Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) teloukatiae Descarpentries & Bruneau

Ỹ, Svatopluk Bíl, 2008, A revision of the Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) kheiliana Obenberger, 1931 species-group (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Zootaxa 1816, pp. 44-56 : 54

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) teloukatiae Descarpentries & Bruneau de Miré, 1963

(Figs. 12, 17)

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) teloukatiae Descarpentries & Bruneau de Miré, 1963: 182 –184; Bílý, 1997: 37, 121, 152.

Type locality: Chad, Bassin de Gorrom, 2000 m.

Type specimens examined. Holotype and allotype (ɗ, Ψ, MNHN) both labelled: “Bassin de Gorrom, écl. 8.III.62 ex Ficus teloukat [h] // Tibesti, de Miré [p]”.

Additional specimens examined. BENIN: Boko, 21.iv.2006, from flowers of Liliaceae, J. F. Vaysieres leg. (2 ɗɗ, JFVC; 2 ɗɗ, NMPC); N of Paracou, 09°23'N 02°42'E, 1.v.2006, G. Curletti leg. (1 ɗ, NMPC). BURKINA FASO: Bobo Dioulasso, viii.1954 (1 ɗ, NMPC); Kadomba, S of Koudougou, 5.x.1979, Pauly leg. (1 Ψ, NMPC); Ouagadougou, vii.–viii.1985, ex larva: Kaja [ Khaya ] senegalensis, R. Mourglia leg. (2 ɗɗ, NMPC; 1 ɗ, 1 Ψ, DGCI). GHANA: Eastern reg., Kpong, 06°10'N 00°03'W, 23 m, 10.i.1968, S. Endrodi- Younga leg. (1 ɗ, NMPC); Takoradi, 17.12.1967, C. Besnard leg. (3 ɗɗ, NMPC). IVORY COAST: Danané, v.1953 (1 Ψ, NMPC). KENYA: Mombasa, Diani, viii.1985, R. Mourglia leg. (1 Ψ, NMPC).

Diagnosis. Small, slender, moderately convex, bronze (Fig. 10 in Descarpentries & Bruneau de Miré, 1963), lateral pronotal margins, sometimes entire pronotum and laterosternites with red lustre, frons of male golden green; dorsal surface asetose, frons with short, rather dense, white pubescence, ventral surface blackbronze with short, very sparse, white pubescence. Head large, somewhat wider than anterior pronotal margin, eyes large, not projecting beyond outline of head; antennae very short reaching anterior 1/3 of lateral pronotal margin. Pronotum as wide as elytra, moderately convex, 1.6–1.7 times as wide as long with wide and shallow lateroposterior depressions; lateral margins very slightly angulate at midlength, anterior margin strongly bisinuate; scutellum relatively large, subcordiform, as long as wide. Elytra wedge-shaped, twice as long as wide, regularly convex; apical quarter of elytral margins finely serrate. Ventral surface mat, finely, densely ocellate, anal ventrite truncate (male) or finely emarginate (female); inner margin of male metatibiae finely serrate at apical 1/3 (Fig. 12); aedeagus rather short, parameres with ventral tooth ( Fig. 17 ). Length: 5.0–7.6; width: 2.0– 2.7 mm.

Bionomy. The type specimens were reared from Ficus teloukat (Moraceae) ; one female in Burkina Faso from Khaya senegalensis (Meliaceae) .

Distribution: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya.

Comments. One female from Burkina Faso (Kadomba) differs from the rest of the examined specimens by its larger size (7.6 mm) and the very dark, bronze colouration of the whole body. Anthaxia teloukatiae is a rather atypical member of the A. kheiliana species-group due to its slender body, long and regularly convex elytra and the sexual dichromatism of frons. Conversely, a whole set of characters such as the convex frons, very short antennae, pronotal sculpture, form of anal ventrite and significantly the form of the male genitalia ( Fig. 17 ) indicate the placement of this species to the A. kheiliana species-group. Anthaxia teloukatiae is probably the western-most and most derived representative of the group distributed in the western and southern Sahel and reaching eastward to Kenya.

Figures

FIGURES 13 – 18. Male genitalia. 13. Anthaxia (H.) dauensis Obenberger, 1924, syntype; 14. A. (H.) occulta sp. nov., holotype; 15. A. (H.) impressipennis sp. nov., holotype; 16. A. (H.) nasheri sp. nov., holotype; 17. A. (H.) teloukatiae Descarpentries & Bruneau de Miré, 1963, holotype; 18. A. (H.) zambiana sp. nov., holotype; a—dorsal view, b—lateral view.