Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) cadusiana Baiocchi, 2015, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Baiocchi, Daniele
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Buprestidae
Anthaxia
Anthaxia cadusiana

description: Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) cadusiana sp. nov.
(Figs. 25, 26, 27, 28, 41, 42, 43, 44, 48, 53, 58, 66, 67, 73, 78, 83, 89, 90, 91, 95, 98)
Misidentification: Anthaxia (s. str.) schah Abeille de Perrin, 1904 sensu Radjabi (1974: 38): in fact A. (H.) cadusiana sp. nov.; A. (H.) schah Abeille de Perrin, 1904 sensu Borumand (2002: 46): in fact A. (H.) cadusiana sp. nov.
Description of the male holotype (Figs. 25, 26). Body subcylindrical, slightly wedge-shaped, moderately convex dorsally, strongly convex ventrally; length: 5.1 mm; maximum width at anterior 1/2 of pronotum: 1.9 mm; length to width ratio: 2.7 times longer than wide.
Dorsal colouration. Head and pronotun dark green, blackish pronotal maculae extending over most of the pronotal surface, leaving only lateral sides and a central longitudinal stripe of brighter green; scutellum bluish green; elytra dark green; antennae, legs and tarsi black; ventral colouration dark green, slightly brighter on abdomen, with a dark bluish tinge on prosternum; claws brown with black tips; pubescence whitish.
Head slightly narrower than anterior pronotal margin; eyes large, slightly projecting beyond outline of head; vertex flat, narrow, 0.4 times as wide as width of head; frons (Fig. 41) feebly convex, slightly depressed in middle, widest at mid height, 0.54 times as wide as width of head; inner ocular margins parallel, feebly converging on the vertex; fronto-clypeal area weakly depressed; clypeus of average length, slightly prominent, lateral margins subparallel, anterior margin weakly arched in middle; sculpture of frons and vertex shallow, foveate, consisting of a tight network of oblong foveae; cell bottom finely microsculptured with tiny setigerous puncture; clypeus roughly microsculptured; pubescence of vertex very short, prostrate, visible only at high magnification; pubescence of frons rather long, recumbent, convergent on fronto-clypeal area.
Antennae (Fig. 48) of average length, as long as pronotal length in midline, subparallel; antennomeres slender basally, rather flattened, transversally enlarged; scape stout, massively club-shaped, 2.2 times longer than wide, strongly gibbous on inner side; pedicel short, pear-shaped, as long as wide; antennomere 3 narrowly triangular, as long as pedicel; antennomere 4 widely subtriangular, 1.4 times as long as wide; antennomeres 5–10 slender basally, widely subtrapezoidal, 1.2 times wider than long; last antennomere sub-rhomboidal.
Pronotum weakly transverse, 1.45 times wider than long, fairly convex, wider anteriad mid length; anterior margin feebly bilobate, with central lobe narrow, just barely hinted; anterior angles obtuse; lateral margins slightly arched on anterior 3/4, distinctly narrowed and subparallel on posterior 1/4; posterior angles right; posterior margin dark, completely smooth, weakly incurved backward in middle; lateral pronotal carina weak, short, not reaching mid pronotal length; lateroposterior depressions moderately deep, transversally extended; pronotal sculpture areolate, shallow, consisting of a homogenous network of subpolygonal cells with weakly raised borders, slightly denser on lateroposterior areas; cell bottom strongly microsculptured, with distinct central grain; pronotal pubescence little evident, very short, semierect.
Scutellum subpentagonal, finely microsculptured.
Elytra rather vaulted, about 2 times longer than wide, slightly wedge-shaped, weakly narrowed at mid length, slightly tapered on apical 1/3; elytral base as wide as posterior pronotal margin, slightly oblique backwards; laterobasal angles right-angled; basal transverse depressions rather deep, wider near humeri, nearly reaching the scutellum; humeral swellings moderately developed; elytral apices sloping, separately, angularly rounded; elytral surface slightly raised posterior to the scutellum; a small shallow depression on each elytron at 1/3 of the length, proximal to the suture; lateral elytral groove narrow, flat, reaching the apex; lateral margin feebly serrate in apical part; epipleura wide at base, strongly narrowed and serrate posterior to humeri, subparallel in posterior 1/3, disappearing at apex; elytral sculpture roughly imbricate-punctulate, slightly coarser in post-scutellar area, rather plicate longitudinally; elytral pubescence extremely short, strongly erect, scarcely visible.
Ventral side (Fig. 26). Anterior prosternal margin deeply arched; prosternal sculpture shallow, mostly areolate, consisting of subpolygonal cells, slightly transversally lengthened along the anterior margin; cell borders weakly raised, cell bottom confusedly microsculptured, with small central or eccentric setigerous pore, more visible on lateral sides; prosternal process (Fig. 43) wide, subparallel, with well developed and acute lateral angles; posterior apophyses long, smooth, rounded at apex; sculpture on inner area of prosternal process foveate, borders and lateral angles only finely microsculptured; sculpture of proepisternum areolate, consisting of large cells with microreticulate bottom and central pore; sculpture of mesosternum, metasternum, metaepisternum and metacoxae shallow, areolate-variolate, with less defined cells and fine basal microsculpture; posterior end of central metasternal suture shortly, moderately open, with moderately raised edges and surrounding area only microreticulate; posterior borders of metacoxae slightly raised on outer angles; protrochanters bearing an acute protruding spine (Fig. 43), meso- and metatrochanters smooth; mesoepisternum glossy, only partially sculptured, mesoepimeron with deeper, denser sculpture; sculpture of ventral abdominal surface very shallow, areolatelacunose, with fine basal microsculpture; posterior margin of ventrites smoother, only finely microreticulate; ventral pubescence moderately long.
Anal ventrite (Fig. 66) subround, slightly serrate, deeply depressed along the margin of posterior 1/2; apex with narrow, deep notch.
Legs. Foretibiae slightly incurved, with rather uneven outer margin, especially on apical part; foretarsomeres 1–4 all subequal, tarsomere 5 longer; mesotibiae straight, slightly flattened posteriorly; inner margin weakly sinuous, smooth, with very short, widely spaced, hispid bristles; apex enlarged in a strong spur protruding inward; mesotarsomere 1 slightly longer than each of 2–4, all subequal, tarsomere 5 longer than 1; metatibiae (Fig. 58) strongly flattened, slightly bent inward apically; inner margin sinuous, smooth, with a series of very short, hispid bristles, widely spaced as in mesotibiae; apex distinctly enlarged inward in a strong triangular spur; outer bristles thick, brown; metatarsomere 1 much longer than each of 2–4, all subequal, tarsomere 5 as long as 1; all tarsal claws slender, of average length, brown with black tips, feebly enlarged basally, moderately incurved; leg pubescence rather long, except on inner meso- and metatibial margins.
Aedeagus. Tegmen (Fig. 78) fusiform, nearly 5 times longer than wide, slightly enlarged at mid length, less chitinous on apical and basal parts; basal 1/2 subcylindrical; anterior 1/2 of parameres slender, widely separated basally, pre-apical part subparallel, apex moderately sharp; membranaceous setigerous area short, narrow, indistinctly located along the hyaline outer apical margin; median lobe (Fig. 73) weakly chitinous, somewhat darker at apex, slightly wider basally, weakly vaulted; dorsal surface feebly, transversally striated; lateral margins smooth, straight; apex triangular, shortly and acutely pointed; basal apodemes thin, slightly sinuate, extending for 1/3 of total length.
Variation. Small to medium size species; body convex, subparallel to slightly wedge-shaped; the size of males ranges from 4.0 mm x 1.4 mm to 5.4 mm x 2.0 mm (holotype: 5.1 mm x 1.9 mm), while the females vary from 4.1 mm x 1.5 mm to 5.7 mm x 2.1 mm (allotype: 4.1 mm x 1.5 mm).
Anthaxia (H.) cadusiana sp. nov. proved to be hardly variable morphologically but quite variable chromatically; its intraspecific variability is characterized as follows:
- the dorsal colouration varies from a combination of dark blackish head and pronotum with dark olive green elytra (Fig. 89), to completely bright emerald green with a bluish tinge (Fig. 90); a few coppery specimens are also known (Fig. 91)
- the extension of the black pronotal spots varies from a faintly hinted shadow (Fig. 90), to a dark blackish tinge almost completely invading the pronotal surface (Fig. 89)
- the anterior 1/2 of the pronotum can be more or less convex
- the widest point of the body can be located in the anterior 1/2 of pronotum (Fig. 90) or at mid length of abdomen (Fig. 89)
- the apical inner spur of meso- and metatibiae can be more or less developed
- in some specimens the plicate aspect of the elytrae is less evident
Sexual dimorphism: similarly to the other species of this group, females differ from males in having a slightly wider frons (Fig. 42) with distinctly shorter and thinner pubescence, elytra slightly less narrowed, protrochanters with spine more obtuse than in males, and the inner margin of meso- and metatibiae less incurved and without a true apical spur. Anal ventrite deeply and narrowly notched in both sexes (Figs. 66, 67). Although generally variable in colouration, this species does not show an evident sexual dichromatism. Ovipositor of the allotype illustrated (Fig. 83).
Specimens studied. Holotype ♂ (Figs. 25, 26): IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 3.VI.2012 D.Baiocchi leg. // ex larva Cotoneaster sp. V.2013 (DBCR); allotype ♀ (Figs. 27, 28): IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 16.V.2010 D.Baiocchi leg. // ex larva Cotoneaster sp. 22.V.2010 (DBCR); paratypes: Zanjān prov.: IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 10.V.2009 D.Baiocchi leg. // ex larva Cotoneaster sp. 16.V.2009 (1♂ DBCR); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 16.V.2010 D.Baiocchi leg. // ex larva Cotoneaster sp. 22.V.2010 (1♂ 1♀ DBCR); same data, emerged 20.IV.2012 (3♂♂ DBCR); same data, emerged 3.VI.2012 (1♂ DBCR); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 29.V. – 3.VI.2011 Baiocchi leg. (9♂♂8♀♀ DBCR, HMCM, MKCN, MSCL, NMPC); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom- Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 29.V. – 3.VI.2011 Baiocchi leg. // ex larva Cotoneaster sp. 29.IV.2012 (1♂ DBCR); same data, emerged 8.V.2012 (1♂ DBCR); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom- Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 3.VI.2012 D.Baiocchi leg. (3♂♂5♀♀ DBCR, MNCA, NMPC); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 3.VI.2012 D.Baiocchi leg. // ex larva Cotoneaster sp. V.2013 (1♂ DBCR); IRAN (Zanjān prov.) 1285m., 35 km SW Mo’allem Kalāyeh, 36°26’24.7”N 50°16’35.5”E, 11.V.2009 D. Baiocchi leg. // ex larva Crataegus sp. 14.V.2009 (1♂ DBCR); [IRAN] Lendjan, 18.VI. [19]69, sur blé, Djavahevi [leg.] (1♀ PPDRI); IRAN, Qazvin prov., 12–13.V.2006, 3 Km E Razmiyan, EMAM ZADEH MOUSA, (stream valley; at light), 36°31.8’N 50°14.3’E; 1080m., Jiři Hájek & Pavel Chvojka leg. // Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) schah Ab., Sv. Bílý det. 2007 (1♀ SBCP); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 29.V.2011 D.Gianasso leg. (1♂ DGCC); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 31.V.2011 D.Gianasso leg. (10♂♂3♀♀ DGCC); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 31.V.2011 D.Gianasso leg. // Ex larva Cotoneaster nummularia 27.4.2012 (1♀ DGCC); same data, emerged 28.4.2012 (1♂ DGCC); same data, emerged 10.5.2012 (1♀ DGCC); same data, emerged 21.5.2013 (1♀ DGCC); same data, emerged 9.5.2013 (1♀ DGCC); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 3.VI.2012 D.Gianasso leg. (1♂ 1♀ DGCC); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 3.VI.2012 G.Magnani (1♂ 3♀♀ GMCC); IRAN (Zanjān prov.), Tarom-Gilvan Rd. 1660m., ESE of Sorkhe Dizaj, 36°47’40“N 48°52’14“E, 3.VI.2012 G.Magnani // ex larva Cotoneaster sp. 20–26.V.2013 (1♂ 1♀ GMCC); same data, emerged 8.VI.2013 (2♂♂3♀♀ GMCC); same data, emerged 15.VI.2014 (1♂ 2♀♀ GMCC).
The holotype, allotype and some of the paratypes are deposited in the author’s collection (DBCR); rest of the paratypes in the following collections: DGCC, GMCC, HMCM, MKCN, MNCA, MSCL, NMPC, PPDRI, SBCP.
Remarks. In the studied material, some bright green coloured specimens of this new species have turned out to be rather similar to Anthaxia (H.) schah, more specifically to the form with strongly reduced reddish elytral colouration. This is also attested to by the wrong identifications by Radjabi (1974) and Borumand (2002). The study of its morphology though, showed that despite the different colouration, A. (H.) cadusiana sp. nov. is somewhat closer to A. (H.) wethloi, species to which I have compared it in the present study.
In addition to sharing various identical characters, I have verified the occurence in A. (H.) cadusiana sp. nov. of occasional bronze specimens almost indistinguishable from A. (H.) wethloi. On the other hand, the two species are well differentiated by the male genitalia (Figs. 77, 78) and most of all, by the presence in males of A. (H.)
cadusiana sp. nov. of a deep anal notch (Fig. 66), a character missing in A. (H.) wethloi (Fig. 64). All the characters that differentiate the two species are listed in the following table.
Anthaxia (H.) cadusiana sp. nov. Anthaxia (H.) wethloi Obenberger, 1940 Dorsal colouration dark blackish-green (Fig. 89) to bright Dorsal colouration dark bronze (Fig. 92) to light copper (Fig. emerald green with blue lustre (Fig. 90), rarely light bronze 94), occasionally with reddish or greenish lustre (Fig. 93) (Fig. 91)
Head. Frons (Fig. 41) usually slightly wider, with inner Head. Frons (Fig. 37) usually somewhat narrower, with inner ocular margins parallel on the whole frontal part; frontal ocular margins very slightly converging to the vertex on the pubescence of males thicker, mostly whitish upper frontal part; frontal pubescence of males thinner, rather
yellowish
Antennae black (Fig. 48) Antennae bluish-black (Fig. 47)
Pronotum more sinuately narrowed before laterobasal angles Pronotum usually more straightly narrowed before laterobasal (Figs. 89–91) angles (Figs. 92, 94)
Anal ventrite notched in both sexes (Figs. 66, 67) Anal ventrite notched in females only (Figs. 64, 65)
Aedeagus. Tegmen (Fig. 78) more stout, slightly fusiform, 5 Aedeagus. Tegmen (Fig. 77) slender, subparallel, more than 6 times longer than wide times longer than wide
Bionomy and distribution. Nearly all known specimens of Anthaxia (H.) cadusiana sp. nov. were collected in the north Iranian province of Zanjān, in the western Elburs mountain range, along the Tarom-Gilvan road.
Large rocks and variously sized bushes of Prunus sp., Crataegus sp., Cotoneaster nummularia Fisch & C. A. Mey., Astragalus sp., Ferula sp. and a number of various shorter unidentified plants, characterize the place (Fig. 98), a mild south-facing mountain slope. Part of the studied specimens were reared from thin stems of Cotoneaster nummularia (Rosaceae) sampled in this locality, together with some specimens of A. (A.) muliebris Obenberger, 1918 (first record on Cotoneaster), while a single male specimen was reared from a branch of Crataegus sp. (Rosaceae) collected on the road from Qazvin to Mo’allem Kalayeh, together with some A. (Cratomerus) diadema ssp. shelkovnikovi Obenberger, 1940 (first record on Crataegus). The only specimen of A. (H.) cadusiana sp. nov. known from some distance away is a single female from Lendjan [= Lenjan], southwest of Esfahan, considerably distant from the Elburs range, meaning that the species is certainly more widespread than at present known.
Adults of this species show a timid and elusive behaviour. In fact, unlike the other species present in the same place, they were only rarely spotted in the open meadow, and seemed to prefer small yellow flowers of Asteraceae growing in sheltered areas in proximity of bushes of its hostplant, where they were very fast to fly and hide if not cautiosly approached.
Etymology. Anthaxia (H.) cadusiana sp. nov. is named after the Cadusian people, an ancient warlike tribe who lived in the western part of the Elburs range, in the mid first millennium BC.
description: Published as part of Baiocchi, Daniele, 2015, A revision of the Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) schah Abeille de Perrin, 1904 species-group, with description of two new species from Iran (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Anthaxiini), pp. 57-91 in Zootaxa 3918 (1) on pages 71-74, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3918.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/287844