Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) kabateki, Bílý, 2005

Bílý, Svatopluk, 2005, Two new species of Anthaxia from Yemen (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 45, pp. 65-70 : 68-69

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) kabateki sp. nov.

( Figs. 2, 3, 4, 6 )

Type locality. Central Yemen, Al Mahwid, Wadi Sari , 15°25´56˝N 43°28´58˝E, 840 m a.s.l. Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, ‘C Yemen, Al Mahwid , Wadi Sari , 18.xi.2003, 15°25´56˝N 43°28´58˝E, 840 m [GPS], leg. Petr Kabátek. // Yemen – Soqotra 2003 Expedition : Jan Farkač , Petr Kabátek , David Král’ . PARATYPES: 1 J, S YEMEN, Lawdar, NE Adan, 13°53´N 45°48´E, 1145 m a.s.l., 22.x.2005, leg. Petr Kabátek ; 1 ♀, SW YEMEN, Wadi MAytam, 12 km SE Ibb, 13°53´N 44°18´E, 1595 m a.s.l., 27.x.2005, leg. Petr Kabátek. Holotype deposited in NMPC, paratypes in coll. P. Kabátek.

Diagnosis. Medium-sized, wedge-shaped, bronze species with slight silky lustre ( Fig. 2 ); frons red-bronze, lateral and posterior margins of pronotum with slight reddish lustre, antennae and tarsi black; dorsal side not setose, frons with extremely short, nearly indistinct white pubescence, ventral surface with short, sparse, recumbent white pubescence; proepisternum, metepisternum and lateral portion of abdominal ventrites with indistinct patches of white tomentum.

Description. Holotype. Head relatively small, frons indistinctly concave, nearly flat; vertex flat, narrow, as wide as eye; eyes large, reniform, not projecting beyond outline of head, their inner margins slightly S-shaped, converging towards vertex; anterior margin of clypeus widely, nearly triangularly incurved, clypeofrontal suture missing; sculpture of head consisting of rounded cells with indistinct central grains; cells on central part of frons large, space between them wide, flat, lustrous, cells on vertex and postclypeal part of head very small, dense, consisting of fine, rugose sculpture; antennae moderately long, reaching midlength of lateral pronotal margins, antennomeres 4-10 triangular to rhomboid, slightly wider than long, ultimate segment axe-shaped.

Pronotum conspicuously enlarged anteriorly, cordiform, strongly convex, 1.7 times as wide as long; lateral margins regularly rounded in anterior half, nearly straight posteriorly, not incurved before posterior angles ( Fig. 2 ); both anterior and posterior pronotal margins slightly bisinuous; maximum pronotal width at anterior fourth; laterobasal pronotal depressions wide but very shallow; pronotal sculpture consisting of very prolonged cells, space between them forming conspicuous, prolonged keels ( Fig. 6 ); each cell usually with several large grains; only narrow, middle part of pronotum with small, polygonal cells having small but distinct central grains. Scutellum rather small, pentagonal, flat, microsculptured.

Elytra conspicuously wedge-shaped, nearly triangular, 1.8 times as long as wide at humeri ( Fig. 2 ); humeral swellings well-developed, basal elytral depression wide, deep, almost reaching scutellum; lateral margins of elytra conspicuously lobed just behind humeri forming robust subhumeral lobe; apical portion of elytral margin finely serrate, each elytron separately rounded; elytral epipleura very wide with sharp external carina but not reaching elytral apex; elytra with two shallow, transverse depressions: first at anterior third of elytra, second at apical third of elytral length; sculpture of elytra very fine, homogeneous, consisting of basal microsculpture and small, sparse, simple punctures.

Ventral surface with fine ocellate sculpture which is finer on abdomen than remainder of ventral surface. Apex of anal ventrite obtusely truncate, lateral margins sharply but finely serrate; lateral sides of ventrite bear two rows of lustrous wrinkles, parallel to lateral margins. Legs relatively long, slender, mesotibiae slightly bent, inner margin densely serrate, metatibiae ( Fig. 4 ) widely, deeply incurved before apex, inner margin densely serrate; claws slender, slightly enlarged at base.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 3 ) very long and slender, parameres only slightly swollen at basal third, medial lobe roughly serrate laterally.

Female differs from male only by straight metatibiae.

Length: 4.0- 5.8 mm (holotype 5.8 mm); width: 1.5-2.3 mm (holotype 2.3 mm).

Differential diagnosis. Anthaxia kabateki sp. nov. belongs to the A. armeniaca species-group as defined by RIKHTER (1949) (subgenus Cryptocratomerus ) and BÍLÝ (1983). From all species of the group, it differs by the strongly wedge-shaped body, the conspicuously enlarged pronotum, the narrow vertex, the extremely slender aedeagus and the quite characteristic pronotal sculpture which forms long, sharp wrinkles along the lateral pronotal margins. Two sympatric taxa of the A. armeniaca species-group ( A. adenensis Bílý, 1973 and A. kneuckeri zabranski Bílý, 1995 ) differ from A. kabateki sp. nov. by the subparallel body, the not anteriorly-enlarged pronotum, the nearly regular ocellate sculpture of the pronotum and the different structure of the aedeagus.

Etymology. The species is named after the collector, my friend Petr Kabátek from Prague.

Bionomy. The type specimens were collected by beating foliage of Acacia sp. (Mimosaceae) .

Figures

Figs. 1-6. 1 – Anthaxia crotonivora sp. nov., holotype, female, 4.7 mm. 2 – A. kabateki sp. nov., holotype, male, 5.8 mm. 3– A. kabateki sp. nov., holotype, aedeagus. 4 – A. kabateki sp. nov., holotype, male metatibia. 5 – A. crotonivora sp. nov., pronotal sculpture. 6 – A. kabateki sp. nov., pronotal sculpture.