Mephritus bonasoi Galileo, Martins & Santos-Silva, 2014, sp. nov.

Mephritus bonasoi, sp. nov.

(Fig. 1)

Description. Head dark-brown covered with silky yellowish-white pubescence. Frons sparsely punctate. Vertex flat, densely punctate, punctures coalescing medially.

Superior ocular lobes with five rows of ommatidia. Antennae reaching apex of elytra in males at apical third of antennomere IX and in females at apex of antennomere X. Scape yellowish-brown, contrasting with dark-brown pedicel and antennomeres III–XI; punctate and with shallow basal depression. Antennomeres III–VI with short spine at apex of internal angle; antennomere VII with smaller, inconspicuous spine.

Prothorax dark-brown, laterally pubescent, coarsely punctate, with tubercle; lateral gibbosity, between lateral tubercle and lateroanterior angle, rounded.

Pronotum with five conspicuous tubercles, lateroanterior tubercles rounded, lateroposterior and central tubercles elongate; integument microsculptured, coarsely punctate between tubercles, smooth, glabrous above central tubercle. Prosternum punctate, densely pubescent on posterior half; wide, striated band near anterior margin. Meso- and metasternum covered by silky, short pubescence, interspersed with small, sparse punctures with short setae. Scutellum with silky, sparse pubescence.

Elytra reddish-brown, covered by short, silky, whitish pubescence; finely punctate, dense on basal half, gradually sparser toward apex; three longitudinal rows of small, contrasting piliferous punctures with short setae and narrow glabrous edges, visible, depending on light incidence. Elytral apices with spicule at marginal angle.

Femora brownish-yellow; tibiae and tarsi reddish-brown to dark-brown.

Abdominal ventrites dark-brown, sparsely punctate, covered by silky pubescence.

Measurements in mm, holotype male. Total length, 15.7; prothorax length, 2.9; prothorax width, 3.5; elytron length, 11.6; humeral width, 4.1. Paratype males/females, total length, 13.1–14.0/15.3–17.8; prothorax length, 2.5–2.6/2.7–2.8; prothorax width, 2.7–2.9/3.1–3.2; elytron length, 9.2–9.7/ 11.7–13.8; humeral width, 3.5–3.7/ 4.0–4.3.

Etymology. This species epithet honors Antonio Bonaso, one of the collectors of the holotype and other paratypical specimens.

Type material. Holotype male, BOLIVIA, Santa Cruz, 20 km N Camiri, road to Eyti, 1250 m, 6–8 km E, Hwy 9, 1952’S 6329’W), 5, 6, 10.XII.2012, Wappes, Bonaso & Skillman col. (MNKM). Paratypes (29): 2 males, 14 females, same data as holotype [ACMT (1m, 7f), FWSC (3f), MZSP (1m, 1f), MCNZ (2f) and RFMC (1f)]; 1female same data as holotype except 26.XI.2013, Skillman & Wappes col. (FWSC); 1 male, 3 females, 4 km N Bermejo, 4–9.XII.2013, Refugio los Volcanes, 1045–1350 m, 1806’ S 6336’ W, Wappes & Skillman col. (ACMT); 1 female, same data except 8.XII.2013, Skillman & Wappes col. (FWSC); 1 male, 5 females, Santa Cruz Dept., Cordillera Prov., road to Eyti, 10.5 km NE of Highway 9, 22km NNE of Camiri, 1140 m, 1950.56’ S 6329.05’ W, 3–4.XII.2013, Lingafelter col., lights [SWLC (1m, 3f) USNM (2f)]; 1 male, 2 females, Florida Prov., 4 km N of Bermejo, Refugio Los Volcanes, 1100 m, 1806’ S 6336 W, 11.XII.2011, S. W. Lingafelter col. (SWLC).

Remarks. Mephritus bonasoi sp. nov. in the key by Martins (2005) can be included in the alternative of couplet 14 with M. flavipes (Gounelle, 1909). It differs by elytral apices with marginal spicule, elytra homogenous in color, yellowish femora contrasting with darker tibiae, and dark-brown to reddish-brown tarsi. In M. flavipes, the elytra are darkened on the lateral margins; the marginal angle of elytra with a projecting spine, and the legs are reddish-brown.

Mephritus bonasoi sp. nov. has the pedicel, antennomeres III–XI and tibiae dark brown, contrasting with the pale yellow scape and femora. This color pattern also occurs in M. citreus Napp & Martins, 1982. Mephritus bonasoi differs by having contrasting piliferous punctures, (absent in M. citreus), and by the dark-brown integument (red-orange in M. citreus).