Buprestis (Akiyamaia) gengmini Qi & Song 2024, new species
Creators: name: Qi, Zhi-Hao
name: Su, Rong-Xiang
name: Liao, Zhi-Yu
name: Ai, Hong-Mu
name: Ding, Bi
name: Song, Hai-Tian
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Buprestidae
Buprestis
Buprestis gengmini

description: Buprestis (Akiyamaia) gengmini Qi & Song, new species
(Chinese common name: Ḇ民吉丁)
Figs. 1A–C; 2A–J; 5A–B; 8A–B
Type locality. China, Yunnan Province, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Weixi Lisu Autonomous County, Zhonglu Township, Shuibaluo.
Type material. Holotype: ♀ (FAF), CHINA, Yunnan Province, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Weixi Lisu Autonomous County, [dzđ傈僳áh治县], Zhonglu Township [中ä乡], Shuibaluo [水把洛], 27°14'44.2''N, 99°3'3.2''E, alt. 2260 m, 30.V.2022, Lin-Qiang Feng leg.
Description of the holotype. ♀ (Fig. 1A–C), body length 25.0 mm. Length of particular body parts: head (2.5 mm), pronotum (4.3 mm), elytra (18.1 mm); width: head (4.5 mm), pronotum (7.3 mm), elytra (8.7 mm).
Habitus (Fig. 1A–C). Dorsal surface of the body (Fig. 1A) tricoloured (mostly metallic red while head and pronotum somewhat metallic purple, and two metallic blue stripes on the elytra) with lustrous, head and pronotum moderately setose, elytra glabrous. Ventral surface of the body (Fig. 1C) metallic blue to metallic purple with lustre, covered with long white pubescence, pubescence on metacoxal plates, both sides of abdomen and all femora markedly denser and longer than on other areas. All femora and tibiae metallic purple with a hint of bronze; tarsi metallic blue to purple and black; all femora, tibiae and tarsi densely covered with white setae.
Head (Fig. 5A) transverse, about 0.6 times as wide as pronotum, not wider than anterior pronotal margin; vertex reticulately punctate with a narrow longitudinal median groove extending to frons; frons nearly 2.4 times as wide as eye, reticulately punctate, and with long white setae apically; clypeal suture indistinct; clypeus transverse with an arcuate anterior margin; anteclypeus yellowish-brown, exposed and glabrous; labrum subrectangular, transverse, covered with a few puncture and white setae near anterior margin; labium with a nearly flat anterior margin; mentum with an arcuate anterior margin; eye nearly 1/4 times as wide as head in dorsal view and nearly 1/7 times as wide as head in ventral view; maxillary palpus metallic blue to metallic purple. Antenna (Fig. 2A–F) nearly as long as the combined head and pronotum; scape longest, pear-shaped, 2.8 times as long as wide; pedicel ovoid, 1.4 times as long as wide; 3 rd antennomere weakly triangular, bilaterally flattened, distinctly protruding at inner apex and 2.8 times as long as wide; antennomeres 4–10 subtriangular, bilaterally flattened, similarly shaped and longer than wide; terminal antennomere (Fig. 2C–D) somewhat ovoid, notched triangularly at tip and 2.2 times as long as wide; antennomeres 4–11 with apical organs and lateral organs formed by fossae and fields of sensilla; apical organs (Fig. 2B) large, restricted to apical portion of ventral side of antennomeres 4–11; lateral organs (Fig. 2A–B) visible on dorsal and ventral sides of antennomeres 4–11, the ventral portions always larger than dorsal portions.
Pronotum (Fig. 5A) transverse, moderately convex, about 1.6 times as wide as long and widest near basal 1/3; anterior margin about 0.7 times as wide as posterior margin, slightly bisinuate, and weekly convex at middle; posterior margin bisinuate forming transverse arcuate elevation with smooth surface (relief) and interrupted at middle; posterior angles obtuse; lateral margins widely curved; an irregular longitudinal costa feebly marked along midline; lateral depressions shallow not obvious; punctures on pronotum denser and more irregular than on head, sparser on disc, denser on lateral side, and sparsely bearing longer white setae near anterior and lateral margins.
Scutellum (Fig. 5A) small, flat, obtusely pentagonal, without punctures, slightly wider than long; mostly metallic purple with a hint of metallic green.
Elytra (Fig. 1A) 4.6 times as long as pronotum, about 2.1 times as long as wide, widest at middle, with lateral margins parallel for more than half the length; humeral angles rounded; each elytron with six elevated costae, among them five usually presented in the same positions in most other species of the subgenus Akiyamaia (except B. (A.) intercostata Huang & Pan, 2015), and one short and inconspicuous additional costa (the blue circle in Fig. 5B) between the 5 th costa and lateral margin near apical 1/3; all costae abruptly elevated and sparsely covered with very fine punctures; all intervals between suture, costae and lateral margins irregular granulate and glabrous. Elytra mostly metallic red with two metallic blue stripes extending from nearly the base to the apices, most parts of the stripes between 3 rd costa and 4 th costa, widest near apical 1/3, and the part from here to the apices between near end of 2 nd costa and 5 th costa.
Legs (Fig. 1A, C). Protibia abruptly dilated externally near apex and flattened there, with outer apex triangular and rounded, with two spurs and a setal tuft at apex of internal margin, and without hook or emargination at internal margin. Mesotibia gradually and slightly widened at apex, with outer apex rectangular and with two spurs at apex of internal margin. Metatibia hardly widened at apex, with outer apex rectangular and with two spurs at apex of internal margin.
Hindwing (Fig. 2G) dark at apical half. Terminology of venation follows that of Kukalová-Peck & Lawrence (1993). The vein MP 3+4 with an obvious trace of root directed toward base of wing, form a branch and the lower one longer than the upper one; vein MP 3a attached to vein MP 3b.
Ventral side (Fig. 1C). Prosternum slightly convex, declivous from the lateral margins to midline, punctures on the anterior and lateral parts larger and denser, on the prosternal process smaller and sparser; anterior margin slightly curved; anterior angles weakly produced and obtuse; prosternal process (Fig. 2H) V-shaped, apex rounded. Metasternum with a complete longitudinal groove along midline and with an inconspicuous arcuate transverse groove, and a pair of deep depressions on the transverse groove. First ventrite with rather flat surface between metacoxae; apical margin of last visible ventrite (Fig. 2I) rounded.
Female genitalia. Ovipositor of the holotype illustrated on Fig. 2J.
Differential diagnosis. The new species is close to Buprestis (Akiyamaia) lebisi Descarpentries, 1956, but can be clearly distinguished by the following combination of characters: 1) terminal antennomere with an obvious triangular notch at tip (Fig. 2C–D), rather than without an obvious triangular notch at tip (Fig. 2M–N); 2) elytra mostly metallic red with a pair of metallic blue stripes (Fig. 1A), rather than mostly metallic green with a pair of brownish red stripes (Fig. 1D, H); 3) each elytron with a short and inconspicuous additional costa (the blue circle in Fig. 5B) between the 5 th costa and lateral margin near apical 1/3, rather than without an additional costa (the red circle in Fig. 5D); 4) vein MP 3+4 of hindwing with an obvious root directed toward base of wing, forming a branch and the lower tip longer than the upper one (Fig. 2G), rather than vein MP 3+4 extending a little toward base of wing to form a branch, and the lower one shorter than the upper one (Fig. 2Q); 5) the difference between the new species and B. (A.) mirabilis ovipositors are shown in Fig. 2J, T.
Etymology. The species is named in memory of Mr. Geng-Min Song (ṪḆ民, Fuzhou, Fujian, China), the father of the corresponding author, who recognized the corresponding author’s interest in insects and accompanied him in collecting and learning. The name “Geng-Min” in Chinese means “loyal to the people”, and the magical red color of the species fits well with this symbolism.
Distribution. China (Yunnan).
description: Published as part of Qi, Zhi-Hao, Su, Rong-Xiang, Liao, Zhi-Yu, Ai, Hong-Mu, Ding, Bi & Song, Hai-Tian, 2024, Revision of the rare Buprestis subgenus Akiyamaia Kurosawa, 1988 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Buprestinae), with description of two new species, pp. 301-316 in Zootaxa 5410 (3) on pages 302-303, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5410.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10664443