Description of a new species of Apterotoxitiades Adlbauer, 2008 (Cerambycidae, Dorcasominae, Apatophyseini) and the female of A.vivesi Adlbauer, 2008, with notes on the biology of the genus.

Karl Adlbauer,Renzo Perissinotto,Anders Bjørnstad

doi:10.3897/zookeys.482.8901

Abstract

Following the description of the Apatophyseini genus Apterotoxitiades Adlbauer, 2008 (Cerambycidae: Dorcasominae) from South Africa, a new species has now been discovered in the eastern Drakensberg range of the country. The holotype female is here described as Apterotoxitiades aspinosus Björnstad, sp. n. Also, a new small series collected at Hogsback, in the Amathole range, has allowed the description of the previously unknown female of the type species, Apterotoxitiades vivesi Adlbauer, 2008. Both species are high altitude dwellers, occurring above 1300 m asl and their habitat consists mainly of mountain grassland interspersed with mistbelt forest pockets. All specimens were recorded in the austral winter to early spring, when these mountain ranges are occasionally covered in snow and night temperature plummet below 0 °C. They appear to be nocturnal and their complete lack of wings indicates a remarkable adaptation to cold conditions at high altitude.

Highlights

The genus Apterotoxitiades Adlbauer, 2008 was described on the basis of a single male from Hogsback in the Amathole mountains of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
A female specimen of what is obviously a representative of the genus Apterotoxitiades has for some time been in the ABPC collection
Because of a lack of knowledge of the degree of sexual dimorphism within the genus prior to the new Amathole collection, it was not possible to conclude with confidence as to whether this was the unknown female of A. vivesi or a different species

Summary

Introduction

The genus Apterotoxitiades Adlbauer, 2008 was described on the basis of a single male from Hogsback in the Amathole mountains of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Because of a lack of knowledge of the degree of sexual dimorphism within the genus prior to the new Amathole collection, it was not possible to conclude with confidence as to whether this was the unknown female of A. vivesi or a different species. The generic description of Apterotoxitiades was provided by Adlbauer (2008), but the discovery of the new species, A. aspinosus sp.

Results

Conclusion