Toxoscelus actenodes, Ohmomo, Sadahiro, 2011

Ohmomo, Sadahiro, 2011, One new genus and six new species of Coraebini Bedel, 1921 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from the Philippines, Zootaxa 3058, pp. 22-34 : 23-25

Toxoscelus actenodes , sp. nov.

(Figs. 1, 2)

Description of male holotype. Elongate, transversely flattened dorsally and ventromedially, subconvex laterally; length: 5.5 mm, width 1.9 mm, widest in two places on elytra; integument dark cupreous on head, pronotum and dorsolaterally on abdominal ventrites; elytra mostly dark dull maroon with one black spot enclosed dull golden border in anterior 1/3, then two transverse, sharp dull golden zigzag fasciae anterior and posterior to black fascia which is narrowest laterally and widest at suture; ventral integument shining black with faint aeneous reflection medially; dorsal surface strongly punctate, head and pronotum with portions strigulate; ventral surface more finely punctate, abdominal ventrites with faint oblique strigae; dorsal surface without visible vestiture, ventral surface with very short suberect setae on prosternal disc, hypomeron, thoracic and abdominal ventrites and femora. Head: frontovertex moderately projecting between large eyes, moderately longitudinally depressed medially, with two small separate elevations on vertex; eyes slightly diverging dorsally, eyes slightly oblique, oval, circumocular groove not entire, extending around both dorsal and ventral margins before terminating; supra-antennal groove entire, nearly transverse, confluent with very narrow longitudinal, laterally carinate, median clypeal strip terminating with narrow convex clypeal apex; antennal cavities large; gena obliquely transversely depressed for proximal antennomeres in repose; genal margin with very small, very obtuse tooth; antennae serrate from antennomere 5; 1 oblong, somewhat angled; 2 shorter, more globose; 3 subequal in length to 2, much narrower; 4 shorter, subequal to 3; 5-10 each triangular, width progressively greater than length; 11 oblong, shorter than 10. Pronotum: 1.77 times wide as long, widest at or just anterior to midpoint; anterior margin broadly convex medially, feebly concave laterally to subacute anterolateral angle; posterior margin bisinuate on either side of transverse median section; posterolateral angles rounded, obtuse; lateral margin widely arcuate to beyond midpoint then narrowing; disc with median longitudinal flattened region with two wider areas anterior and posterior to narrow middle; large subround depressions laterally and tapering to explanata margin at lateral 1/3; small oblique, bisinuate, feebly-elevated costa on either side. Scutellum: nearly equilateral triangle, anterior margin straight, lateral margins broadly, shallowly concave; surface with slight, transverse, narrow elevation. Elytra: slightly wider than maximum pronotal width, widest posterior to humeri and slightly anterior to apical 2/3; moderate-sized depression between humerus and suture near anterior margin; anterior margin more strongly, narrowly bisinuate; lateral margin straight from anterolateral angle to just posterior humerus, then narrowing in very gradual arcuation to narrowest place about opposite midpoint of length, then widening to near posterior 2/ 3 in broad convex arc before narrowing and then tapering gradually to separately rounded, serrulate apices; disc flattened medially, with lateral slope slightly steeper between humerus and midpoint; epipleuron broad from anterior margin, extending to just opposite posterior margin of metacoxa; extreme lateral portion of abdominal pleurites 1 and 2 slightly visible from above lateral elytral margin. Prosternum: both longitudinally and transversely feebly convex; anterior margin with short, narrow, feebly bilobed projection medially; process narrowly attenuate. Abdominal ventrites: 1 longer than 2, suture only superficially indicated; 3, 4 subequal in length; 5 subequal in length to 3 + 4, broadly arcuate apically. Legs: femora subparallel, narrowly fusiform; pro-, mesotibiae moderately arcuate, in repose only contiguous to femora at either end; metatibae straight, external margin with slight small convexity near midlength, comb of stout setae nearly entire although not reaching either proximal or distal apices; tarsi with tarsomeres 1-4 each slightly shorter than preceding but with progressively wider ventral pulvillus on distal half; 5 subequal in length to 2+3+4, with narrow, wider separated, subappendiculate claws. Genitalia: aedeagus as in Fig. 2.

Variation. Of the 30 paratypes, there are 19 ɗɗ, 10 ΨΨ and 1 unsexed which vary in size as follows: ɗɗ length: 5.1–6.5 mm; width: 1.8–2.2 mm; ΨΨ length: 5.2–6.5 mm; width: 2.0– 2.2 mm; beyond size there is scant variation in integument color, elytral pattern, punctuation or vestiture, as may be expected from an apparently localized population.

Specimens examined. Holotype ɗ (CSCA): PHILIPPINES, Leyte Is(land), Mt. Balocaue (Balocawe), Mahaplag, 15-27.iv.2009, local collector; 30 paratypes: 1 ɗ, 1 Ψ, same data as holotype; 1ɗ, same data except 10- 16.v.2010; 1 ɗ, 1 Ψ, same data except Mt. Balocaue, vi.2009; 4 ɗɗ, same data except vii.2009; 8 ɗɗ, 1 Ψ, same data except 2006. 4.; 2 ɗɗ, 5 ΨΨ, same data except June-Aug. 2006; 2 ɗɗ, 2 ΨΨ, same data except 2006. 08; 1 unsexed, same data, except 21.vii.2011. Paratypes deposited in CLBC and COTJ.

Etymology. The specific epithet is chosen to emphasize the colorful transverse elytral pattern, reminiscent of some species of the Neotropical genus Actenodes Dejean 1833 ( Buprestinae : Actenodini ).

Remarks. Toxoscelus actenodes resembles T. acutipennis Fisher 1922 , but differs in details of the elytral markings and lacks the sharply projecting elytral apices of that previously described species.

FIGURES 1–10. Toxoscelus spp. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, dorsal habitus; 2, 4, 7, 9, aedeagus, dorsal aspect. 1, 2, T. actenodes , sp. nov.; 3, T. acutipennis Fisher 1922 ; 4, 5, T. bichromoplagiatus , sp. nov.; 6, 7, T. circumscriptus , sp. nov.; 8, 9, T. griseovariegatus , sp. nov.; 10, T. rugicollis Saunders 1874 . Each scale bar = 1.0 mm except for Fig. 10 which has no scale.