Description of a new species of Scotochroa LeConte, 1874 (Coleoptera: Melandryidae) from Honshu, central Japan

Scotochroa yamato sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Melandryidae: Xylitini), is described and illustrated from Honshu Island in central Japan. This represents the first record of Scotochroa from Japan and the Palearctic Region. Scotochroa yamato sp. nov. morphologically resembles Scotochroa atra LeConte, 1874 and Scotochroa basalis LeConte, 1874, but differs from these two species in the shape of the mesoventral process, which does not reach the halflength of the mesocoxal cavitities, whereas in the latter two species it extends to the posterior edge of the cavities. Adults of the new species appear for a short period from late April to mid-May. The main host plant for the larvae is identified Brucea javanica (L.) Merr., 1928 (Simaroubaceae), but it is likely that they also feed on dead branches of other broad-leaved trees. This represents the first documented bionomic association of Scotochroa with the wood of deciduous trees. Its habitat of the new species is lowland scrub and riparian forests, where it can be found on thin, tangled bushes by dead branches in dense shade.