Anthaxia (Anthaxia) syriaca, Bílý, Svatopluk & Kubá, Vít, 2004

Bílý, Svatopluk & Kubá, Vít, 2004, Two new species of Anthaxia Eschscholtz, 1829 from the A. salicis (Fabricius, 1776) species­group (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Zootaxa 771, pp. 1-8 : 6-7

Anthaxia (Anthaxia) syriaca n. sp.

( Figs 2 , 5, 8, 11 )

Type material. Holotype ɗ ( NMPC): ”Syr[ia]. 25.5.2002 Slunfeh Jabal al Musaryah [V.] Skoupý leg. [p] \ HOLOTYPUS Anthaxia (s. str.) syriaca n. sp. Bílý & Kubáň det., 2004 [p]”; allotype ( NMPC): same data as holotype except ALLOTYPUS; paratypes (3 ɗɗ 4 ΨΨ): 1 ɗ ( NMPC): NW Syria, Jabal an NuŞayrīyah Mts., Şlinfah, 1200 m, 24.–28.v.1995, P. Kabátek leg.; 1 ɗ ( MKCN): same data except 1300­1600 m, 4.vi.1999, S. Benedikt leg.; 1 Ψ ( EJCB): same data except 1400 m, 15.­26.iv.2001, D. Čatloš leg.; 1 Ψ ( TICB): same data except 1500 m, 26.­29.v.1998, E. &. Hajdaj leg.; 1 Ψ ( NMPC): same data except 19.v.2002, Z. Košťál & J. Voříšek leg.; 1 ɗ ( MNAC): N Israel, Upper Galilee, 7.vi.1990, Montfort, E of Naharlya, J. Kless leg.; 1 Ψ ( TICB): S Turkey, Icel vil., [50 km N of] Tarsus, Tekir [37°21’N 34°49’E, ~ 1000 m], 2.vi.1992, J. Chalupek leg.

Type locality. NW Syria, Jabal an Nuºayriyah Mts., 40 km E of Latakia, Şlinfah, 35°35’N 36°12’E, ~ 1500 m.

Diagnosis. Medium­sized, moderately convex and lustrous species ( Fig. 2 ); head golden green (male) or golden green with large, dark violet central spot (female); pronotum blue­green with two large, black fields, space between them golden green; antennae and legs black, scutellum and basal third of elytra blue­green; apical two thirds of elytra purple, this purple colouration somewhat prolonged anteriad along the elytral suture; ventral side dark blue­green with golden tinge, abdominal ventrites golden­coppery along lateral margins; frons with rather long, errect white pubescence, pronotum and elytra with short, semierrect gray pubescence; ventral side covered with homogeneous, sparse and recumbent, short, grey pubescence.

Description of the holotype. Head small, frons flat with indistinct medial depression, vertex about as wide as width of eye; eyes large, reniform but not projecting beyond outline of head; sculpture of head consisting of small, dense, polygonal or rounded cells with indistinct central grains; antennae rather short, hardly reaching posterior pronotal angles; 1st antennomere clubbed, four times as long as wide, 2nd antennomere pear­shaped, twice as long as wide, 3rd antennomere 2.50 times as long as wide, slightly triangular; antennomeres 4–10 triangular, about as long as wide, terminal antennomere ovoid.

Pronotum 1.93 times as wide as long, flattened, laterobasal pronotal depressions indistinct; posterior margin slightly, anterior margin rather deeply bisinuous, lateral margins regularly rounded; pronotal sculpture consisting of two bilateral, slightly concentric fields of fine wrinkles ( Fig. 8 ); sculpture between these fields and lateral margins consisting of large, polygonal cells with large central grains, sculpture of anterior part of pronotum rather irregular, consisting of indistinct cells, fine punctures and wrinkles. Scutellum as wide as long, cordiform to pentagonal, microsculptured and slightly convex.

Elytra 1.70 times as long as wide, subparallel in anterior two thirds an regularly arched in posterior third to separately rounded apices; apical third of elytra with distinct lateral serration, epipleuras well­developed but nearly reaching apex of elytra; humeral swellings small but well­developed, basal transverse depression deep, nearly reaching scutellum; elytral sculpture consisting of irregular, rough punctures and short wrinkles, withour basal microsculpture; each elytron with 3 shallow and wide depressions: one at basal third and two on posterior half.

Ventral side lustrous, prosternum with large, metasternum with small polygonal or oval cells without distinct central grains, sculpture of ventrites somewhat tile­shaped. Anal ventrite obtusely rounded without distinct lateral serration. Legs relatively short, metatibiae with fine serration on inner side ( Fig. 5 ), mesotibiae only with several, preapical denticles on inner margin.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 11 ) long, moderately sclerotised, basal part of parameres nearly regularly narrowed posteriad.

Female. The female differs from the male only by a larger and stouter body, simple meso­ and metatibiae and by the colouration of frons (see above).

Measurements. Length: 4.9–6.1 mm (holotype 4.9 mm); width: 1.8–2.3 mm (holotype 1.8 mm).

Variability. No variability was observed in colouration except for the different colour of frons in male and female. The ratio of width to length of the pronotum in all type specimens varies between 1.90 and 2.08, ratio of elytral length to width between 1.62 and 1.76.

Etymology. The species name ” syriaca ” is derived from the country of the origin of holotype: Syria.

Distribution. Northern Israel, northwestern Syria, southern Turkey.

Differential diagnosis. Anthaxia syriaca n. sp. differs from other species of A. salicis species­group with the blue­green elytral basal third of less brilliant colouration, less developed and somewhat rougher concentric wrinkles on pronotum, by the inner serration of male metatibiae and by the form of aedeagus). From A. herbertschmidi , it differs by the simply rounded anal ventrite and unmodified elytral apex of the female.

Note. Anthaxia herbertschmidi possesses some characters which are rather strange in the A. salicis species­group. The deeply notched anal ventrite of the female is very strange in the subgenus Anthaxia and the curious apical incurvation of the elytra in the female is quite unique in the whole genus ( Figs 6, 7 in Novak, 1995). Also the form of the aedeagus ( Fig. 4 in Novak, 1992) is not characteristic for this species­group although this illustration is really not adequate.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. 1 — Anthaxia (Anthaxia) anadyomene n. sp., holotype, male, 5.0 mm; 2 — A. (A.) syriaca n. sp., holotype, male, 4.9 mm; 3 — A. (A.) herbertschmidi Novak, female (type locality), 5.1 mm.

FIGURES 4 – 11. 4 — male metatibia of Anthaxia (Anthaxia) herbertschmidi Novak; 5 — the same, A. (A.) syriaca n. sp.; 6 — the same, A. (A.) anadyomene n. sp.; 7 — pronotal sculpture of A. (A.) anadyomene n. sp.; 8 — the same, A. (A.) syriaca n. sp.; 9 — the same, A. (A.) herbertschmidi; 10 — aedeagus of A. (A.) anacyomene n. sp. (holotype); 11 — the same, A. (A.) syriaca n. sp. (holotype).