Philanthaxia depressifrons, Bílý, Svatopluk, 2016

Bílý, Svatopluk, 2016, Four new species of the genus Philanthaxia Deyrolle, 1864 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Thomassetiini), Zootaxa 4205 (1) : -

Philanthaxia depressifrons sp. nov.

( Figs. 1, 2 )

Type locality. Vietnam, Ninh Binh, Cuc Phuong National park, 20°21′01′′ N 105°35′35′′ E.

Type specimen. Holotype (male, NMPC): “ Vietnam, Ninh Binh province, Cuc Phuong National Park , 20°21′01′′ N 105°35′35′′ E // 17.vi.2014, hand collected leg. M. Hauser & N. von Ellenrieder ”

Diagnosis. Medium-sized (6.8 mm), moderately convex, suboval, lustrous, asetose ( Fig. 1 ); dorsal surface golden green, frons and anterior half of pronotum somewhat darkened, elytra with mirror effect along posterior half of elytral suture; ventral surface black; antennae and legs green.

Description of the male holotype. Head wide, distinctly wider than anterior pronotal margin; anterior margin of frontoclypeus very weakly emarginate, frons deeply, widely impressed ( Fig. 1 ), vertex very slightly convex, 4.0 times as wide as width of eye; eyes relatively small, reniform, strongly projecting beyond outline of head; antennae short, reaching posterior third of lateral pronotal margins when laid alongside; scape slender, about 6 times as long as wide, weakly curved, pedicel ovoid, 1.5 times as long as wide, third antennomere subcylindrical, 1.6 times as long as wide; antennomeres 4–10 sharply triangular to trapezoidal, 1.5–1.8 times as long as wide, terminal antennomere axe-head shaped, twice as long as wide; sculpture consisting of fine, polygonal cells without central grains; cells in frontal depression about twice as wide as cells on vertex.

Pronotum transverse, 2.5 times as wide as long, strongly convex at anterior half, moderately convex at posterior half, with two very small, nearly indistinct, rounded depressions at anterior third; anterior margin weakly bisinuose, posterior margin very slightly bisinuose; lateral margins almost straight, weakly emarginate anterior to acute, posterior angles; lateroposterior depressions small, shallow, prescutellar pit absent; maximum pronotal width at base; sculpture consisting of small, dense, polygonal cells without central grains at anterior half and fine, transverse rugae at posterior half. Scutellum widely cordiform, about twice as wide as long, deeply transversely depressed.

Elytra convex, 1.7 times as long as wide, with 8 fine, longitudinal striae, interstices with fine, transverse rugae; subparallel at anterior two thirds, apex distinctly caudiform; humeral callosities small, basal, transverse depression very short, reaching only fifth stria; caudiform portion of elytra with very fine, lateral serrations; elytral epipleura narrow, short, reaching only mid-length of elytral margins.

Ventral surface lustrous, with very fine eye-shaped sculpture; prosternal process flat, subparallel; anal ventrite strongly truncate, without lateral serration. Legs relatively long, all tibiae thin, straight; tarsomeres 2–4 with welldeveloped adhesive pads; tarsal claws strongly hook-shaped, only weakly enlarged at base.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 2 ) narrowing apically, parameres strongly sclerotised; median lobe weakly sclerotised, pointed apically.

Measurements. Length: 6.8 mm; width: 2.6 mm.

Sexual dimorphism. Female unknown.

Bionomy. Unknown.

Etymology. The specific epithet was chosen to stress the deeply and widely depressed frons.

Differential diagnosis. Philanthaxia depressifrons sp. nov. belongs to the group of the golden green species with the depressed frons and wide, transverse scutellum. It differs from all of them by the extremely deeply and widely depressed frons and by the eyes strongly projecting beyond the outline of the head. It somewhat resembles the sympatric species, P. tonkinea Bílý, 1993 ( Vietnam) which is larger (9.0–10.0 mm), more parallel, with reddish lateral sides of elytra, almost homogeneous pronotal sculpture and which has a subparallel aedeagus with apically enlarged and flattened parameres. Also the frons of P. tonkinea is rather different: flat with the central, rounded depression. The unusual shape of the frons differentiates P. depressifrons sp. nov. from all other species of the similar shape and colour.

Distribution. Vietnam.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. 1 — Philanthaxia depressifrons sp. nov., holotype, 6.8 mm; 2 — the same, aedeagus, holotype; 3 — P. purpureifrons sp. nov., holotype, 9.5 mm; 4 — P. hanloni sp. nov., holotype, 4.2 mm; 5 — the same, aedeagus, holotype; 6 — P. granum sp. nov., holotype, 4.5 mm.