Agrilaxia (Agrilaxia) glabra, 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 : 675-676

Agrilaxia (Agrilaxia) glabra sp. nov.

( Figs 7 , 17, 20 )

Type locality. French Guiana, Roura, Montagne des Chevaux, 90 m.

Type specimens. HOLOTYPE ( NMPC, ♀): “ Guyane Fr.( Roura ) Montagne des Chevaux (90 m alt.), 3.iii.2009, Stéphane Brûlé leg. // PIV ” . PARATYPES: the same data (but 15.viii.2009) (1 ♀, NMPC) ; the same data (but 8.ix.2009) (1 ♀, NMPC) ; “ Guyane Fr., 27.vii.2009, Mont. de Chevaux , Comm. de Roura, RN2 PK22, 75 m, 4°44′56′′N 52°26′28′′, PIV, P.-H. Dalens leg.” (1 ♀, NMPC) .

Diagnosis. Medium-sized (6.0– 6.7 mm), slightly prognathous, stout, cuneiform, rather convex, lustrous ( Fig. 7 ); elytra black with rather strong green or violet tinge, narrow sutural and transverse, basal stripes golden green or golden orange; pronotum golden-orange or golden green, with two wide, black, longitudinal spots reaching both anterior and posterior margins, golden stripe between them very narrow, somewhat widened anteriorly; head black with green or bronze tinge; vertex, antennae and legs bronze; ventral surface purple or bright golden-red, posterior half of anal ventrite darkened, metepisterna black with blue lustre; entire body asetose.

Description of female holotype ( Fig. 7 ). Head relatively large, distinctly wider than anterior pronotal margin; clypeus trapezoidal, anterior margin with narrow, rather deep emargination; frons shallowly, widely depressed, narrowest part at anterior third; vertex finely grooved, 1.3 times as wide as width of eye; eyes large, subelliptical, distinctly projecting beyond outline of head, inner margins very slightly S-shaped; sculpture of head consisting of small, oval cells with tiny central grains on frons and fine, polygonal cells without central grains on vertex; postclypeal part of frons simply punctured; antennae relatively short, scarcely reaching midlength of pronotal margins when laid alongside; scape very long, slightly pyriform, somewhat curved, 4 times as long as wide; pedicel suboval, about 1.6 times as long as wide; third antennomere small, subtriangular, twice as long as wide; fourth antennomere sharply triangular, 1.3 times as long as wide, antennomeres 5–10 trapezoidal, distinctly wider than long, terminal antennomere axe-shaped.

Pronotum almost regularly convex, 1.3 times as wide as long, with very shallow prescutellar and lateroposterior depressions; anterior margin rather strongly biarcuate with large, wide medial lobe, posterior margin slightly biarcuate; lateral margins almost regularly rounded, shallowly emarginate in front of rectangular posterior angles; maximum pronotal width at midlength; posterior margin with two small tubercles on both sides of shallow, prescutellar pit; “agriloid carina” at posterior angles missing; pronotal sculpture consisting of small, polygonal cells without central grains, anterior part of pronotum (behind medial lobe) simply punctured. Scutellum relatively small, subcordiform, slightly longer than wide, slightly depressed, microsculptured.

Elytra wedge-shaped, lustrous, 2.7 times as long as wide, convex, very slightly depressed along suture, without any traces of longitudinal carinae; subhumeral carina obtuse, poorly defined, scarcely reaching anterior third of elytral margins; humeral swellings small, basal transverse depression deep, wide, reaching scutellum; elytral margins emarginate at anterior third then regularly tapering towards separately rounded apices; apices very slightly caudiform, indistinctly serrate; elytral epipleura rudimentary, reaching only level of metepisterna; sculpture extremely fine, consisting of indistinct punctures which are transversely fused forming short, zig-zag rugae.

Ventral surface lustrous, very finely ocellate, anal ventrite roughly punctate; anal tergite broadly rounded, very finely serrate ( Fig. 17 ); anal ventrite narrowly rounded, indistinctly serrate ( Fig. 20 ). Legs moderately long, protibiae slightly curved, widened distally, bearing brush-like, inner row of short, dense, cream-white bristles; mesotibiae straight, somewhat flattened, widened distally, 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– 6.7 mm (holotype 6.0 mm); width: 1.6–1.8 mm (holotype 1.6 mm).

Variability. Except for the size only slight variation was observed: two paratypes possess golden green sutural and basal stripes, one paratype possesses elytra with violet tinge; elytra 2.7–2.8 times as long as wide.

Differential diagnosis. Agrilaxia glabra sp. nov. belongs to the A. bivittata species-group resembling by its body-shape and rather dark colouration A. elegans sp. nov. and A. claudei . It differs strongly from both by the glabrous and lustrous elytra without any trace of longitudinal carinae, poorly developed posthumeral carina, strongly reduced elytral epipleura, almost regularly convex pronotum without “agriloid” carinae, deep pronotal depressions and by the emarginate anterior margin of clypeus.

Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin adjective glaber (smooth) to describe the lustrous surface of the body.

Distribution. French Guiana.

Figures

Figs 1–8. Agrilaxia, dorsal aspect. 1 – Agrilaxia cacao sp. nov., holo- type ♀, 7.2 mm; 2 – A. bongrandi Cobos, 1972, J (Route de Cacao), 6.0 mm; 3 – A.claudei Cobos, 1972, ♀ (Bélizon), 8.0 mm; 4 – A. tristis Cobos, 1972, ♀ (Saul), 7.2 mm; 5 – A. elegans sp. nov., holotype J, 7.8 mm; 6 – A. cordicollis sp. nov., holotype J, 6.5 mm; 7 – A. glabra sp. nov., holotype ♀, 6.0 mm; 8 – A. sulcifrons sp. nov., holotype J, 6.1 mm.

Figs 17–29. 17–19 – anal tergites (17 – Agrilaxia glabra sp. nov., 18 – A. tristis sp. nov., 19 – A. caudata sp. nov.). 20–22 – anal ventrites (20 – A. glabra sp. nov., 21 – A. tristis sp. nov., 22 – A. caudata sp. nov.). 23 – most important diagnostic characters of Agrilaxia spp. (schematically): a – lateroposterior pronotal depressi- ons; b – basal pronotal tubercles; c – transverse basal depression; d – prognathous/ non-prognathous mouth parts; e – lateral margin of pronotum;f – “agriloid” carina; g – humeral swelling; h – elytral epipleura; i – posthumeral carina; j – anal ventrite; k – anal tergite. 24–29 – form of anterior prosternal margin, schematically (24 – flat or slightly convex, 25 – slightly grooved, 26 – deeply grooved, 27 – with longitudinal, lamelliform carina, 28 – with transverse rolled up carina, 29 – with medial perpendicular, peg-like spine). Not to scale.