Anthaxia (Anthaxia) cebecii Baiocchi & Magnani 2018, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Baiocchi, Daniele
name: Magnani, Gianluca
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Buprestidae
Anthaxia
Anthaxia cebecii

description: Anthaxia (Anthaxia) cebecii sp. nov.
(Figs. 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 86, 87, 94, 95, 101, 106, 110, 116, 123, 128, 133, 137, 138)
Anthaxia midas midas: Bílý, 2006: 372 (partim: distribution in Turkey) (catalogue); Cebeci & Tezcan, 2011: 208 (Biology). Anthaxia sphatuligera: Kubáň et al., 2016: 501 (partim; distribution in Turkey) (catalogue).
Description of the male holotype (Figs. 58, 59, 86, 94, 101, 106, 110, 123, 133, 138). Body slightly wedgeshaped, strongly flattened dorsally (Fig. 138), moderately convex ventrally, strongly narrowed at the pronotoelytral junction, widest posterior to the humeral callosity; length: 6.7 mm; maximum width right below the humeri: 3.0 mm; length to width ratio: 2.23 times longer than wide.
Dorsal colouration (Fig. 58). Frontal part of head golden, vertex bluish-green with golden tinge; antennae black with a weak violet tinge; pronotum with bluish-green background colour and golden tinge on posterior 1/2 of lateral margins; anterolateral corners violet-blue; discal spots blackish-blue; posterior border glossy black; elytra with vermilion red background colour; green macula narrowly extended along the elytral base, around the humeri and along the lateral margin until elytral mid length (Fig. 138), discal part running widely and parallel on the basal 1/3 of the elytral suture, widely enlarged at the apex in the shape of a broken arrow; dark discal macula blackishblue with violet-purple tinge on the borders, extending widely on the humeral calluses and around the green basal macula, then strongly narrowed at mid length, and distally sub-roundly widened at 3/4 of the elytral length, without touching the lateral margin and the apex.
Ventral colouration (Fig. 59). Prosternum green on anterior and lateral parts, golden in middle and on prosternal process; proepisternum and metaepimeron blackish; rest of the sternal area dark green to golden green; abdominal segments magenta red, with strong violet tinge on posterior border of each segment; dorsal side of legs and tarsi blackish, ventral side golden green; claws dark brown with black tips; pubescence whitish.
Head (Fig. 86) slightly narrower than anterior pronotal margin; eyes large, widest in lower 1/2, distinctly projecting beyond outline of head; vertex narrow, feebly depressed, 0.27 times as wide as width of head; frons rather wide, 0.56 times as wide as width of head at mid height, slightly depressed on upper 1/2, flat on lower 1/2; inner ocular margins irregularly S-shaped, strongly converging on the vertex on upper 1/3, sub-parallel in middle, slightly divergent on lower 1/3; fronto-clypeal area more deeply depressed on inner side of antennal fossae; clypeus moderately long, about 0.27 times as wide as width of head, with anterior margin feebly arched; sculpture of frons consistently areolate, composed of a network of irregular polygonal and oblong cells, larger in the middle, smaller and more irregularly shaped along the ocular borders; cell borders narrow; cell bottom poorly microsculptured, mostly with irregular, rather large setigerous grain; sculpture of vertex strongly stretched towards a midline; sculpture of clypeus rougher and deeper basally, anterior border smooth, only slightly microsculptured; frons covered with very long, fully erect pubescence, much denser along the lower part of inner ocular borders.
Antennae (Fig. 123) long, sub-parallel, 1.4 times as long as pronotal length in midline; antennomeres slender, strongly narrowed basally, not particularly flattened, slightly longer than wide; the basal two antennomeres bearing long whitish hair; scape slightly club-shaped, 2.8 times longer than wide, finely microsculptured, moderately gibbous and slightly foveolate on inner side; pedicel short, feebly pear-shaped, 1.6 times longer than wide; antennomere 3 sub-conical, 1.5 times longer than pedicel; antennomere 4 narrowly sub-triangular, 1.7 times longer than wide and slightly shorter than 3; antennomeres 5‒10 sub-trapezoidal, slightly longer than wide, antennomere 6 being the largest, 1.25 times longer than wide; last antennomere elongate, sub-rhomboidal.
Pronotum (Fig. 58) sub-octagonal, flattened, strongly transverse, 1.9 times wider than long; anterior margin finely rimmed and strongly incurved backwards, with central lobe barely indicated; anterior angles acute; lateral margins feebly incurved on anterior 1/3, sub-parallel and slightly indented at mid length, straight and strongly convergent on posterior 1/3; posterior angles obtuse; posterior margin dark, completely smooth, distinctly arched backwards on central 1/2; lateral pronotal carina very sharp, not reaching mid pronotal length; lateroposterior depressions virtually absent; pronotal sculpture variously structured; outer 1/4 of the dorsal surface with distinct areolate sculpture, consisting of a tight network of irregularly shaped shallow cells, narrowly bordered, with rather smooth bottom and irregular setigerous grain; anterocentral portion of the disc with a bisinuate structure of strongly stretched cells with indistinct pores; rest of the discal surface with shallow central depression and a line of vertical fine striae in middle, from which diverges a wave like system of very fine striae, slightly incurved backwards; pronotal pubescence dense, long and fully erect on lateral 1/3, more sparse on the central discal surface.
Scutellum sub-pentagonal, finely microsculptured.
Elytra (Fig. 58, 138) strongly flattened, 1.75 times longer than wide, slightly wedge-shaped, strongly narrowed basally, widest just below the humeral callosity, weakly and linearly tapered on basal 2/3, slightly tapering on distal 1/3 to the rounded apex; elytral base as wide as posterior pronotal margin, slightly arched backwards in central 1/2, lengthwise striate; laterobasal angles strongly obtuse; basal transverse depressions rather shallow, not reaching the scutellum; humeral callosities well developed and obliquely prolonged backwards; elytral apex slightly sloping, conjunctly rounded, with apical sutural angles slightly obtuse; basal sutural area distinctly depressed in association with of the green colouration; each elytron with a wide callosity between the suture and the humeral relief, and two distinct shallow depressions, the first at mid length, the last before the apex; lateral elytral groove shallow, very wide on basal 1/4, then progressively reduced until expiring at 2/3 of the elytral length; lateral elytral margins distinctly serrate on apical 1/3; epipleura strongly enlarged at base, not serrate, sub-parallel posterior to humeri, until disappearing in the apical part; elytral suture finely rimmed on distal 3/4; elytral sculpture roughly scabriculous, distincly smoother on the bluish discal macula; elytral pubescence fine, very long and fully erect basally, shorter and semi-erect on the rest of the surface.
Ventral side (Fig. 59). Prosternal anterior margin very slightly arched backwards; prosternal process rather wide, finely rimmed, lateral margins strongly arched, lateral corners well developed and acute, posterior apophyses of average length; prosternal sculpture variable, minutely scabriculous along the anterior margin, irregularly areolate along the border with proepisternum, scabriculous to foveate-reticulate in the middle, foveolate-reticulate on the prosternal process; sculpture of proepisternum rather sparsely foveate-reticulate, bottom of foveae largely raised, with small eccentric pore; mesoepisternum areolate only anteriorly; mesosternum and metaepisternum areolate-rugose; metasternum, heavily variolate-punctate anteriorly and on lateral sides, variolate-imbricate on the rest; posterior end of central metasternal suture very slightly open; pro- and mesocoxae heavily sculptured, metacoxal plates strongly narrowed externally, weakly gibbous on inner posterior angle, surface variolateimbricate; pro- and mesotrochanters unarmed, metatrochanters slightly protruding and obtusely angled; basal abdominal segments more densely variolate-punctate, the following segments sparsely variolate, with finely microsculptured posterior margin; pubescence very long and semi-erect on the whole ventral surface, denser on legs and lateral sides.
Anal ventrite (Fig. 94) sub-triangular, sub-truncate, lateral and apical margins flat, smooth; surface largely variolate-imbricate with fine basal microsculpture, heavily scabriculous before the smooth apical margin.
Legs. All femora of average size; foretibiae slightly incurved, outer margin unevenly marginated, distal 2/3 of the underside obtusely serrate; foretarsomeres 1‒4 all sub-equal, tarsomere 5 slightly longer; mesotibiae straight, sinuously narrowing on distal 1/2, inner margin slightly serrate on distal 1/2; mesotarsomere 1 distinctly longer than each of 2‒4 all sub-equal, mesotarsomere 5 slightly longer than 4; metatibiae (Fig. 133) straight, strongly flattened on distal 1/2, inner margin deeply serrate on distal 1/2; metatarsomere 1 very long, almost twice as long as 2, metatarsomeres 3‒4 slightly shorter than 2, metatarsomere 5 as long as 2; tarsomeres 1‒4 of all legs progressively enlarged, tarsomere 4 being usually widely and roundly triangular; tarsal claws strong, angularly enlarged at base, fairly incurved and sharply pointed; all legs bearing very long, wolly, whitish hair; inner side of all tibiae covered with shorter white bristles, foretibie with additional dense, very short dark bristles on the apical part; outer metatibial bristles light brown.
Aedeagus. Tegmen (Fig. 101) sub-cylindrical, sub-parallel, 5.1 times longer than wide, deeply and widely cleft in middle; phallobase hyaline, representing 1/5 of the total length, with lateral border slightly emarginate; parameres strongly chitinous, more hyaline on dorsal basal part, and on apical portion; basal dorsal apophyses virtually absent; distal 3/5 of parameres strongly narrowed, apical part of inner margins straight, pre-apical part of the outer margin slightly enlarged, then sinuously tapered until the elongate, very sharp apex; membranaceous setigerous area large, transparent, laterally encased amid finely serrated borders; median lobe (Fig. 106) poorly chitinous, fusiform, slightly wider at mid length, almost straight tapered on anterior 1/2, apical part flattened, slightly bent upward, central part rather gibbous and deeply furrowed lengthwise in middle, lateral margins with uneven hook-like serration; apical part (Fig. 110) of upper lamina sinuously tapered until the narrow, rounded apex; apical part of lower lamina almost straight pointed, finely spiny on lateral borders; sculpture of dorsal surface slightly variolate, more scabrous laterally; basal apodemes straight, very long, extending for 4/10 of total length.
Variation. Medium to large size species; the size of males ranges from 5.4 mm x 2.4 mm to 7.4 mm x 3.3 mm (holotype: 6.7 mm x 3.0 mm), while females range from 5.9 mm x 2.6 mm to 7.6 mm x 3.4 (allotype: 6.2 mm x 2.7 mm). The margins of the anal ventrite of the holotype are completely smooth, but many specimens show a short preapical part slightly serrate.
Overall, the morphological characters of A. cebecii sp. nov. have proved to be quite consistent, while the chromatic aspect shows moderate variability in the following characters:
• The background colour of the pronotum ranges from turquoise blue (Fig. 58) to apple green (Fig. 65); the discal dark spots may vary slightly in size, and in males they are always separated from the anterolateral dark colouration, while in some females they are occasionally in touch (Fig. 62).
• The background colour of the elytra is mostly carmine red (Fig. 58), occasionally somewhat lighter (Fig. 64); the green basal macula can be more or less enlarged in the sutural part (Figs. 62, 65), and sometimes the green colour turns somewhat golden; the dark discal macula is usually dark blue-violet, occasionally less extended (Fig. 64), or with bright purple tinge near the humeri (Fig. 65); its apical extension may also vary, reaching sometimes very near to the elytral margin (Fig. 58).
Sexual dimorphism. Females differ from males in their stouter and more parallel body, frons and vertex slightly wider, shorter antennae with less elongate apical antennomere, simple metatrochanters, smooth tibiae, and sub-round anal ventrite. Sexual dichroism absent. Ovipositor of the allotype illustrated (Fig. 116).
Specimens studied. Holotype (♂, DBCR: Figs. 58, 59, 86, 94, 101, 106, 110, 123, 133, 138): [p, white label] TURKEY (Muğla) 1701m., Mt. Babadag (N slope), SE of Fethiye, 36°32’19’’N 29°10’17’’E, 24.IV.2015 D.Baiocchi leg. // [p, white label] ex larva Acer undulatum 24.I.2016 (DBCR) // [p, red label] HOLOTYPUS, Anthaxia (Anthaxia), cebecii sp. nov., Baiocchi & Magnani det. 2017; allotype (♀, DBCR: Figs. 60, 61, 87, 95, 116, 128): [p, white label] TURKEY (Muğla) 1701m., Mt. Babadag (N slope), SE of Fethiye, 36°32’19’’N 29°10’17’’E, 24.IV.2015 D.Baiocchi leg. // [p, white label] ex larva Acer undulatum 24.I.2016 (DBCR) // [p, red label] ALLOTYPUS, Anthaxia (Anthaxia), cebecii sp. nov., Baiocchi & Magnani det. 2017; paratypes: [p, white label] TURKEY (Muğla) 1701m., Mt. Babadag (N slope), SE of Fethiye, 36°32’19’’N 29°10’17’’E, 24.IV.2015 D.Baiocchi leg. // [p, white label] ex larva Acer undulatum II‒III.2016 // [p, red label] PARATYPUS, Anthaxia (Anthaxia), cebecii sp. nov., Baiocchi & Magnani det. 2017 (2♂♂2♀♀ ALCR; 1♀ AVCS; 1♂1♀ BLCC; 70♂♂70♀♀ DBCR; 3♂♂3♀♀ DGCC; 1♂1♀ FBCK; 2♂♂2♀♀ FICN; various exx. FPDIT; 1♂1♀ HMCM; 1♂ IRSNB; 1♂1♀ JSCC; 1♂ JSCG; 1♂ LTCZ; 1♀ MCCI; 1♂1♀ MCLF; 1♂ MFNB; 1♂ MGCR; 1♂ MHCB; 1♂1♀ MLCJ; 1♂1♀ MNCA; 1♂ MNCN; 1♂1♀ MNHN; 1♂1♀ MOCO; 1♂1♀ NMPC; 1♂ PBCK; 1♂1♀ RRCP; 1♂1♀ SBCP; 1♂ SGCB; 1♂ SHCE; 1♂ TKCL; 1♂ ZIN; 1♂ ZSMG); same data, G.Magnani leg. (51♂♂47♀♀ GMCC); [p, white label] TR, Egirdir Yukarigökdere, N37°42.964, S 30°49.899, Kasnak forest Window trap 4, Hollow Quercus 2007 ‒05‒17, Nicklas Jansson Mustafa Avci // [p, red label] PARATYPUS, Anthaxia (Anthaxia), cebecii sp. nov., Baiocchi & Magnani det. 2017 (1♀ MNCA, 1♀ DBCR); same data, 2007‒06‒07(2♀♀ MNCA); [p, white label] TURKEY (Isparta) 1479m, Kasnak Oak For. Nat. Res., NNW of Yukarigökdere, 37°44’15’’N 30°49’53’’E, 26‒27.IV.2105 Baiocchi leg. // [p, red label] PARATYPUS, Anthaxia (Anthaxia), cebecii sp. nov., Baiocchi & Magnani det. 2017 (20♂♂14♀♀ DBCR; 1♂ SBCP; 1♂1♀ VKCB; 4♂♂2♀♀ MKCN); same data, G.Magnani leg. (20♂♂16♀♀ GMCC); [p, white label] Turkey, 15‒20 km of Tunceli, Munzur valley, T.Tichý 1000‒1100 m // [p, red label] PARATYPUS, Anthaxia (Anthaxia), cebecii sp. nov., Baiocchi & Magnani det. 2017 (1♂MOCO).
The holotype, allotype and part of the paratypes are deposited in DBCR; rest of the paratypes in the following collections: ALCR, AVCS, BLCC, DGCC, FBCK, FICN, FPDIT, GMCC, HMCM, IRSNB, JSCC, JSCG, LTCZ, MCCI, MCLF, MFNB, MGCR, MHCB, MKCN, MLCJ, MNCA, MNCN, MNHN, MOCO, NMPC, PBCK, RRCP, SBPC, SGCB, SHCE, TKCL, VKCB, ZIN, ZSMG.
Remarks. The dorsal aspect of A. cebecii sp. nov. is close to A. midas, from which it is anyhow easily distinguished for the different shape the pronotal spots (Figs. 40, 58), while the male genitalia appear to be more similar to A. patsyae, with the most appreciable differences located in the true apex of the upper lamella of the median lobe (Figs. 110, 111). The set of differences between A. midas and A. cebecii sp. nov. are listed in the following table.
Bionomy and distribution. At present, this new species seems to be endemic of Turkey, and is known only from three localities, two in the western provinces of Muğla and Isparta, and a third one, considerably far away, in the eastern province of Tunceli. Given the high number of entomologists who have visited Turkey in the last decades, we can deduce that the species is certainly very elusive and localized, though widely distributed in Turkey.
As with its close relatives, the larval development of this species is associated with various species of Acer. In fact, Acer undulatum has so far been indicated only from the Mount Babadag, and not from the other two localities where A. cebecii has been found. The specimens from Mt. Babadag have been exclusively reared from rather large branches of wood, while a few specimens from the Isparta province were collected on yellow flowers during the morning, and the rest was found resting in small groups under the bark of cut logs.
Etimology. Anthaxia (A.) cebecii sp. nov. is named in honour of our colleague H. Hüseyin Cebeci, an experienced professor of entomology in the Istambul University, who first discovered this new species, and whose help has been fundamental in the study of its biology.
description: Published as part of Baiocchi, Daniele & Magnani, Gianluca, 2018, A revision of the Anthaxia (Anthaxia) midas Kiesenwetter, 1857 species-group (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Anthaxiini), pp. 201-254 in Zootaxa 4370 (3) on pages 232-235, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4370.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1145577