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Title: REDISCOVERY AND REDESCRIPTION OF THE REMARKABLE PHOENICUS SANGUINIPENNIS LACORDAIRE (COLEOPTERA: CERAMBYCIDAE: TRACHYDERINI) FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Author
item Lingafelter, Steven
item NEARNS, EUGENIO - UNIV.FLA.GAINESVILLE

Submitted to: The Coleopterists Bulletin
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/2006
Publication Date: 10/15/2006
Citation: Lingafelter, S.W., Nearns, E.H. 2006. Rediscovery and redescription of the remarkable phoenicus sanguinipennis lacordaire (coleoptera: cerambycidae: trachyderini) from the Dominican Republic. The Coleopterists Bulletin. 60(3):199-206.

Interpretive Summary: Longhorned woodboring beetles cause tens of millions of dollars of damage per year to trees and woody plants in the U.S. A rare species of longhorned beetle was rediscovered in the Dominican Republic 135 years after its initial discovery. The probable host of this species is dyewood, an economically and medically important tree that is widely distributed in the Caribbean. Extracts of this tree have shown moderate anti-HIV activity and its wood has been used commercially in producing dyes. Since many herbivores sequester compounds from their host plants, this study will be of interest to medical biochemists and will convey the traditional benefits to entomologists, quarantine officials, and evolutionary biologists who are generally interested in biodiversity and in identification of pests and intercepted insects.

Technical Abstract: Phoenicus sanguinipennis was described by Lacordaire in 1869 based on one male specimen of unknown origin. We rediscovered this species 135 years later in the Punta Cana region of eastern Dominican Republic. Twenty-six specimens were collected at lights and on dead Maclura tinctoria (L.) D. Don ex Steudel. We provide a thorough description of the species and the previously unknown female, and a discussion of the previous and current knowledge of the species.