pubescent, especially in males, and the whitish pubescence is “largely confined to meso- and metasterna and on the lateral margins of abdominal sternites.” The pronotum of males described by Chemsak and Linsley were all black; however, “some but not all examples have bright red pronotal tubercles and dorsolateral calli.” Also, the apices of elytra are emarginate in C. quadrilineatum , while the apices of C. sinaloanum are tapered and narrowly rounded. The antennae of male C. quadrilineatum are narrower, more elongate, and greater than one and half times length of body compared to C. sinaloanum male with more robust, shorter antennae about third longer than the body. Cyphosterna quadrilineatum and C. sinaloanum both have obliquely, appressed, silver pubescence on apical half of elytra along the inside margin of subsutural costae extending to apices ( Fig. 473–475 View Figures 459–477 ). These two species “bear a superficial resemblance to Sphaenothecus ” Dupont “but differ from members of that genus and their relatives by the broad” and inflated pronotum that is “laterally excavated, and tuberculate” on sides ( Fig. 469–472 View Figures 459–477 ).