Agrilaxia (Agrilaxia) purpureiventris, Bílý & Brûlé, 2013

Bílý, Svatopluk & Brûlé, Stéphane, 2013, A study on the genus Agrilaxia of French Guiana (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Anthaxiini), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 53 (2), pp. 657-686 : 680-682

Agrilaxia (Agrilaxia) purpureiventris sp. nov.

( Fig. 9 )

Type locality. French Guiana, Route de Kaw.

Type specimens. HOLOTYPE ( NMPC, ♀): “ Guyane Fr., viii.2005, Route de Kaw , PK 37,5 Malaise trap, J.-A. Cerda & O. Morvan leg.” . PARATYPE: “ Guyane Fr., (Roura), Montagne des Chevaux, + 4,71°N – 52,42°W (90 m alt.), 23.viii.2009, Stéphane Brûle leg.” (1 ♀, NMPC).

Diagnosis. Medium-sized (6.0– 6.4 mm), slightly prognathous, elongate, slender, matt, multicolorous, with silky lustre ( Fig. 9 ); elytra purple-violet becoming dark violet apically, with golden green circumscutellar triangle and very narrow sutural, preapical stripe; pronotum metallic green, with two large, black spots reaching posterior (but not anterior) margin; frons metallic green, with large, prolonged, medial spot; clypeus, tibiae and femora purple, scutellum and vertex black; antennae and tarsi black with very strong green lustre; ventral surface lustrous, purple, prosternum bronze, metepisterna golden green or blue-green; entire body asetose.

Description of female holotype ( Fig. 9 ). Head relatively large, much wider than anterior pronotal margin; clypeus convex, transverse, anterior margin widely, shallowly emarginate; frons widely, deeply depressed, narrowest part at middle; vertex slightly grooved, 1.5 times as wide as width of eye; eyes large, reniform to elliptical, distinctly projecting beyond outline of head; antennae short, scarcely reaching midlength of lateral pronotal margins when laid alongside; scape long, slightly curved, somewhat claviform, about 5 times as long as wide, pedicel ovoid, almost twice as long as wide; third antennomere subtriangular, slightly longer than wide, fourth antennomere triangular, as long as wide; antennomeres 5–10 trapezoidal, compact, 1.5–1.7 times as wide as long, terminal antennomere rhomboid, 1.4 times as long as wide; sculpture of head consisting of small, dense, polygonal cells without central grains.

Pronotum convex, widely cordiform, 1.2 times as wide as long, maximum width at anterior fifth; lateroposterior depressions deep, wide, almost coalescent in middle of pronotum; anterior margin deeply biarcuate with large, strongly projecting medial lobe, posterior margin moderately biarcuate; lateral margins S-shaped, emarginate in front of rectangular posterior angles; prescutellar pit almost absent, basal tubercles small; “agriloid” carina short but easily visible; pronotal sculpture fine, almost homogeneous, consisting of small, polygonal cells without central grains. Scutellum small, pentagonal to cordiform, microsculptured, 1.5 times as wide as long.

Elytra long, narrow, 3.4 times as long as wide, very slightly caudiform; lateral margins widely emarginate at midlength, than regularly tapering towards separately rounded, very finely serrate apices; humeral swellings well defined, basal, transverse depression wide, deep, reaching scutellum; elytral epipleura very narrow, parallel-sided, almost reaching elytral apex; subhumeral carina not very sharp but long and easily visible from above, overlapping elytral midlength; elytral sculpture very fine, homogeneous, consisting of tiny, lustrous grains and fine, transverse rugae, apical third almost glabrous.

Ventral surface very lustrous, finely ocellate, pro- and metasternum with polygonal cells with small central grains; anal ventrite punctato-granulate, regularly rounded and finely serrate apically; anal tergite rounded, with several needle-like spines. Legs moderately long, protibiae slightly curved, somewhat widened distally, bearing inner row of short, dense, cream-white bristles; mesotibiae straight, slender, with inner row of short, sparse bristles; metatibiae straight, slightly flattened with short, sparse bristles on inner margin and row of dense bristles on posterior half of outer margin; tarsi relatively short (all tarsi much shorter than tibiae), tarsomeres 1–4 with adhesive pads. Tarsal claws short, hook-shaped, slightly enlarged at base.

Sexual dimorphism. Male unknown.

Measurements. Length: 6.0 mm (holotype), 6.4 mm (paratype); width: 1.3 (holotype), 1.5 mm (paratype).

Variability. Except for the size no difference was observed between the type specimens.

Differential diagnosis. Agrilaxia purpureiventris sp. nov. belongs to the A. bivittata speciesgroup and it is very similar to A. oculata ( Cobos, 1972) ( Brasil) and A. schmidti Obenberger, 1924 ( Costa Rica). It differs from both by less caudiform and more glabrous elytra without any traces of longitudinal carinae. From A. schmidti it differs (except for the distribution) by deeper frontal depression, narrower vertex, form of the pronotal black spots which reach anterior pronotal margin in A. schmidti , the shape of golden green circumscutellar triangle which reaches almost one third of elytral length in A. schmidti and by the colouration of the ventral surface (bronze-green with blue-green metepisterna and first laterosternite and purple second laterosternite in A. schmidti ). From A. oculata it differs by the shape of the circumscutellar triangle which is widened towards the humeri in A. oculata , the longer and more elevate posthumeral carina and by the concolorous lateral part of elytra which bear narrow, golden green, lateral stripe in A. oculata .

Etymology. The specific epithet is composed of the Latin adjective purpureus (purple) and the noun venter (belly) to stress the conspicuous purple colouration of the abdomen; adjective.

Distribution. French Guiana.

Figures

Figs 9–16. Agrilaxia, dorsal aspect. 9 – A. purpureiventris sp. nov., holotype ♀, 6.0 mm; 10 – A. convexifrons sp. nov., holotype ♀, 5.5 mm; 11 – A. caudata sp. nov., holotype J, 6.1 mm; 12 – A. prolonga sp. nov., holo- type J, 6.7 mm; 13 – A. gui- anensis sp. nov., holotype J, 5.7 mm; 14 – A. chrysifrons (Kerremans, 1896), J (Route de Kaw), 5.0 mm; 15 – A. sp. A, J (Roura), 4.8 mm; 16 – A. sp. B, J (Roura), 4.9 mm.