Fallaxdesmis Santos-Silva & Wappes 2018, gen. nov.

Fallaxdesmis gen. nov.

Type species. Atelodesmis unicolor Buquet, 1857, by present designation.

Etymology. Latin, fallax = fallacious, spurious, deceptive; Greek, δέσμη, a bouquet. Allusive to the dense, thick erect setae which essentially hide the basal segments of the antennae. Feminine gender.

Redescription. Head. Frons transverse, convex; frons and vertex moderately finely and densely punc- tate, with dense, long, erect setae. Eyes moderately large; distance between upper eye lobes in male from 2.0 to 2.5 times width of one lobe; distance between upper eye lobes in female 3.0 times width of one lobe; lower eye lobes from as long as gena to slightly longer, distance between them more than length of scape. Mandibles curved toward apex, about 1.5 times as long as gena, slightly depressed, basal half of outer side pubescent, remaining surface glabrous. Last segment of labial and maxillary palpi subacute at apex. Antennae surpassing elytral apex by about 2.5 segments in male and about 1 segment in female; scape, pedicel and antennomeres III–IV with moderately dense, long, erect dark setae ventrally; scape, pedicel and antennomere III with dense, moderately short sub-erect setae dorsally and laterally; antennomere IV with dense, moderately short, sub-erect setae dorsally and laterally on basal 2/3, distinctly sparser on distal third; antennomeres III–IV cylindrical, not widened toward apex, longer than remaining antennomeres; antennomeres V–VIII with sparse, long, erect setae ventrally.

Thorax. Prothorax with length variable in both sexes, from 1.2 to 1.4 times wider than long (including lateral tubercles); sides with small, conical tubercle at about middle (sometimes nearly absent), giving cylindrical appearance to the prothorax. Pronotum moderately coarsely, densely punctate (punctures mostly obscured by pubescence); with three slightly distinct gibbosities: one on each side of distal half; another centrally on basal half. Prosternal process with central width narrower than half of procoxal cavity, longitudinally sulcate centrally. Procoxal cavities closed behind, opened, slightly angulate laterally. Mesoventral process from truncate to slightly rounded at apex, distal width about half that of mesocoxal cavity. Elytra sub parallel-sided on basal half, gradually narrowed toward apex on distal half; pubescence obscuring punctures; with moderately long, erect setae throughout; apex slightly oblique truncate (sometimes subrounded), unarmed. Legs. Proportionally short; apex of metafemora usually reaching apex of abdominal ventrite III, sometimes middle of abdominal ventrite IV; mesotibiae distinctly sulcate dorsally; metatarsomere I about as long as II–III together.

Abdomen. Ventrite I (without central process) about 0.8 times length of II–III together; ventrite V in male uniformly convex, with apex truncate (sometimes with margin slightly concave); ventrite V in female with transverse sulcus near apex, and distal margin truncate, slightly and widely emarginate centrally.

Remarks. Fallaxdesmis differs from Atelodesmis by having the lower eye lobes longer than gena; antennomeres III–IV not widened toward apex; long setae, usually sparse on scape, pedicel and antennomeres III–IV, suberect and distinctly shorter both dorsally and laterally; and lateral tubercle of prothorax small (giving cylindrical appearance to the prothorax). In Atelodesmis the lower eye lobes are shorter than genae, antennomeres III–IV gradually and slightly widened from base to apex; abundant, long setae on scape, pedicel and antennomeres III–IV and bristly throughout; and lateral tubercle of prothorax large (giving a slightly depressed, non-cylindrical appearance to the prothorax). Fallaxdesmis differs from Micratelodesmis Martins and Galileo, 2012, primarily by the erect setae on basal segments of antennae distinctly shorter (on antennomeres III–IV from about as long as diameter of segment to slightly longer), and elytra narrowed toward apex on distal half. In Micratelodesmis, the erect setae on basal antennomeres are longer (on antennomeres III–IV two times longer than diameter of segment), and elytra gradually widened toward distal third.