Philanthaxia hanloni, Bílý, Svatopluk, 2016

Bílý, Svatopluk, 2016, Four new species of the genus Philanthaxia Deyrolle, 1864 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Thomassetiini), Zootaxa 4205 (1) : -

Philanthaxia hanloni sp. nov.

( Figs. 4, 5 )

Type locality. The Philippines, Leyte Island, Mt. Balocaue .

Type specimens. Holotype (male, NMPC): “ Philippines, Leyte Island, Mt. Ballocave [Balocaue], vii.2010, local collector leg.” ; allotype (female, NMPC): the same data ; paratypes: the same data (1 female, MHCP) ; the same data (16 males, NMPC, MHCP, SJCP, WBCV) ; “ Philippines, Leyte, Mt. Balcaue [Balocaue], iv.2006, D. Mohagan leg.” (3 males, SOCT) ; the same data but: “ viii.2006 ” (1 male, NMPC) ; “ Philippines, Leyte Isl., Mt.Balocaue, Mahaplag , 18.v.2010, local collector” (1 male, NMPC) .

Diagnosis. Small (4.1–6.7 mm), elliptical, strongly convex, asetose, entirely black with silky lustre ( Fig. 4 ).

Description of the male holotype. Head small, narrower than anterior pronotal margin, anterior margin of frontoclypeus very weakly emarginate; frons strongly convex, medially slightly grooved, vertex convex, about 5 times as wide as width of eye; eyes small, elliptical, rather strongly projecting beyond outline of head; antennae short, hardly reaching mid-length of lateral pronotal margins when laid alongside; scape weakly claviform, slightly curved, about 4.5 times as long as wide, pedicel ovoid, 1.5 times as long as wide; third antennomere short, pyriform, 1.3 times as long as wide; antennomeres 4–10 triangular, 0.8–1.0 times as long as wide, terminal antennomere rhomboid, about twice as long as wide; sculpture homogeneous, consisting of small, very dense, polygonal cells with tiny central grains.

Pronotum strongly convex at anterior half, somewhat flattened at posterior half, 2.0–2.2 times as wide as long; anterior margin arcuate, posterior margin almost straight; lateral margins very weakly arched, feebly emarginate before nearly rectangular posterior angles; maximum pronotal width at base; lateroposterior depressions small and very shallow, almost indistinct, prescutellar pit absent; sculpture consisting of small, very dense, concentrically arranged polygonal cells without central grains on anterior half and fine, transverse rugae on prescutellar portion. Scutellum small, cordiform, 1.2 times as wide as long, microsculptured.

Elytra regularly, strongly convex, 1.5 times as long as wide, not caudiform, maximum width at posterior third; humeral callosities very small but weakly projecting beyond elytral outline; basal transverse depressions shallow, wide, not reaching scutellum; each elytron with 8 fine, longitudinal striae, interstices with transverse rugae; apex of lateral margins with very fine, almost indistinct serrations, elytral epipleura narrow, parallel-sided almost, reaching elytral apex;

Ventral surface lustrous, with very fine eye-shaped sculpture; prosternal process wide, with coarse eye-shaped sculpture, weakly convex, subparallel; anal ventrite apically obtusely rounded. Legs short, slender, all tibiae straight. Tarsal claws strongly hook-shaped, somewhat enlarged at base.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 5 ) subparallel, flattened, apical half of parameres strongly sclerotised, median lobe wide, sharply pointed apically (the tip of median lobe of the illustrated specimen is a little damaged).

Measurements. Length: 4.1–6.7 mm (holotype 4.2 mm); width: 1.7–2.9 mm (holotype 1.8 mm).

Sexual dimorphism. The female differs from the male only by the widely truncate anal ventrite (widely rounded in male).

Bionomy. Unknown.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to my friend and colleague Mark Hanlon (Perth, Australia), a specialist in the genus Melobasis Laporte & Gory, 1937 (Buprestidae) .

Differential diagnosis. Philanthaxia hanloni sp. nov. is in habitus very similar to P. nigra Théry, 1911 from northern Borneo but it differs from it by the larger body (only 3.5–3.6 mm in P. nigra ), smaller, cordiform and narrower scutellum (widely transverse scutellum which is more tha twice as wide as long in P. nigra ), shortened basal, transverse, elytral depressions (depressions reaching scutellum in P. nigra ) and by the less parallel-sided aedeagus with the only partly sclerotised parameres (aedeagus parallel-sided with the entirely sclerotised parameres in P. nigra ).

It also resembles P. romblonica Bílý, 1997 (Romblon Island) from which it differs by the entirely black colouration (dark golden green body with the brass lustre in P. romblonica ), sculpture of pronotum which lacks transverse rugae in P. romblonica and by the much coarser elytral sculpture; the male of P. romblonica is unfortunately unknown.

The most similar species is P. granum sp. nov. (see below) from eastern Luzon which possesses brassy tinge on the entirely convex frons, much finer pronotal and elytral sculpture without transverse rugae on interstices ( Figs. 4 vs. 6) and weakly sclerotised, apically enlarged aedeagus ( Fig. 6 ).

Distribution. The Philippines (Leyte).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. 1 — Philanthaxia depressifrons sp. nov., holotype, 6.8 mm; 2 — the same, aedeagus, holotype; 3 — P. purpureifrons sp. nov., holotype, 9.5 mm; 4 — P. hanloni sp. nov., holotype, 4.2 mm; 5 — the same, aedeagus, holotype; 6 — P. granum sp. nov., holotype, 4.5 mm.