Agrilus (Agrilus) njugunai, Curletti & Sakalian, 2009

Curletti, Gianfranco & Sakalian, Vladimir, 2009, Sixteen new species of Agrilus Curtis, 1825 from East Africa (Coleoptera, Buprestidae), ZooKeys 24 (24), pp. 1-29 : 9-10

Agrilus (Agrilus) njugunai , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C5C0902F-C9B9-4273-9993-33557CF25A18

Figs 9 , 10

Type specimens. Holotype ♁: “NE Kenya, North of Malindi, Sabaki River (03°08´S – 40°07´E), 25– 28.10.2005, G. Curletti & V. Sakalian leg.” . Paratype ♀: with same locality and date as holotype. Th e holotype is deposited in IZBAS and the paratype in GCCI.

Description of holotype. Body slender, elongate dark copper dorsally and bright copper ventrally, with blackish tinge on vertex and frons. Elytra with uniform golden pubescence.

Head with medial sulcus and dense punctation on vertex and upper portion of frons (more distinct on upper portion of frons); width of vertex between eyes 0.50 mm; frons protruding in medial and upper portions; lower portion of frons, clypeus and genae with short, dense, white pubescence; clypeus separated from frons by transverse carina; eyes convex and large; antennae short, extending anterior margin of pronotum; antennomeres 4–11 wider than long, triangular.

Pronotum widest at anterior third; anterior margin straight, carinate; anterior pronotal lobe absent; lateral margins distinctly curved before latero-posterior angles; latero-posterior angles rectangular; pronotum with two shallow lateral depressions; prehumeral pronotal carinae sharp rib-like, extending from lateroposterior angles to medial portion of pronotum, diverging from lateral margin; marginal and submarginal carinae coalescent at medial portion of pronotum; discal sculpture consisting of diagonal and transverse striae and sparse punctation.

Scutellum relatively small, anterior portion triangular; transverse carina present; apex very short and acutely pointed.

Elytra elongate, subparallel, width across humeri almost as wide as pronotal base; elytra widest at posterior third; humeral depressions deep and without pubescence; apices very narrowly separately arcuate, distinctly serrate; elytra with short, uniform, golden pubescence; discal elytral sculpture consisting of of transverse wrinkles.

Underside. Prosternal lobe robust, arcuate apically. Prosternal process parallel between procoxae, then narrowed and elongate apically; pro -, meso - and metasternum and prosternal process with white, dense pubescence. Suture between ventrites 1 and 2 not visible; ventrites with uniform, short, sparse, white pubescence; laterosternites with very dense, short, white pubescence; apex of last ventrite with distinct medial incision. Metatarsus shorter than metatibia; basal metatarsomere slightly shorter than following metatarsomeres together. Aedeagus (Fig. 10).

Description of paratype. Sexual dimorphism occurs in the last ventrite of the female, the apex of which lacks an incision and has a fascicle of long hairs.

Size. Length 3.95–4.30 mm (holotype 3.95 mm); width 0.95–1.05 mm (holotype 0.95 mm).

Differential diagnosis. Agrilus (Agrilus) njugunai , sp. n. and A. (Agrilus) polinae , sp. n. are similar to A. (Agrilus) addagallensis Obenberger, 1935 from Ethiopia. They differ from that species mainly by the ventrites with uniform pubescence, without white spots on the sides. Agrilus (Agrilus) polinae , sp. n. can be separated from A. (Agrilus) njugunai , sp. n. by the different structure of the pronotum, which is more depressed at the sides; by the marginal and submarginal pronotal carinae not conjoined, the presence of two longitudinal, sutural stripes of pubescence on the elytra and the medially emarginate prosternal lobe of A. polinae , sp. n.

Etymology. Dedicated to the expedition car driver Mr. Joseph N´juguna for his assistance during the expeditions in different regions of Kenya.

Remark. Collected from yellow sticky traps placed on branches of Acacia sp.

Figure |0. Aedeagus of Agrilus (Agrilus) njugunai , sp. n. (dorsal view). Scale: 1 mm.

Figures

Figure 9. Agrilus (Agrilus) njugunai, sp. n. (dorsal view).