Genus Gauresthes Bates

Gauresthes Bates, 1889, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 392 (type-species : G. rufipes Bates., 1889) loc. cit. - Aurivillius, 1912, Coleopt. Cat., 39 : 326. - Podany, 1978, Ent. Abh. Mus. Tierk. Dresden, 42 (11) 364 & 374 (loc. cit.). - Hayashi, 1982, Bull. Osaka Jonan Women's Jr. Coll., 15 : 4.

Falsoipothalia Podany, 1978, loc. cit. : 363 & 367 (type-species : Ipothalia elegans Fisher, 1935).

Diagnostic characters : body elongated; mandible inclinate towards each other, tip abruptly bent; head raised between antennal insertion, not concave but convex anterior-posterior; clypeus marked off from frons by 2 weak oblique sulci; antennae shorter than body, at most a little surpassing half of elytra in ; scape curved at base; 3 very long, 2 X as long as scape; prothorax constricted behind middle at base; tubercle at side of prothorax blunt, subconical; elytra parallel-sided, tip dehiscent, apex gradually curved and rounded, disc bicostate; femora clavate at apical half, hind femora elongated, shorter or rarely little surpassed elytral apex; hind tibiae compressed, dilated post-medianly and curved.

Note : Hayashi (1982, 1985, 1987) gave a very good generic account and key to all known species of this genus. The descriptions for Sarawak representative of this genus were identical reproduction from Hayashi (1985) to avoid multiple redescription.

Key to species of Gauresthes in Sarawak

1.    Apical half of hind femora chalybeate, basal half ferrugineous; hind tibiae black-chalybeate; pronotum with median shinny line anterior of middle; body generally more bluish. - rufipes BATES, 1889
All femora entirely ferrugineous; hind tibiae black chalybeate; pronotum with a pair of large black pubescent black patch on both sides of median; base of elytron with an oblong patch of blackish pubescent; body generally more bluish - malayanus HAYASHI, 1985

Gauresthes rufipes BATES

Gauresthes rufipes Bates, 1889, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 392 (Borneo) loc. cit. - Aurivillius, 1912, Coleopt. Cat., 39 : 326. - Podany, 1978, Ent. Abh. Mus. Tierk. Dresden, 42 (11): 375, abb.7 (loc. cit.). - Hayashi, 1982, Bull. Osaka Jonan Women's Jr. Coll., 15 : 5.; 1985, Ent. Rev. Japan, 40 (2): 133, pl.7, fig. 5.

The redescription of the type-species by Hayashi (1985) in Study of Asian Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) VIII, Ent. Rev. Japan, 40 (2) : 133 is as below :-

“ Male : Frons and occiput cobalt blue, clypeus blackish with apical half brown, membraneous, vertex dark blue, mandibles blackish, varying from blue to green, antennae indigo blue. Prothorax blackish blue green, with shinny transverse apical and basal constrictions and an antemedian longitudinal line greenish. Scutellum dark blue violet. Elytra dark blue with three pairs of dark longitudinal costae. Body beneath dark blue. Legs light reddish testaceous, apical portions of hind femora and hind tibiae blue. Prothoracic lateral tubercles covered with whitish pubescence, Body beneath covered with pale fulvous pubescence.

Head small, nearly parallel-sided behind eyes; vertex inclined, clypeus, labrum and mandibles prolonged ahead. Antennae in male almost arriving at elytral apex, angulately dilated ectoapically from third to tenth joints and carinate; relative length of each joints is as follows:- 4 : 1 : 8 : 4 : 4 : 4 : 4 : 3.5 : 3.5 : 2.8 : 3.3. Prothorax a little longer than broad (ratio, 10 : 9), slightly narrower at apex than at base (ratio, 8 : 9,3), margined and reflexed at arcuately centrally produced apex, constricted arcuately behind apex and transversely before base, dully tuberculate laterally at middle, dull angulate just behind apical constriction at sides; disc densely rugulosely punctate in general, excepting a premedian longitudinal shining line. Scutellum triangular. Elytra fairly broader than prothorax, 3.25 times as long as the basal width, almost parallel-sided and conjointly rounded at apex; disc finely densely punctured throughout, with three pairs of longitudinal costae, on which transversely rugulose. Legs relatively short, only excepting hind femora long; femora clavate apically, tibiae dilated to apex, middle and hind tibiae curved and the latter thinly depressed, tarsi broad. Length, 20 mm, width, 4 mm.

Female : Comparing with male, body larger, more bluish, antennae violet, the central shinning longitudinal line broader with some coarse scattered punctures, elytra shorter, 2.7 times as long as the basal width. Antennae arriving at apical one third of elytra. Length, 29.5 mm, width, 6 mm."

Measurement : Length 23.0 mm (); breadth 5.5 mm ()
Distribution : Sarawak; Sabah; Peninsular Malaysia.
Material examined : 1 Matang, Kuching Div., VIII.1899 (SM Coll.).

Gauresthes malayanus HAYASHI

" Head blue, palpi testaceous, antennae blue black, mat. Prothorax green, scutellum blue, elytra metallic dark green, with three pairs of inner golden green, and another outer pair of blue green shinny longitudinal costae, innermost complete on suture, second incomplete oblique near suture, third semi-complete at middle of disc and fourth at sides. Body beneath dark blue. Femora light reddish with apices black, tibiae and tarsi testaceous, front tibiae partly darkened, middle tibiae largely darkened with blue tint and hind tibiae bluish black.

Head relatively small, frons transverse, transversely concave at middle, upper half with a triangular glabrous area at middle, sparsely punctured at sides, lower half uneven, tinted with violet at centre, clypeus blackish, labrum brown, minutely semicircularly incised at middle of apex, mandibles straightly prolonged ahead with curved apices, vertex transversely convex, with a median channel, occiput irregularly rugulosely punctured with two finely closely punctured dark blue patches on basal disc. Antennae arriving at behind elytral middle, scape short, weakly thickened to apex, antennal joints dilated ectoapically from third to tenth, eleventh appendiculate, carinate laterally at sides; relative length of each joints is as follow :- 7 : 1.5 : 16 : 6.5 : 7 : 7 : 7 : 6.5 : 6 : 5 : 6. Prothorax broader than long, narrower at apex than at base, arcutely produced ahead at centre of apex which reflexed, strongly sinuately constricted behind apex and dully tuberculate laterally at middle which brownish mat, finely covered with white pubescence, and shallowly constricted before base; disc closely punctured with apical and basal constrictions metallic green, and a median longitudinal line also metallic green, covered with a pair of large black pubescent markings on both sides of the median line and a narrow transverse black pubescent patch at apical collar. Scutellum elongate triangular, densely punctulate. Elytra fairly broader than prothorax, 2.53 times as long as the basal width, a little broadened at base, once slightly narrowed behind base to middle, and again broadened at apical half and narrowed to conjointly rounded apex; disc densely rugulosely punctured on dark green portions, and transversely rugulose on golden green costae; covered with black pubescence on a pair of large oblong patches at base. Body beneath very closely microscopically punctulate throughout, Legs of moderate length, clavate on femora, dilated apically on tibiae, hind tibiae arcute and thinly depressed. Body beneath and legs covered with fine pale pubescence. Length, 28 mm., width, 7.5 mm.

Holotype, , Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia, no further data (Hayashi Coll.)."

Measurement : Length 27.0 mm (); 20.0 - 22.0 mm ()
Breadth 8.0 mm (); 5.0 - 6.5mm ()

Distribution : Sarawak; Peninsular Malaysia

Material examined : 1 Matang, Kuching Div., VIII.1899 (SM Coll.); 4 Matang (3200 ft), Kuching Div., 20.VII.1909 (SM Coll.); Matang (3200 ft), Kuching Div., 14.VII.1909 (SM Coll.); Matang (3200 ft), Kuching Div., 30.VII.1909 (SM Coll.); Matang, Kuching Div., data unknown (SM Coll.).