Ethiopoeus croesus (Obenberger, 1931) Bellamy, 2008

Bellamy, C. L., 2008, New taxa, distribution and biological records of Afrotropical Coraebini Bedel, 1921 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Agrilinae), Zootaxa 1848, pp. 1-15 : 11-12

Ethiopoeus croesus (Obenberger, 1931) , comb. nov.

( Figs. 12–16)

Meliboeus croesus Obenberger, 1931b: 209 ; 1934: 901; Bellamy 1991: 12.

Redescription. Maximum length ca. 5.2–6.7 mm, elongate-ovoid, subcylindrical; integument generally black with steel-blue reflections on head and ventral surface; head with or without coppery reflections on frontovertex; pronotum and elytra cupreous to red-coppery except for paired black markings with steel-blue reflections: pronotum with one pair in posterior half, elytra with two pairs of spots, two pairs of lateral fasciae and in some specimens the apex black; surface coasely punctate on head and median portion of ventral surface; portion of dorsal surface with cupreous reflections also punctate-imbricate and setose; pronotal and elytra spots and fasciae generally only feebly punctate and glabrose; dorsal surface generally with moderate cover of short, stout, semi-transparent white, recurved setae; ventral surface with moderate cover of similar colored setae except these appressed, except for very dense concentration of off-white setae on posterolateral portion of mesoventrite and adjacent metacoxal plate; frontovertex broad, slightly produced between eyes; eyes large, inner margins diverging dorsally; circumocular groove along inner margin extending more than half of eye circumference; supra-antennal groove above large antennal cavities; antennal cavities narrowly separated, width of separation less than width of each antennal cavity; clypeal margin broadly, shallowly emarginate; gena with shallow transverse depression for basal antennae in repose; distal margin of gena with stout, acute tooth; antennae with antennomere 1, longer than 2+3, feebly arcuate; 2 slightly longer, more globose than 3; serrate from antennomere 4: 4 triangular, 5–10 each successively wider than long, 11 oblong, rounded distally; pronotum 1.4 times wider than long, widest near midpoint, narrowing to posterior margin; anterior margin convex; posterior margin sinuate on either side of bispinose prescutellar lobe; disc transversely convex, except for slight depression on either side of middle in posterior 1/2; lateral margin crenulate; one premarginal carina on either side; scutellum biplanar, wider than long, transversely carinate; elytra slightly narrower than maximum pronotal width, widest across humeri and at about posterior 1/3; humeri moderately elevated; lateral margin biarcuate, narrowing medially, apices separately rounded, lateroposterior margin finely serrate; disc transversely convex; epipleuron not extending to apex, widest with margin subparallel to elytral margin in anterior half; pygidium not visible beyond elytra, with apical margin entire; prosternum short, longitudinally compressed, with short, feebly, steeply declivous, bilobed mentonniere; disc transversely convex; process broad, subparallel between procoxae, apex feebly trilobed; abdominal ventrites feebly expanded laterally, ventrites 1 and 2 longer than 3+4+5; ventrite 5 with premarginal groove, apex entire, without sexual morphology; legs with tibiae subquadrate in cross-section, feebly arcuate outer edge; metatibiae with setal comb of stout short, erect semi-transparent white setae along upper margin on apical ½; tarsi with tarsomeres 1–4 with ventral pulvilli; tarsal claws bifid; male genitalia as in Fig. 15; ovipositor as in Fig. 16.

Specimens examined. Lectotype ♂ (new designation) ( ZIN): fl. Mieissa , Abessinia , Brovtsyn [leg] 17.IV.[19]05; paralectotype (sex?) ( NMPC 23922 ): Katschinuoha , Tschertscher Abess. Brovtsyn [leg] 12.III.1903; additional specimens: 2 ex, Abyssinia, 12.4.1905, Sedov [leg]; 1 ex, Abyss., 7.VI.1897, Kachunuga , Tabichev [leg]; 4 ex, Abyssinia, Avdench , 70 km W Dirdaun, 26.VII.1918, expedition of Gumilev , Sverchkov [leg]; 5 ex, Abyssinia, Mul’u River , 18.IV.1905, Sedov [leg]; 1 ex, Abyssinia, Danakie desert, Adiss-Adebba, 1905, Sedov [leg].