Anthaxia (Capanthaxia) Bílý 2019, subgen. nov.
Creators: name: Bílý, Svatopluk
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Buprestidae
Anthaxia

description: Subgenus Capanthaxia subgen. nov.
Type species: Anthaxia capensis Kerremans, 1903; present designation.
DEFINITION OF THE SUBGENUS. Small to medium-sized (3.5–9.0), convex or flattened, subparallel, often elongate species (Figs. 19–24); frons weakly convex or flat, vertex 0.8–2.0 times as wide as width of eye; antennae short or very short, not overlapping pronotal midlength when laid alongside, antennomeres of male not widened; sculpture of head consisting of very small, dense, oval cells without distinct central grains.
Pronotum moderately convex or flattened with medial, longitudinal depression or groove (Figs. 19–24); posterior angles rectangular or weakly obtuse-angled, maximum width at anterior third; sculpture consisting of transverse or weakly undulate rugae on disc and irregular, polygonal cells with tiny central grains along lateral margins (Figs. 52–54); lateroposterior depressions shallow but wide, sometimes prolonged anteriorly, reaching anterior pronotal third; prescutellar pit absent. Scutellum very small, triangular or cordiform, only slightly longer than wide.
Elytra moderately convex or flattened, very often uneven (Fig. 22) or with traces of longitudinal rows of punctures (Figs. 19–21), apically widely rounded and somewhat shortened so that the pygidium is often visible from above (Figs. 19–24); humeral callosities small, not projecting beyond elytral outline; lateral, longitudinal groove well-developed, its preapical part deep, very often with large, strong punctures (Figs. 19–21); subhumeral lobe large, lateral emargination deep (Fig. 39); elytral epipleura usually enlarged posteriorly almost reaching elytral apex; sculpture consisting of fine punctures (sometimes forming longitudinal rows on apical half of elytra—Figs. 19–20), or fine, transverse rugae (Figs. 23, 24).
Legs moderately long, male tibiae simple, not modified, only with fine, inner serrations; tarsal claws simple, not widened at base; anal ventrite of both sexes regularly rounded, without lateral serrations.
Aedeagus (Fig. 76) rather short, spindle-shaped, parameres without lateral spines, often widened at basal two thirds, median lobe without lateral serrations.
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS. The subgenus is characterised first of all by the pronotal sculpture with the longitudinal, medial depression, transverse or somewhat undulate rugae which cover the entire pronotal disc (Figs. 52–54); only lateral parts of pronotum along the lateral margins (sometimes only the posterior angles) with rough polygonal, often prolonged cells. Another, very typical character is the shape of the elytral apex which is usually widely rounded, not completely covering the pygidium, with the deep lateral groove (Figs. 19–24). Also the elytral sculpture is rather different from that of other subgenera: longitudinal rows of punctures (Fig. 19, 20), transverse rugae (Figs. 23, 24) or the irregular sculpture on deeply uneven elytra (Fig. 22).
Some characters (e.g. medial, pronotal depression) can be found also in the subgenus Anthaxia s. str. (A. (A.) candens species-group) but these species differ from the species of Capanthaxia subgen. nov. by the set of other characters (see above and the key) and by the distribution.
BIONOMY. Unknown; at least some species are flower-visitors.
ETYMOLOGY. The name of this subgenus reflects its distribution in the southernmost provinces of South Africa
DISTRIBUTION. South Africa (Cape Provinces, Namaqualand, Natal).
SPECIES INCLUDED: Anthaxia (C.) aterrima Kerremans, 1903 species-group, A. (C.) capensis Kerremans, 1903 species-group and. A. (C.) sulcicollis Obenberger, 1928 species-group.
NOTE. I suspect that this subgenus is probably polyphyletic comprising unrelated taxa, but the uniqueness of some South African species calls for a separate subgenus, which is evidently formed by three different, unrelated species-groups.
description: Published as part of Bílý, Svatopluk, 2019, Subgeneric classification of the genus Anthaxia Eschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Anthaxiini), pp. 261-278 in Zootaxa 4568 (2) on pages 268-269, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4568.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/2599418