Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) antennata, Bílý, Svatopluk, 2011

Bílý, Svatopluk, 2011, Three new species of the genus Anthaxia Eschscholtz, 1829 from Madagascar (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Buprestinae: Anthaxiini), Zootaxa 2870, pp. 48-52 : 48-49

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) antennata sp. nov.

( Figs. 1, 4, 7, 8 )

Type specimens. Holotype (male, NMPC): “ Madagaskar, Tulear [Toliara] south 20 km, i.1996, Bačovský lgt.”; allotype (female, CLBC): the same data.

Small to medium-sized (3.5–4.3 mm), convex, slightly navicular, matt; frons golden green (male) or violet (female), vertex black; pronotum black with violet tinge (female) or black-violet with wide, medial dark blue stripe, posterior angles with golden reflex (male); scutellum golden with red tinge (male) or black with golden tinge (female); elytra tricolorous in both sexes: humeri violet, sutural stripe blue (triangularly enlarged at scutellar portion, tear-shaped at posterior half of elytra and not reaching elytral apex), remainder of elytra golden with red reflections ( Fig. 1 ); antennae and legs black with green lustre (male) or black (female); ventral surface black with golden lustre (male) or black with violet lustre (female); laterosternites in both sexes with purple lustre; dorsal surface without pubescence, ventral surface with extremely fine, sparse, white pubescence; lateroposterior pronotal depressions and anterior portions of laterosternites with small patches of white tomentum.

Description of the holotype. Head small, partly retracted into prothorax, mouth parts somewhat prognathic; frontoclypeus widely, shallowly emarginate separated from frons by shallow, transverse depression; frons flat, vertex slightly convex, as wide as width of eye; eyes small, reniform, not projecting beyond outline of head; sculpture consisting of small, dense, rough, polygonal cells with large central grains; antennae ( Fig. 7 ) short, robust, reaching midlength of lateral pronotal margins when laid alongside; scape straight, slightly claviform, about 3.5 times as long as wide; pedicel ovoid, 1.5 times as long as wide; antennomere 3 very short, triangular, as long as wide; antennomeres 4–10 conspicuously enlarged, widely trapezoidal, 1.4 times as wide as long; terminal antennomere rhomboid.

Pronotum moderately convex, 1.5 times as wide as long, with relatively large, deep laterobasal depressions; anterior margin deeply biarcuate, posterior margin subtruncate; lateral margins angulately rounded, nearly straight at posterior half, posterior pronotal angles widely obtuse; maximum pronotal width at anterior third; sculpture consisting of fine microsculpture and wide, polygonal cells with large central grains. Scutellum large, subtriangular, flat, microsculptured, as wide as long.

Elytra regularly convex, nearly regularly tapering posteriorly, 1.8 times as long as wide; humeral swellings small but well-developed; basal transverse depression wide, shallow, not reaching scutellum; elytral epipleura narrow, bearing row of small asperities, not reaching elytral apex; posterior third of elytral margins very finely serrate; elytra regularly microsculptured with small, poorly visible asperities which are denser and more distinct around scutellum.

Ventral surface lustrous, finely ocellate; prosternal process flat, pointed apically, widened posteriad procoxae; anal ventrite narrowly rounded apically, finely serrate laterally. Legs relatively short; protibiae widely flattened with shallow, dorsal groove for tarsi in repose ( Fig. 8 ); mesotibiae flattened, finely curved inwards at apical third; metatibiae slightly flattened, very finely curved inwards at posterior fifth, without inner serration. Tarsal claws small, thin, slightly hook-shaped, weakly enlarged at base.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 4 ) slightly spindle-shaped, posterior half dark, well-sclerotised; median lobe sharply pointed with fine lateral serration.

Sexual dimorphism. Except for the slight difference in the colouration (see above) the female differs from male by the somewhat stouter body, finely notched anal ventrite, less enlarged antennomeres 4–10 and by straight meso- and metatibiae.

Measurements. Length: 3.5 mm (holotype) and 4.3 mm (allotype); width: 1.3 mm (holotype) and 1.5 mm (allotype).

Etymology. The specific epithet “ antennata ” reflects the unusual shape of the male antennae.

Bionomy. Unknown.

Distribution. South-western Madagascar, prov. Toliara.

Differential diagnosis. Due to the colouration Anthaxia (H.) antennata sp. nov. somewhat resembles other sympatric species with tricolorous elytra and prognathous mouthparts: A. (H.) emmae Descarpentries, 1967 , A. (H.) perrieri (Fairmaire, 1900) , A. (H.) peyrierasi Descarpentries, 1967 and A. (H.) succinicola Descarpentries, 1967 but the elytral pattern is quite different. It differs also by the different shape of male genitalia ( Fig. 4 ) and more significantly by the unusual form of antennae ( Fig. 7 ) and protibiae ( Fig. 8 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. 1 — Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) antennata sp. nov., holotype, male, 3.5 mm; 2 — A. (H.) auroviolacea sp. nov., holotype, male, 3.1 mm; 3 — A. (H.) onilahyiana sp. nov., holotype, male, 2.5 mm; 4 — A. (H.) antennata sp. nov., aedeagus, holotype; 5 — A. (H.) auroviolacea sp. nov., aedeagus, holotype; 6 — A. (H.) onilahyiana sp. nov., aedeagus, holotype; 7 — A. (H.) auroviolacea sp. nov., right antenna, holotype; 8 — same, right protibia, holotype.