Anthaxia (Anthaxia) madridensis Bílý & Verdugo, 2014, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bílý, Svatopluk
name: Verdugo, Antonio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Buprestidae
Anthaxia
Anthaxia madridensis

description: Anthaxia (Anthaxia) madridensis, sp. nov.
(Figs. 1, 2–5)
Type specimens examined. Anthaxia (Anthaxia) madridensis, sp. nov.: Holotype (male, NMPC): “ Spain, Madrid, Monte de Batres, 40 o 14.557 N; 3 o 56.905 W, M. Kafka lgt., ex larva 2012 // coll. M. Kafka, 2013”; Allotype (female, NMPC): the same data; Paratypes (65 males, 48 females): the same data (25 males, 18 females); “[Spain] Cabañeros (C. Real) Gargantilla (Fresneda) 1.v. [20] 05 – 18.v. [20]05, T. Jover, 2 // 1865 // Anthaxia chaerodrys Szallies, 2001, Arnáiz & Bercedo det. 2007 // Anthaxia chaerodrys Szallies, 2001, D. Baiocchi det 2013” (1 male); “[Spain] Madrid, Boadilla del Monte, ex larva em. 22.ii.–4.iii.2010, J. de la Rosa leg.” (13 males, 5 females); “ España, Fresneda, Gargantilla, PN Cabañeros, C. Real, 30.vii.2006 // Anthaxia. A. sp. n., A. Verdugo det. // P.N. Cabañeros, Ciudad Real, Spain, Gargantilla (Fresneda) 16.vii. [20] 06–21.viii. [20]06, leg.: Mico, Quinto, Briones” (1 female); the same data but 17.vi.2004 (1 female); “[Spain], Serrejón, Caceres, Moufragüe, 20.vi.2011, A. Verdugo leg.” (3 male, 1 female); “ Spain (Madrid) Batres env., e.l. [ex larvae] Fraxinus angustifolia, 28.iv.2010, de la Rosa leg. // Anthaxia (Anthaxia) chaerodrys Szallies, 2001, D. Baiocchi det 2013 // Daniele Baiocchi collection Roma” (19 males, 20 females); the same data but 20.iv.–7.v.2008 (3 males, 2 females); “[Spain] Madrid, Villaviciosa de Odón, 15.iii.2008, Juan de la Rosa leg. // Anthaxia (Anthaxia) chaerodrys Szallies, 2001, D. Baiocchi det 2013 // Daniele Baiocchi collection Roma” (1 male); “ Spain, El Álamo, 3o5646.11W 40o1410.87N, 30.vi.2013, T. Kwast leg” (5 males). Paratypes deposited in AVCC, DBRC, MGCR, MKCN, MNCA, NMPC, TKCB, UACS and VKBC.
Further material (circa 200 ex.) which was not included among the paratypes is deposited in the collection JDLR.
The following specimens of Anthaxia (A.) chaerodrys were studied: Holotype (male, NMPC): “ Tr.[Turkey], Mersin, Erdemli, Aydinlar, 1000 m, 11.-12.vi.1993, leg. Szallies”; Paratypes: the same data (1 male, 1 female, NMPC; 1 male, DBRC); “ Turkey, Içel, Korsmali bei Erdemli, 12.v.1996, leg. K. Hadulla” (1 male, MKCN).
Non-type specimens studied: “ Turkey, Erdemli, 15.-22.vi.1998, Moravec Petr” (1 male, VKBC); “ Turkey, Mersin, 40 km N Gülnar, 36o3022.5?N 33o0743.3W, Kösecobanli/Tasdüstü, P-trap 8, Hollow Quercus, 24.vi.2006, Nicklas Jansson / Mustafa Avci” (1 female, DBRC; 1 female, MNCA).
Diagnosis. Medium-sized (5.0– 7.1 mm), subparallel, flattened, dark bronze with slight, reddish lustre (Fig. 1); frontoclypeus and vertex red-bronze (male) or purple-bronze (female), frons red-bronze (male) or red-bronze with purple-bronze stripes along inner margins of eyes (female); pronotum with short, narrow, green, prescutellar line reaching posterior fourth of pronotal length, lateroposterior pronotal depressions sometimes with more intense red lustre; transverse, basal, elytral callosity (anterior of transverse basal depression) with golden-red or golden green lustre, elytra with very narrow, golden-red or golden green, postscutellar, sutural stripe reaching anterior third of elytral length; ventral surface dark bronze with rather intense, purple lustre; antennae bronze (female) or antennomeres 5–11 yellow-orange with darkened apices (male); legs bronze, tarsal claws yellow-brown; dorsal surface without distinct pubescence, frons with short, rather sparse, semi-erect, white pubescence; ventral surface with short, sparse, recumbent, white pubescence.
Description of holotype. Head rather small, narrower than anterior pronotal margin; eyes large, reniform, somewhat projecting beyond outline of head; frontoclypeus with slightly emarginate anterior margin separated from frons by rather deep, transverse depression; frons deeply impressed medially, inner margins of eyes S-shaped; vertex slightly depressed, 0.8 times as wide as width of eye; antennae rather long reaching posterior fourth of pronotal length when laid alongside; scape claviform, 3.5 times as long as wide, nearly straight; pedicel suboval, 1.3 times as long as wide; third antennomere subcylindrical, somewhat enlarged anteriorly, 1.6 times as long as wide, antennomere 4 sharply, narrowly triangular, 1.2 times as long as wide; antennomeres 5–10 obtusely triangular to trapezoidal, about as long as wide; terminal antennomere rhomboid, 1.5 times as long as wide; sculpture of head rather rough, almost irregular, consisting of poorly defined, polygonal cells with central grains and basal, rough microsculpture.
Pronotum convex, 1.7 times as wide as long with rather deep, more or less transverse, medial depression; anterior margin biarcuate, posterior margin slightly rounded, almost straight; lateral margins widely rounded, rather deeply notched at posterior fourth, posterior angles obtuse; maximum pronotal width at anterior third; lateroposterior depressions deep, nearly triangular; pronotal sculpture consisting of polygonal cells with small central grains, cells on posterior half of pronotum weak, somewhat transverse, without distinct central grains. Scutellum small, more or less pentagonal, slightly convex, microsculptured.
Elytra moderately convex, somewhat uneven, 1.9 times as long as wide, slightly enlarged at posterior third; humeral swellings well defined, somewhat prolonged, basal, transverse depression deep, wide, reaching scutellum, interrupted by two small elevations; elytral apex very slightly caudiform, lateral, apical serration very fine confined to the caudiform apex; elytral epipleura wide, parallel-sided, almost reaching elytral apex; supramarginal groove well defined, enlarged at posterior fourth; elytral sculpture consisting of small, irregular punctures on posterior two thirds and dense, irregular, transverse wrinkles on basal third.
Ventral surface rather lustrous with wide ocellate sculpture, prosternal process flat, subparallel, only weakly enlarged posterior to procoxae; anal ventrite narrowly rounded, finely depressed along lateral margins, without distinct lateral serration. Legs moderately long, slender, protibiae curved, mesotibiae straight, weakly enlarged apically, with several very small, nearly indistinct, inner, preapical denticles; metatibiae straight, somewhat flattened, weakly enlarged apically, with several small, preapical teeth on inner margin. Tarsal claws thin, weakly curved, only slightly enlarged at base.
Aedeagus (Fig. 3) short, stout, basal two fifths of parameres subparallel, apical three fifth strikingly narrowed (Fig. 4); median lobe sharply pointed apically, without lateral serrations (Fig. 5).
Measurements. Length: 5.0– 7.1 mm (holotype 5.4 mm); width: 1.9–2.9 mm (holotype 2.2 mm).
Variability. Except for the size some specimens differ from each other by the intensity of the metallic colouration of the frontoclypeus, lateroposterior pronotal depressions and prescutellar or postscutellar stripes. The prescutellar, pronotal stripe is, in a few cases, very reduced or nearly indistinct and, on the contrary, in some specimens the stripe is prolonged anteriorly to the pronotal midlength, and in these specimens there is also the small, golden green, triangular spot of the same colour at the middle of the anterior pronotal margin. The postscutellar, sutural stripe varies only in the colouration: from golden green to golden green margined by red or to golden-red. Pronotum 1.67–1.80 times as wide as long, elytra 1.85–1.90 times as long as wide.
Bionomy. Nearly all specimens were reared from the dead twigs of Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl (Oleaceae). The larva lives just under the bark and the galleries are wide and flat (Figs. 6, 7); they correspond with the galleries of the most of Anthaxia living under the bark. The bionomy was precisely described by de la Rosa (2007) who found the larval galleries mostly at the basal parts of the trunks of F. angustifolia with rough bark covered often with lichens.
All specimens collected by M. Kafka (pers. com.) were reared from the dead branches of F. angustifolia of diameter 5–8 cm but he observed the galleries and emergence holes also in stems of diameter 20 cm. The biotope (Fig. 8) is not very attractive for collecting beetles and moreover Anthaxia (A.) madridensis, sp. nov. is not a flower visitor (the majority of the representatives of this species-group are typical flower-visitors, such as A. thalassophila iberica Cobos, 1986, A. dimidiata (Thunberg, 1789) or A. bicolor comptei Cobos, 1966 in the same biotope), so it has most probably been overlooked by collectors.
Etymology. The specific epithet indicates the distribution of the species since it appears that the main population of the species lives near Madrid.
Differential diagnosis. Anthaxia (Anthaxia) madridensis, sp. nov. belongs to the Anthaxia (A.) dimidiata (Thunberg, 1789) species-group as defined by Bílý (1984) and it is very similar and probably closely related with A. (A.) chaerodrys Szallies, 2001. Baiocchi (2011) thought that A. (A.) chaerodrys might be a relict species and compared it with his new species, A. (A.) magnanii Baiocchi, 2011. In fact A. (A.) chaerodrys and A. (A.)
madridensis sp. nov. are two extremely similar species forming the pair of the vicariant species. Both species differ from each other by the character states given in the Table 1.
Distribution. Central Spain (Madrid, Ciudad Real, Caceres provinces).
We are very obliged to all our colleagues who submitted their specimens for the study: D. Baiocchi and M. Gigli (Rome, Italy), M. Kafka (Neratovice, Czech Republic), M. Niehuis (Albersweiler, Germany) V. Kubáň (Brno, Czech Republic), T. Kwast (Berlin, Germany) and E. Mico (Alicante, Spain). We are also very indebted to D. Baiocchi for his suggestions during our long discussions concerning the taxonomic status of the species. Our thanks also go to J. Rolčík (Prague, Czech Republic) for his help with preparing the colour plate.
This research was supported by the Internal Grant Agency (IGA n. 20124364) Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague and by the Project CGL 2011-23658 of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain.
description: Published as part of Bílý, Svatopluk & Verdugo, Antonio, 2014, A new species of the genus Anthaxia Eschscholtz, 1829 from Spain (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Buprestinae: Anthaxiini), pp. 196-200 in Zootaxa 3768 (2) on pages 197-200, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3768.2.7, http://zenodo.org/record/229620