Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) mashuna Obenberger, 1931

Bílý, Svatopluk, 2015, On the species of the genus Anthaxia Eschscholtz, 1829 described by A. Théry from Angola in 1947 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Anthaxiini), Zootaxa 4028 (2), pp. 246-256 : 251-252

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) mashuna Obenberger, 1931

( Figs. 12–14 )

Anthaxia mashuna Obenberger, 1931: 108 . Type locality: Mashonaland: Mazoë [ Zimbabwe, Mazowe, approx. 17°31′S 30°58′E].

Anthaxia mashuna: Bílý (1996) : 22 (synonymy).

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) mashuna: Bílý, 1997: 28 , 91 (catalogue); Bellamy, 2008: 1424 (catalogue).

Anthaxia chalcogenioides Burgeon, 1941: 190 . Type localities: Welgelegen [nowadays Lumata, 12°04′60″S, 27°31′08″E]; Lubombo [11°10′60″S, 27°55′00″E]. Both localites are situated in the Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Anthaxia (Anthaxia) chalcogenioides: Bílý, 1996: 22 (synonym of A. mashuna ).

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) chalcogenioides: Bílý, 1997: 28 , 91 (catalogue, as synonym of A. mashuna ); Bellamy, 2008: 1424 (catalogue, as synonym of A. mashuna ).

Anthaxia morula Théry, 1947: 143 , Fig. 33, syn. nov. Type locality: [ Angola] Cubango.

Anthaxia morula: Ferreira, 1965: 851 (catalogue).

Anthaxia (Cratomerus) morula: Bílý, 1997: 29 , 94 (catalogue); 1999: 230 (note); Bellamy, 2008: 1431.

Type specimens examined. Anthaxia mashuna . Lectotype (male, NMPC, Fig. 14 ): “Mashonaland [h] // TYPUS [red, p] // Mus. Nat. Pragae, Inv. 22763 [orange, p+h] // Anthaxia mashuna m. Type, Det. Dr. Obenberger [p+h]”. Paralectotype (male, BMNH): “Mashonaland, Mazoë, Dez. 1905 (G. A. Marshall) // Syntype [blue, round, p] // Type [red, p] // 1906-182 // Anthaxia mashuna m. Type, Det. Dr. Obenberger [p+h]”. Anthaxia chalcogenioides .

Syntypes (2 males, 1 female, MRAC): “Musée du Congo, Welgelegen, Jan. 1912 [p] // Holotypus [red, p] // Anthaxia pilifrons Kerr. [h] // Anthaxia chalcogenioides Type Burg. [h] // R. DÉT. A 57 [p]” (male); “Musée du Congo, Katanga: Lubombo, xii.1928, Ch. Seydel, c. 1951 [p+h] // Paratype [red, p] // Lubombo, Décbre 1929, Ch. Seydel [p] // C. 1951 [h] ” (female); “Musée du Congo, Katanga: Lubombo, xii.1929, Ch. Seydel [p+h] // Paratype [red, p]” (male). Anthaxia morula . Holotype by monotypy (female, LCDF, Fig. 12 ): “Kvg [h] // morula Théry [h], TYPE [p, red]”.

Having studied and compared all type specimens mentioned above and extensive material of A. mashuna (see Bílý & Sakalian, 2014) I failed to find any substantial differences and I propose that A. morula Théry, 1947 to be conspecific with A. mashuna Obenberger, 1931 and a junior synonym. I have failed to solve the abbreviation “Kvg” on the locality label but in the description ( Théry 1947) the type locality is more precisely given as “Cubango, Dr. Monard, une seule exemplaire”.

Again, I treated A. morula erroneously in the subgenus Cratomerus ( Bílý, 1997, 1999) based on the illustration in the description (see Fig. 33 in Théry 1947). Without any doubt it belongs to the subgenus Haplanthaxia Reitter, 1911 ( Bílý & Sakalian, 2014) .

Distribution. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Bellamy (2008) recorded this species also from Botswana, however, without any citation.

Figures

FIGURES 12 – 14. Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) morula Théry, 1947. 12 — A. (H.) morula, holotype, 8.0 mm; 13 — the same, original labelling; 14 — A. (H.) mashuna Obenberger, 1931, lectotype, 9.0 mm.