Neefia humeralis, Bellamy, C. L., 2003

Bellamy, C. L., 2003, The Madagascan Coraebini (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Agrilinae): Part 4, New genera and species, Zootaxa 174, pp. 1-19 : 13-14

Neefia humeralis , sp. nov.

(Figs. 6, 17, 22)

Description of Holotype. Small, 5.8 x 2.5 mm; body above multicolored as follows: frontovertex greenish blue, disc of pronotal gibbosity bright apple­green, tending to greenish blue around disc, then to purple and black at lateral margins; elytra black with disc and anterior portion before transverse fascia and humeral gibbosities with very strong purple reflection, tending to blue prelaterally in posterior half and black around lateral and anterior margins; ventral surface including head ventrad to transverse antennal groove black with strong aeneopurple reflection to anterior portion of abdominal ventrite 1; posterior portion of abdominal ventrite 1 becoming purple then tending to green blue outward from disc of abdominal ventrites to brighter blue green on lateral portion of ventrites 2 ­ 4; legs black with aeneopurple color of underside; small narrow elongate area on lateral pronotal explanate area with short recurved white setae; single elytral fascia extends from humeri to about anterior third, densely covered with brick­red setae; metacoxal plate with dense short recumbent off­white squamae on widened lateral half; surface imbrications elevated most strongly on pronotum; large, round deep punctures on head and pronotum, following imbrications; punctures on elytral more shallow, more elongate; punctures on underside small, shallow. Left antenna missing beyond antennomere 2. Pronotum nearly 1.7 times wider than long, widest just anteriad to obtuse lateroposterior angles; anterior margin biarcuate on either side of angulate median lobe; posterior margin bisinuate, median lobe truncate, rounded laterally; lateral margin slightly diverging from posterior margin to feebly rounded median arcuation before narrowing to anterior angles. Elytra with each humerus strongly elevated into narrow gibbosity on either side. Genitalia as in Fig. 22.

Variation. 1, 5.4 x 2.3 mm, 3, 6.3 ­ 7.0 x 2.6 ­ 2.8 mm; the most variation occurs with the coloration of the postfasciate region of the elytra, i.e. the amount of blue vs. purple, but this appears to be somewhat allometric in that the larger specimens have more blue than purple.

Specimens examined. Holotype (MNHN): Madagascar, Perinet, xii.1972, Peyrieras; 1, 2 paratypes, same data as holotype; 1 paratype, same data except ii.1972. Paratypes deposited in TNSC and CLBC.

Etymology. The specific epithet is chosen to highlight the strongly elevated humeral projections, unique to this species.

Remarks. This species is superficially close to N. rufofascia (described below), but differs from it and all others by the strongly elevated humeri shown in an oblique view in Fig. 15. As discussed above, N. humeralis and N. magna are both known only from Perinet, but they are quite distinct in coloration, humeral elevation and different structure of the aedeagus.