Sporetus boteroi Vlasak and Santos-Silva, 2024

Sporetus boteroi Vlasak and Santos-Silva , new species

( Fig. 20–23 View Figures 20–23 , 40–41 View Figures 38–43 )

Description. Holotype male ( Fig. 20–23 View Figures 20–23 ). Head capsule dark brown; mouthparts mostly reddish brown ventrally, except palpomeres dark brown with dark yellowish-brown apex; anteclypeus dull yellowish brown close to postclypeus, dark brown close to labrum; labrum dark brown close to anteclypeus, dark yellowish brown on remaining surface; scape light reddish brown except brown outer surface and entire apical sixth; pedicel dark brown; antennomere III light reddish brown basally, dark reddish brown on remaining surface, except dark-brown apical ninth; antennomere IV orangish brown on basal quarter, dark orangish brown on central half, blackish on apical quarter; antennomere V blackish basally, dark reddish brown on remaining basal half, blackish on apical half; antennomeres VI–XI blackish. Prothorax mostly brown. Ventral surface of meso- and metathorax brown laterally, dark reddish brown on remaining surface. Scutellum brown laterally, light brown centrally. Elytra brown, slightly lighter basally, laterally, and apically. Femora mostly orangish brown on peduncles, mostly brownish on club, except darker brown macula dorsally. Protibiae dark brown on basal 2/3, blackish on apical third; meso- and metatibiae dark brown on basal 3/4, blackish on apical quarter. Tarsomeres I–III blackish; tarsomeres IV–V dark brown. Ventral surface of abdomen mostly brown.

Head. Frons abundantly, finely punctate; with dense dull yellowish pubescence laterally, pubescence sparser centrally, except glabrous median groove, glabrous area on each side close to postclypeus, and dark-brown pubescence centrally near base of antennal tubercles; with a few long, erect dark-brown setae close to eyes. Vertex with dense dull yellowish pubescence, except dark-brown pubescence laterally between antennal tubercles, glabrous median groove, and transverse glabrous band between antennal tubercles and upper eye lobes; with a few long, erect dark-brown setae close to eyes. Area behind eyes with dense dull yellowish pubescence. Genae with dense yellowish pubescence, except glabrous apex and almost glabrous area close to clypeus and frons; with a few long, erect dark-brown setae interspersed. Antennal tubercles with dense dull yellowish pubescence frontally, abundant dark-brown pubescence dorsally, and moderately abundant yellowish-white pubescence posteriorly. Wide central area of postclypeus with dense dull yellowish pubescence and sparser yellowish pubescence close to anteclypeus; with long, erect dark brown setae interspersed posteriorly. Sides of postclypeus glabrous. Labrum glabrous close to anteclypeus, with dense yellowish-white pubescence on remaining posterior half, and glabrous on anterior half, except fringe of yellowish-brown setae on anterior margin; with long, erect dark-brown setae on posterior half close to glabrous anterior half. Gulamentum smooth, glabrous, except abundant yellowish-white pubescence on intermaxillary process. Distance between upper eye lobes 0.12 times distance between outer margins of eyes; in frontal view, distance between lower eye lobes 0.45 times distance between outer margins of eyes. Antennae 3.2 times elytral length, reaching elytral apex at basal quarter of antennomere V. Scape with abundant yellowish pubescence partially obscuring integument, except brownish pubescence not obscuring integument dorsally; pedicel mostly with abundant yellowish pubescence not obscuring integument laterally and ventrally, and abundant brown pubescence not obscuring integument dorsally; with long, erect dark-brown setae interspersed ventrally. Antennomere III with dense yellowish pubescence on basal quarter, abundant dark-brown pubescence on apical ninth, and moderately abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument on remaining surface; with a few long, erect dark-brown setae interspersed ventrally, and a few short, erect dark-brown setae dorsally on apical half; antennomere IV with dense yellowish pubescence on basal third, moderately abundant blackish pubescence not obscuring integument on apical quarter, and moderately abundant yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument on remaining surface; with a few moderately long blackish setae interspersed ventrally; antennomeres V–XI with both blackish and yellowish-white pubescence not obscuring integument; antennomeres V–VII with a few short, erect blackish setae interspersed dorsally. Antennal formula based on length of antennomere III: scape = 0.87; pedicel = 0.09; IV = 0.91; V = 0.82; VI = 0.74; VII = 0.71; VIII = 0.67; IX = 0.67; X = 0.63; XI = 0.58.

Thorax. Prothorax wider than long; anterior constriction narrow, well-marked; sides divergent from anterior constriction to lateral tubercles, then convergent toward posterolateral angles; lateral tubercles as continuation of lateral margin, moderately large, located slightly before posterior quarter. Pronotum densely, minutely punctate, except row of coarse punctures on posterior sixth; with dense dull yellowish pubescence, except large, central brown pubescent macula on anterior 3/4, in shape of two seahorses on each side, fused centrally, and transverse, subtriangular brown pubescent macula on each side of posterior sixth; with one long, erect dark-brown seta behind lateral tubercles of prothorax. Sides of prothorax with dense dull yellowish pubescence, except glabrous anterior sulcus. Prosternum with dense dull yellowish pubescence, slightly sparser on anterior sulcus. Prosternal process widely expanded at apex, with dense yellowish-white pubescence except sparse pubescence on sides of apex; narrowest area 0.26 times procoxal width. Ventral surface of mesothorax with dense dull yellowish pubescence, except moderately abundant, both dull yellowish and yellowish-white pubescence anterocentrally on mesoventrite and subglabrous anterolateral areas of mesoventrite. Sides of mesoventral process slightly convergent from base to near apex, then slightly widened; apex distinctly concave; narrowest area 0.7 times mesocoxal width. Ventral surface of metathorax with dense dull yellowish pubescence, except sparse pubescence on posterocentral 3/4. Scutellum with abundant dull yellowish pubescence centrally and abundant brownish pubescence laterally. Elytra. Sparsely, coarsely punctate, punctures sparser on posterior half; with dense dull yellowish pubescence, with abundant, irregular areas with sparse brownish pubescence, sparser on posterior third; with sparse, long, erect blackish setae interspersed throughout; apex slightly obliquely truncate. Legs. Femora with dense dull yellowish pubescence, except brown pubescent band on dorsal apex of profemora, and brown pubescent macula on base of outer surface of meso- and metafemoral club. Protibiae with dense dull yellowish pubescence dorsally and laterally, except basal quarter of sides with dark-brown pubescence, dark-brown pubescence on apical quarter of dorsal and inner surfaces, and both dark-brown and yellowish pubescence on apical quarter of outer surface; ventral surface mostly with dense, bristly blackish pubescence; ventral surface with long, erect dark-brown setae interspersed. Basal 2/3 of mesotibiae and basal 3/4 of metatibiae with dense dull yellowish pubescence; apical third of mesotibiae and apical quarter of metatibiae with abundant, bristly blackish pubescence, with dull yellowish pubescence interspersed laterally; apical third of mesotibiae with abundant, short, erect blackish setae interspersed dorsally; ventral surface of mesotibiae with sparse, moderately long, erect blackish setae interspersed ventrally; metatibiae with sparse, moderately long, erect blackish setae interspersed throughout. Dorsal surface of tarsomeres I with dense dull yellowish pubescence; dorsal surface of tarsomeres II with moderately abundant, both dark-brown and dull yellowish pubescence partially obscuring integument; tarsomeres III mostly with abundant dark-brown pubescence not obscuring integument; tarsomeres IV–V with moderately sparse dark-brown pubescence, V with sparse dull yellowish pubescence interspersed.

Abdomen. Ventrites with dense dull yellowish pubescence; ventrite 5 with sparse, long, erect dark-brown setae interspersed centrally; apex of ventrite 5 slightly concave.

Female ( Fig. 40–41 View Figures 38–43 ). Similar to male, differing by femoral clubs slender; abdominal ventrite 5 elongated, subparallel in apical half, surpassing elytral apex by about half of its length, apex truncate; last tergite long, surpassing elytral apex by about the length of the entire metatarsus, apex acute, triangularly shaped.

Dimensions (mm) (holotype male/ paratype male/ paratype female). Total length, 6.05/6.30/9.05; prothoracic length, 1.10/1.15/1.30; anterior prothoracic width, 1.20/1.40/1.50; posterior prothoracic width, 1.40/1.60/1.90; maximum prothoracic width, 1.70/1.80/2.10; humeral width, 2.15/2.40/2.80; elytral length, 4.35/4.45/5.60.

Type specimens. Holotype male from ECUADOR, Zamora-Chinchipe: Zamora , 1000 m, 7–8 Aug 2023, J. Vlasak leg. ( MZSP, formerly JVCO). One paratype male and one paratype female, same data as holotype ( JVCO).

Etymology. We are pleased to name this species for our colleague Juan Pablo Botero in recognition of his contributions in the study of Cerambycidae .

Remarks. Sporetus boteroi new species is similar to S. abstrusus Melzer, 1935 (see photographs on Bezark (2024a) and Monné (1998), but differs as follows: smaller size, less than 10 mm; lower eye lobes longer than genae; pronotum without longitudinal brown pubescent bands from base to apex; and different elytral pubescent pattern, with brown pubescent area not reaching apex. In S. abstrusus , larger size, lower eye lobes shorter than genae, pronotum with two wide, longitudinal brown pubescent bands from base to apex, and different elytral pubescent pattern, with brown pubescent area reaching the apex laterally.

Although the dull yellowish pubescence does not form a distinct central ring on the meso- and metatibia and the scape is not entirely dark on the apical 2/5, S. boteroi can be included in the alternative of couplet “9” of Monné’s key (1998) with S. abstrusus , differing in the features listed above.