Agrilaxia (Agrilaxia) elegans Bílý & Brûlé 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bílý, Svatopluk
name: Brûlé, Stéphane
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Buprestidae
Agrilaxia
Agrilaxia elegans

description: Agrilaxia (Agrilaxia) elegans sp. nov.   
(Figs 5, 31)  
 Type locality. French Guiana, Bélizon.   
 Type specimens. HOLOTYPE (NMPC,J): “ Guyane Fr. Piste de Bélizon, PK 15+17, ex larva, 20-vii-2006, J. Touroult leg.”. ALLOTYPE (NMPC, ♀): “ Guyane Fr., 28.vi.2006, Piste de Bélizon, Comm. de Régina, ex larva, P.-H. Dalens leg.”. PARATYPES: “Kaw PK 30, GF, 07.05-04, Eclos // Ex. coll. P. H. Dalens, Coll. S. Brûlé, No GF 0198” (1 J, NMPC); “ Guyane Fr., 28.vii.2010, Mont. de Chevaux, Com. de Roura, RN2 PK22, 75 m, 4°44′56′′N 52°26′28′′ W, P.-H. Dalens leg.” (1 ♀, NMPC); the same data (but 25.xi.2011) (1 ♀, NMPC).   
 Diagnosis. Rather large (6.3–7.8 mm), slightly prognathous, robust, wedge-shaped, lustrous (Fig. 5); elytra violet-green, basal part and narrow lateral, posthumeral stripe golden green; pronotum black or black with green lustre, lateral part golden-orange (male) or golden green (female), disc with narrow medial golden green stripe in female; frons and clypeus golden green (male) or green (female) with large, black central spot or frons completely black; vertex black; ventral surface very lustrous, golden green, abdominal laterotergites with orange lustre in male; legs and antennae black with green lustre; entire body asetose except for tibiae which bear inner (protibiae) or inner and outer (meso- and metatibiae) rows of stiff bristles.   
 Description of male holotype (Fig. 5). Head large, distinctly wider than anterior pronotal margin; clypeus trapezoidal, anterior margin truncate; frons deeply, widely depressed, narrowest part at anterior third; vertex flat, about as wide as width of eye; eyes large, suboval, distinctly projecting beyond outline of head, inner margins slightly S-shaped; sculpture of head consisting of small, oval or polygonal cells denser on vertex than on frons, with distinct central grains; antennae relatively short, scarcely reaching anterior third of pronotal margins when laid alongside; scape very long, slightly claviform, somewhat curved, 4 times as long as wide; pedicel suboval, 1.5 times as long as wide; third antennomere small, almost triangular, 1.3 times as long as wide; fourth antennomere triangular, as long as wide, antennomeres 5–10 trapezoidal, distinctly wider than long, terminal antennomere axe-shaped.   
Pronotum rather strongly convex, 1.3 times as wide as long, with deep prescutellar and lateroposterior depressions; anterior margin rather strongly biarcuate with large, wide, medial lobe, posterior margin very slightly biarcuate; lateral margins slightly S-shaped, emarginate in front of sharp posterior angles; maximum pronotal width at anterior fifth; basal tubercles on both sides of prescutellar pit large; “agriloid carina” at posterior angles obtuse, only slightly visible, reaching posterior third of pronotal length; pronotal sculpture consisting of small, rounded or polygonal cells without central grains on disc and larger, polygonal cells with microsculptured bottoms on lateral parts. Scutellum large, widely cordiform, 2.2 times as wide as long, microsculptured.  
Elytra strongly acuminate, wedge-shaped, 2.7 times as long as wide, convex, somewhat flattened along suture, with two very weak, almost indistinct traces of longitudinal carinae; subhumeral carina well defined, reaching almost elytral midlength; humeral swellings large, basal, transverse depression deep, wide, reaching scutellum; elytral margins emarginate at anterior third than regularly tapering towards separately rounded apices; apices slightly caudiform, very finely serrate; elytral epipleura very narrow, parallel-sided, reaching caudiform portion of elytra; sculpture consisting of very fine punctures which are transversely fused forming short, zig-zag rugae.  
Ventral surface lustrous, finely ocellate, anal ventrite roughly punctate, obtusely rounded, with sharp, lateral serrations; anal tergite rounded, sharply serrate. Legs moderately long, protibiae slightly curved, widened distally, bearing brush-like, inner row of dense, cream-white bristles; mesotibiae somewhat flattened, widened distally, with inner row of short, sparse bristles; metatibiae straight, slightly flattened with short, sparse bristles on inner margin and row of dense bristles on posterior half of outer margin; tarsi relatively short (all tarsi shorter than tibiae), tarsomeres 1–4 with adhesive pads. Tarsal claws short, hook-shaped, slightly enlarged at base.  
Aedeagus (Fig. 31) widely spindle-shaped, flat; setiferous, apical part of parameres strikingly narrowed; median lobe sharply pointed, without lateral serrations.  
 Sexual dimorphism. Only slightly expressed by slightly different colouration (see “Diagnosis”), wider vertex and less projecting eyes in female (vertex 1.2 times wider than width of eye).   
 Measurements. Length: 6.3–7.8 mm (holotype 7.8 mm); width: 1.5–1.9 mm (holotype 1.9 mm).   
 Variability. Two female paratypes possess darker, almost black elytra with slight metallic tinge, male paratype possesses almost entirely black frons (only clypeus and postclypeal part bright golden green); pronotum 1.2–1.3 times as wide as long, elytra 2.7–2.9 times as long as wide.   
 Differential diagnosis. Agrilaxia elegans sp. nov. belongs to the A. bivittata species-group resembling by its body-shape smaller and darker specimens of A. claudei (Fig. 3) from which it differs except for the size (the size of A. claudei ranged between 7.6–8.2 mm) by the deeply grooved frons, more convex pronotum with maximum width at anterior two fifth (at midlength in A. claudei), more acuminate elytra and strikingly by the colouration (compare Figs 3 and 5). Unfortunately the male of A. claudei remains unknown.   
 Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin adjective elegans (elegant) since Agrilaxia elegans sp. nov. is one of the most beautiful species of the genus.   
 Distribution. French Guiana.
description: Published as part of Bílý, Svatopluk & Brûlé, Stéphane, 2013, A study on the genus Agrilaxia of French Guiana (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Anthaxiini), pp. 657-686 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 53 (2) on pages 673-675, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5740762