Hexoplon rubriceps Martins & Galileo, 2013, sp. nov.

Hexoplon rubriceps sp. nov.

(Fig. 1)

Description. Head dark red, glabrous. Upper half of frons with short irregular furrows. Scape red with sparse punctures; apices slightly projected outward. Pedicel reddish-black. Antennomeres III-XI black.

Prothorax black, narrowly red along the anterior edge; in the pronotum, the red coloration is confined to the anterior fifth. Prothorax with small sparse punctures laterally. Prosternum with white pubescence on the prosternal process. Mesepimera, mesepisterna and metepisterna black covered with silky, white, pubescence. Metasternum primarily black, red in the middle and the sides pubescent.

Elytra black with tan markings centrally and apically. Each elytron with a black oblique fascia extending from the black basal area to the elytral margin, ending slightly above a transverse black band that crosses the elytral at apical third, apical fifth tan. Each elytron with two longitudinal rows of piliferous punctures centrally. Elytral apices emarginate with an outer spine and sutural projection.

Legs black. Mesofemoral apices with a long spine on the inner side, Metafemoral apices with a long spine on the external side. Mesocoxae red. Mesosternum black, mesosternal process red and covered by silky white pubescence.

Urosternite I black with red center. Sides of urosternites with white pubescence.

Measurements in mm, holotype female. Total length, 15.5; prothorax length, 3.8, greatest width of prothorax, 2.2; elytron length, 10.1; humeral width, 3.4.

Type material. Holotype female, ECUADOR, Napo: Napo Galeras Road (km 1-2), 17.II.2004, F. T. Hovore col. (CASC).

Etymology. Latin, ruber = red; suffix ceps, derived from caput = head; refers to the red color of the head.

Discussion. Hexoplon venus Thomson, 1864, occurring in Colombia, Venezuela and French Guiana, is the only species with similar elytral color as H. rubriceps sp. nov. Both will key to couplet 21 in the key to South American species (Martins, 2006). They can be differentiated as follows: H. rubriceps sp. nov. has a predominantly black prothorax; elytra with black band, curved in front before the extremity, oblique black fascia reaching the margin in the apical third of each elytron and femora and body ventrally black. In H. venus: the prothorax, elytra, femora and ventral body are red; a red band before the elytra extremity, with its anterior margin straight, and the oblique black stripe in the middle of the elytra ending at the margin.