Brachelytrium (Brachelytrium) purpureiventre, 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 : 20-21

Brachelytrium (Brachelytrium) purpureiventre sp. nov.

( Fig. 5 )

Specimen examined. Holotype, female (NMPC): Kenya, Road Voi-Taveta, near Tsavo West N[ational]. P[ark]. gate, 7.xi.2005, leg. Sakalian & Curletti.

Diagnosis. Medium-sized (5.2 mm), convex, rather lustrous, stout, subparallel; dorsal surface bronze with fine red reflections, frons red-bronze, scutellum black; ventral surface black-bronze, abdominal ventrites and ventral surface of legs with purple lustre; dorsal surface asetose, frons with very short, nearly invisible, white pubescence; ventral surface with very fine, short, sparse, grey pubescence.

Description of the female holotype. Length: 5.2 mm; width: 1.9 mm. Head small, partly retracted into prothorax, narrower than anterior pronotal margin; anterior margin of frontoclypeus widely, shallowly emarginate; frons flat with wide, rounded, shallow, postclypeal depression; vertex as wide as width of eye; eyes small, reniform, not projecting beyond outline of head; antennae short, hardly reaching mid-length of lateral pronotal margins when laid alongside; scape pyriform, nearly 4 times as long as wide, slightly curved; pedicel ovoid, 1.5 times as long as wide; antennomere 3 sharply triangular, 1.3 times as long as wide; antennomeres 4–10 obtusely triangular to trapezoidal; terminal antennomere nearly spherical with fine anterolateral emargination; sculpture of head consisting of rounded to polygonal cells with fine central grains.

Pronotum convex, twice as wide as long with well-developed lateroposterior depressions, slightly wider than elytra; anterior margin widely emarginate with indistinct median lobe; posterior margin slightly biarcuate; lateral margins regularly rounded, maximum width at anterior 1/3; sculpture consisting of regular, polygonal cells with well-developed central grains. Scutellum convex, microsculptured, subtriangular, distinctly longer than wide.

Elytra subparallel, 1.5 times as long as wide, rather convex, uneven, widely rounded at posterior 1/5; humeral swellings well-developed; transverse, basal depressions wide, deep, nearly reaching scutellum; epipleuron wide, extending to apex; sculpture punctato-rugose, disc lustrous with fine sculpture consisting of transversely widened punctures.

Ventral surface lustrous, rather roughly ocellate, metasternum with well-developed central grais; abdominal ventrites with fine, longitudinally prolonged ocellation; posterior margin of anal ventrite obtusely rounded, finely serrate; anal ventrite widely grooved along entire margin. Legs relatively short; meso- and metatibiae straight, very slightly enlarged posteriorly. Tarsal claws thin, hook-shaped, slightly enlarged at base.

Male unknown.

Etymology. The specific epithet describes the purple-bronze coloration of abdominal ventrites.

Distribution. Kenya.

Differential diagnosis. Brachelytrium (B.) purpureiventre sp. nov. is very similar to B. (B.) straussae Bílý & Bellamy, 2000 from which it differs (except for the distribution) by the deeply depressed frons, subparallel and somewhat longer elytra and by the absence of tomentose patches on ventral surface ( B. (B.) straussae possesses straight frontoclypeus, flat frons, posteriorly enlarged elytra which are 1.3 times as long as wide and numerous patches of white tomentum on ventral surface).

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.