E. Nearns et al.: New species of Plectromerus Haldeman (Cerambycidae) from Navassa Island, ...

Zootaxa 1163: 61-68 (2006) ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) 
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ZOOTAXA 

Copyright © 2006 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) 

A new species of Plectromerus Haldeman (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from Navassa Island, Greater Antilles 

EUGENIO H. NEARNS & WARREN E. STEINER, Jr.

Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611 USA 
E-mail: gnearns@ufl.edu 

Department of Entomology, NHB-187, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 20013 USA. 
E-mail: steinerw@si.edu 

Abstract 

A new species, Plectromerus navassae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Curiini), from 
Navassa Island, Greater Antilles, is described. Features distinguishing the new species from its 
congeners are presented. 

Key words: Cerambycinae, Curiini, Caribbean, West Indies, taxonomy, endemic 

Introduction 

Navassa Island is located approximately 160 km south of Guantanamo, Cuba and 56 km 
west of Haiti (Fig. 1). The uninhabited, beachless island rises abruptly from the sea with 
cliffs reaching heights of more than 20 m and covers a mere 5 km2. An unincorporated 
territory of the U.S. since 1857, the tiny island is now home to the Navassa National 
Wildlife Refuge, established in 1999 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to preserve and 
protect the islandТs biodiversity. The island, estimated to be between 2 and 5 million years 
old, has never been connected to another larger land mass, and is composed of Eocene 
limestone with rugged karst surface characterized by red oolitic soil. A recent expedition