Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) bezdeki, Obořil, 2006

Obořil, Martin, 2006, Studies on the ‘ agriliform’ Anthaxia from Africa, with the descriptions of four new species (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 46, pp. 77-88 : 84-85

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) bezdeki sp. nov.

( Figs. 3, 17 , 22 )

Type locality. Democratic Republic of Congo, Flandria.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘ CONGO [w, p] // Equateur: Flandria [p] / fin 1928 [h] / R. P. Hulstaert [w, p]’ ( NMPC) . ALLOTYPE: ♀, ‘ ♀ [w, h] // Congo Belge Central / prov. De Maniéma / Kindu / L. Burgeon 1917 [blue label, p]’ ( NMPC) . PARATYPES: 1 J, ‘ Haut-Uele: Yebo Moto [p] / -XII [h] 1926 / L. Burgeon [w, p]’ ( MOBC) ; 1 ♀, ‘Buku- Tembe / 83 XI 25 [w, p]’ ( MOBC) ; 1 ♀, ‘ Sierra Leone / Freetown / A. Mocguerys / 1889 [w, p]’ ( NMPC) .

Description. Body length of males 4.45-4.65 mm (holotype 4.45 mm), of females 4.65-5.20 mm.

Male. Small and narrow species, wedge-shaped, completely black, elytra covered with pale setae. Head large, rounded. Eyes not projecting beyond outline of head, vertex 1.2 times as wide as width of eye. Inner margin of eyes slightly S-shaped. Clypeus incurved anteriorly. Frons metallic green, vertex black. Antennae short and robust, as long as pronotum, metallic green. Head asetose. Sculpture of frons consisting of regular polygonal and oval cells with central grains.

Pronotum black with feeble blue tinge and greenish anterior margin, transverse, 1.5 times as wide as long, widest in middle, incurved before posterior angles, asetose, with saddle-like impression in middle and fine depressions in posterior angles. Pronotal sculpture coarse, irregular, with polygonal cells with inner reticulation, without central grains. Scutellum black with feeble blue tinge, large, heart-shaped, with very fine web-like microsculpture.

Elytra black with blue tinge, ‘agriliform’, 2.7 times as long as wide. Sculpture of elytra consisting of angulate, transverse wrinkles forming prolonged tile-shaped sculpture. Outer side widely S-shaped, exposing laterotergites 1 and 2 from above. Epipleura narrow, disappearing before apex. Elytral apex with fine serration. Apical third of elytra strongly arched.

Underside black, prothorax and metathorax with bluish tinge, covered with irregular polygonal cells without central grains, asetose. Sternites without distinct sculpture, nearly smooth, with fine and regular setae. Anal sternite without serration, posterior margin sinuate. Fore and middle legs black with strong blue tinge, hind legs black with bluish coxae. Hind tibia ( Fig. 22 ) without teeth, outer side nearly straight, inner side slightly rounded.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 17 ) weakly sclerotized, pale, arrow-shaped, apex bent dorsally. Parameres wide in basal half, narrow in apical half.

Female. More robust than male. Completely black (including underside, frons and antennae) and without blue tinge. Pronotum not incurved before posterior angles, with feeble saddle-shaped depression in middle. Anal sternite similar to that in male, posterior margin with slightly deeper sinuation. Protibia straight, not dilated, without serration.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Jan Bezděk (Brno, Czech Republic), a specialist in the Chrysomelidae .

Differential diagnosis. Anthaxia bezdeki sp. nov. belongs to the A. rothkirchi species group. It can be distinguished from the most similar species, A. rothkirchi , by a black body with green frons in males (in A. rothkirchi , the body is metallic green and the anterior part of the pronotum has a large black spot), by the outline of the head which is more concave and widened (flattened and narrower in A. rothkirchi ), by the outline of the elytra, which are relatively longer and narrower in A. bezdeki sp. nov. than in A. rothkirchi ( Figs. 3 and 4 ), and by the pronotal sculpture consisting of irregular polygonal cells without central grains (regular cells with central grains in A. rothkirchi ).

Distribution. Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

Figures

Figs. 1-13. Body outline. 1 – Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) obliquepilosa Obenberger, 1924; 2 – A. (H.) eupoeta Obenberger, 1928; 3 – A. (H.) bezdeki sp. nov.; 4 – A. (H.) rothkirchi Obenberger, 1922; 5 – A. (H.) gabonica Bílý, 2000; 6 – A. (H.) atomaria Obenberger, 1922; 7 – A. (H.) gianfrancoi Bílý, 2000; 8 – A. (H.) libenae sp. nov.; 9 – A. (H.) gongeti sp. nov.; 10 – A. (H.) aurohumeralis Bílý, 2000; 11 – A. (H.) melanosoma Bílý, 2000; 12 – A. (H.) elegantula Obenberger, 1924; 13 – A. (H.) eloumdenica sp. nov. Scale: 1 mm.

Figs. 14-27. 14-20 – Aedeagus. 14 – Anthaxia (Haplantaxia) gongeti sp. nov.; 15 – A. (H.) eupoeta Obenberger, 1928; 16 – A. (H.) libenae sp. nov.; 17 – A. (H.) bezdeki sp. nov.; 18 – A. (H.) atomaria Obenberger, 1922; 19 – A. (H.) gabonica Bílý, 2000; 20 – A. (H.) rothkirchi Obenberger, 1922. 21-27 – Male hind tibia. 21 – A. (H.) eupoeta Obenberger, 1928; 22 – A. (H.) bezdeki sp. nov.; 23 – A. (H.) rothkirchi Obenberger, 1922; 24 – A. (H.) atomaria Obenberger, 1922; 25 – A. (H.) gongeti sp. nov.; 26 – A. (H.) libenae sp. nov.; 27 – A. (H.) gabonica Bílý, 2000. Scales: 0.5 m