Elaphidion

Subfamily

Cerambycinae

Diagnosis - adult

Body length: 11–30mm. 
Eyes: eye interommatidial setaeseta:
a sclerotized hair-like projection of the cuticle
present or absent, eye deeply emarginateemarginate:
notched at the margin
> half width, eye ommatidial density coarse. 
AntennaeAntenna:
in larval and adult insects, paired segmented appendages, borne one on each side of the head, functioning as sense organs and bearing a large number of sensilla
: antennal length reaches between basebase:
the part of any appendage or structure that is nearest the body
and end of elytraelytron:
the leathery forewing of beetles, serving as a covering for the hind wings, commonly meeting opposite elytron in a straight line down the middle of the dorsum in repose
or reaching/surpassing end of body, antennal flagellar segments elongateelongate:
much longer than wide
, scapescape:
the first proximal segment of the antenna
smooth/punctate at apexapex:
end of any structure distad to the base
, antennal segment 3 > scapescape:
the first proximal segment of the antenna
. 
Pronotumpronotum:
the upper and dorsal part of the prothorax
: pronotumpronotum:
the upper and dorsal part of the prothorax
shape transversetransverse:
broader than long
, pronotumpronotum:
the upper and dorsal part of the prothorax
lateral armature absent. 
Prosternum: prosternal process dilated at apexapex:
end of any structure distad to the base
, procoxal cavities open posteriorly. 
ElytraElytron:
the leathery forewing of beetles, serving as a covering for the hind wings, commonly meeting opposite elytron in a straight line down the middle of the dorsum in repose
: elytral length reaching or close to end of abdomen, elytral apicesapex:
end of any structure distad to the base
emarginate or with tooth or spinespine:
a protuberance with an acute (sharp) distal end
, elytral color black, brown, yellow, reddish, or orange, elytral color pattern present or absent. 
Legs: visible tarsomeres: 4, femora slender, protibial spurs: 2, tarsal claws simple.

Form moderate sized, slender to moderately robust. AntennaeAntenna:
in larval and adult insects, paired segmented appendages, borne one on each side of the head, functioning as sense organs and bearing a large number of sensilla
prominently spined internally on third segment, less so on fourth and following segments, frequently with segments 3 and 4 bispinose, nearly always with some segments bispinose. Prosternum with intercoxal process nearly plane, truncatetruncate:
cut off squarely at the tip
or rounded behind, then abruptly, vertically or concavely declivous. ElytraElytron:
the leathery forewing of beetles, serving as a covering for the hind wings, commonly meeting opposite elytron in a straight line down the middle of the dorsum in repose
with a prominent external spinespine:
a protuberance with an acute (sharp) distal end
at apexapex:
end of any structure distad to the base
, usually also a spinespine:
a protuberance with an acute (sharp) distal end
at suturesuture:
groove marking the line of fusion of two formerly distinct plates; the line of junction of elytra
. Femora usually armed with apical spines (Linsley 1963Linsley 1963:
Linsley, E.G. 1963. The Cerambycidae of North America. Part IV. Taxonomy and classification of the subfamily Cerambycinae, tribes Elaphidionini through Rhinotragini. University of California Publications in Entomology, Vol. 21. 165 pp.).

Similar genera

Centrocerum, Enaphalodes, Anelaphus

Differential diagnosis

"The large and primarily Caribbean genus Elaphidion is distinguished by the abruptly declivous prosternal process between the procoxaeprocoxa:
coxa of the front leg
(arcuately declivous in Anelaphus), the more pronounced mesal (and often apicolateral) spines on most antennomeres—usually very strong mesally on antennomereantennomere:
a subunit of the antenna, including the scape, pedicel, and flagellomeres
3 (restricted to antennomeresantennomere:
a subunit of the antenna, including the scape, pedicel, and flagellomeres
3–6 or fewer in most species of Anelaphus), the bispinose elytral apicesapex:
end of any structure distad to the base
in most specimens (rounded apicolaterally in most Anelaphus), and the spinosespinose:
armed with thorny spines, more elongate than echinate
or dentiform metafemoral apicesapex:
end of any structure distad to the base
(rounded in Anelaphus)" (Lingafelter 2020Lingafelter 2020:
Lingafelter SW. 2020. Review of species of Anelaphus Linsley and its new synonym Gymnopsyra Linsley from the United States and Canada with description of a new species, synonymies, distributional notes and an illustrated identification key (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Elaphidiin. Insecta Mundi 798:1–30.).

Distribution

Neotropical, Nearctic

Recorded host plants

broadleaf trees

Remarks

60 species

Synonyms

Cycliopleurus Hope, 1835: 107

Elaphidium Agassiz, 1846: 135

Hypermallus Bates, 1880: 25 [part]

Taxonomy

Elaphidion Audinett-Serville, 1834: 66