Brachelytrium (Elytrobrachium) caeruleum, Bílý, Svatopluk & Bellamy, Charles L., 2010

Bílý, Svatopluk & Bellamy, Charles L., 2010, Supplement to the revision of the genus Brachelytrium Obenberger, 1923 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Buprestinae: Anthaxiini), Zootaxa 2721, pp. 15-27 : 22-23

Brachelytrium (Elytrobrachium) caeruleum sp. nov.

( Fig. 7 )

Specimen examined. Holotype, female (NMPC): Zambia, Southern Prov., 25 km S Kafue, 25.–26.i.2006, M. Bednařík leg.

Diagnosis. Small (3.8 mm), robust, highly convex, posteriorly slightly enlarged; pronotum and scutellum blue, frons and elytra blue-violet; ventral surface black with blue tinge; antennae black with brass tinge, legs blue-violet; both dorsal and ventral surface asetose, prosternal process with short, sparse, recumbent white setae.

Description of the female holotype. Length: 3.8 mm; width: 1.7 mm. Head relatively small, partly retracted into prothorax; frontoclypeus widely, shallowly emarginate; frons slightly narrowed dorsally with wide, oval depression; vertex about twice as wide as width of eye; eyes relatively small, reniform, very slightly projecting beyond outline of head; antennae short, hardly reaching mid-length of lateral pronotal margins; scape pyriform, 4 times as long as wide, nearly straight; pedicel suboval, 1.8 times as long as wide; antennomere 3 slightly triangular, 1.5 times as long as wide; antennomere 4 obtusely triangular, distinctly wider than long; antennomeres 5–10 trapezoidal, 1.3 times wider than long; terminal antennomere rhomboid with small, apical notch, as long as wide; sculpture of head nearly homogenous, consisting of shallow, rounded cells without distinct central grains.

Pronotum enlarged anteriorly, 1.8 times as wide as long, regularly convex, without lateroposterior depressions; anterior margin shallowly, regularly emarginate, posterior margin slightly biarcuate; lateral margins widely, regularly rounded at anterior 2/3, nearly straight anteriad posterior angles; disc with fine, regular, polygonal cells with indistinct central grains; lateral portions with more distinct, somewhat prolonged cells with flat central grains. Scutellum slightly convex, microsculptured, somewhat longer than wide.

Elytra highly convex, 1.7 times as long as wide, not fully covering lateral and apical portions of abdomen; lateral margins subparallel at anterior 4/5, widely, separately rounded at posterior 1/5; humeral swellings small; basal transverse depression wide, shallow, nearly reaching scutellum; epipleuron well-developed, relatively wide, extending to apex; sculpture fine, punctate-rugose at basal 1/3, finely punctate at posterior 2/3.

Ventral surface lustrous, widely ocellate with large central grains, abdominal ventrites finely ocellate; anal ventrite widely rounded, indistinctly truncate apically, very finely serrate laterally. Legs moderately long, slender, meso- and metatibiae straight, somewhat enlarged distally; tarsi slender, adhesive pads on tarsomeres 1–4 well-developed. Tarsal claws fine, slender, slightly curved with somewhat enlarged base.

Male unknown.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin adjective “ caeruleus ” (blue) to stress the conspicuous coloration of this species.

Distribution. Zambia.

Differential diagnosis. Brachelytrium (E.) caeruleum sp. nov. is very similar (except for the coloration) to B. (E.) blairi ( Obenberger, 1931) and it differs from it only by the smaller size, nearly regularly rounded anal ventrite and by the more rough elytral sculpture.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. 1 – 6, dorsal habitus of six new species of Brachelytrium (Brachelytrium): Fig. 1, B. nigrum sp. nov., holotype, 5.6 mm (maximum length); Fig. 2, B. mauritanicum sp. nov., holotype, 4.3 mm; Fig. 3, B. beninense sp. nov., holotype, 4.7 mm; Fig. 4, B. niehuisi sp. nov., holotype, 5.0 mm; Fig. 5, B. purpureiventre; sp. nov., holotype, 5.2 mm; Fig. 6, B. aeneum sp. nov., holotype, 5.8 mm; and Figures 6, 7, dorsal habitus of two new species of Brachelytrium (Elytrobrachium): Fig. 7, B. caeruleum sp. nov., holotype, 3.8 mm; Fig. 8, B. metallicum sp. nov., holotype, 4.6 mm.