Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) mauritanica Bílý, 2016, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bílý, Svatopluk
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Buprestidae
Anthaxia
Anthaxia mauritanica

description: Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) mauritanica sp. nov.
(Figs. 1– 3)
Type locality: Mauritania, Tiguent.
Type specimens. Holotype (male, NMPC): “RIM [Islamic Republic of Mauritania]–Tiguent (Tr.) [Dept. Traza], PK [Point kilométrique] 137, 23.x.1987, on Acacia radiana, J. F. Vayssieres // RVA [récolté par Vayssieres] 4085 J. F. Vayssieres coll.”; allotype (female, NMPC): the same data except for RVA 4084; paratypes (2 males, 2 females, NMPC, VCMF): the same data (1 male, 1 female); “RIM–Kiffa-Guérou, PK 20, 13.x.1987, on Acacia flava, J. F. Vayssieres // RVA 4087 J. F. Vayssieres coll.” (1 male); the same data but RVA 4086 (1 female).
Diagnosis. Medium-sized (5.4–7.3 mm), rather convex, slightly acuminate posteriorly, entire dorsal surface of both sexes bronze to red-bronze (Figs. 1, 2); ventral surface bronze, lateral parts of ventrites with purple lustre in both sexes; pronotum bears traces of two, almost indistinct, dark, longitudinal spots; frons with rather long, white pubescence, lateral sides of pronotum and elytra with very short, white pubescence, ventral surface with white, recumbent pubescence which is significantly denser on lateral sides of ventrites; metepimera and laterosternites sometimes covered with white tomentum.
Description of the male holotype (Fig. 1). Head large, somewhat wider than anterior pronotal margin; anterior margin of frontoclypeus widely emarginate, frons almost flat with rather deep postclypeal depression and two indistinct elevations at central part; vertex 0.9 times as wide as width of eye; eyes large, reniform, slightly projecting beyond outline of head; sculpture of head consisting of small, dense, oval cells with indistinct central grains; antennae very short reaching anterior third of lateral pronotal margins when laid alongside; scape pyriform, 3 times as long as wide, pedicel suboval, 1.5 times as long as wide; third antennomere subcylindrical, slightly enlarged apically, twice as long as wide, antennomere 4 triangular, 1.3 times as long as wide; antennomeres 5–10 obtusely triangular to trapezoidal, 1.0–1.3 times as wide as long; terminal antennomere axe-shaped, slightly wider than long.
Pronotum convex at anterior half, flat at posterior half, 1.6 times as wide as long, with deep laterobasal depressions and shallow, transverse depression at midlength; lateral margins S-shaped, posterior angles slightly obtuse-angled, maximum pronotal width at anterior third; sculpture consisting of small, dense and fine polygonal (laterally) or transverse (medially) cells with small, almost indistinct central grains. Scutellum small, cordiform, flat, 1.2 times as wide as long.
Elytra wedge-shaped, 1.9 times as long as wide, almost regularly convex, each elytron narrowly, separately rounded apically, with rather deep lateral groove at posterior half; apical fourth of elytral margins finely serrate, humeral callosities small, not projecting beyond outline of elytra; basal transverse depression shallow, not reaching scutellum; elytral epipleura narrow, not reaching elytral apex; sculpture consisting of small, very fine, simple punctures.
Ventral surface lustrous, prosternum with very small, fine, eye-shaped sculpture, prosternal process flat; abdominal ventrites almost glabrous, with almost indistinct eye-shaped sculpture; anal ventrite flat, truncate and very slightly emarginate apically, lateral margins with fine, sharp serrations in posterior half. Legs relatively short, protibiae slightly curved, enlarged apically, mesotibiae straight, with strong, inner tooth apically; metatibiae flattened, rather conspicuously enlarged at posterior third, with strong, inner tooth apically and several small, inner teeth at posterior fourth (Fig. 1); tarsi much shorter than corresponding tibiae, tarsal claws yellow-brown, relatively long, hook-shaped, slightly enlarged at base.
Aedeagus (Fig. 3) strongly sclerotised (incl. apical, setiferous field), flattened, subparallel in basal half, narrowing apically in apical half; apical, setiferous part of parameres slightly enlarged; median lobe slender, strongly acuminate apically, with very narrowly truncate apex.
Measurement. Length: 5.4–7.3 mm (holotype 5.7 mm); width: 1.7–2.3 mm (holotype 1.9 mm).
Sexual dimorphism. The female (Fig. 2) differs from the male (Fig. 1) by the wider vertex (1.2–1.4 times as wide as width of eye), finely notched anal ventrite, and by the straight, untoothed meso- and metatibiae.
Variability. Two female paratypes (Tiguent and Kiffa) possess bright red-bronze colouration, allotype and one female paratype (Kiffa) possess very dense, tomentose fields on metepisterna and laterosternites.
Bionomy. All specimens were collected on different species of Acacia (Fabaceae) which are most probably also the host plants.
Etymology. The species epithet is derived from the country of the origin (Mauritania).
Differential diagnosis. Anthaxia (H.) mauritanica sp. nov. somewhat resembles in body-shape large specimens of the widely distributed, Sahelian species, A. (H.) pumila (Klug. 1829) but it differs from it significantly by the flat frons, narrower vertex, completely different pronotal sculpture (lustrous pronotum without distinct polygonal sculpture in A. (H.) pumila) and by the quite different male genitalia. It appears that A. (H.) mauritanica sp. nov. is close to the sympatric species A. (H.) antinoe Cobos, 1953 and A. (H.) cobosi Descarpentries & Mateu, 1965 differing from them significantly by the simply convex elytra (Figs. 1, 2). Elytra of A. (H.) antinoe and A. (H.) cobosi bear conspicuous, glabrous longitudinal elevations and also differ by the dark colouration of the metallic basal elytral surface. A. (H.) mauritanica sp. nov. differs from the both above mentioned species also in having a more convex and acuminate body, modified male metatibiae and by the truncate anal ventrite, straight, slightly flattened and posteriorly enlarged male metatibiae and narrowly rounded anal ventrite in A. (H.) antinoe and A. (H.) cobosi). Aedeagus of A. (H.) antinoe and A. (H.) cobosi is less robust and more slender, the median lobe is sharply pointed apically and the parameres are not enlarged apically.
Distribution. Mauritania.
Acknowledgements. I am very obliged to Jean-François Vayssieres (IITA) for giving me the opportunity to identify the specimens of the tribe Anthaxiini from the rich material obtained during his long-term project, and to Jakub Rolčík (Prague, Czech Republic) for the composing the colour plate. The study was partly possible due to the financial support of the Internal Grant Agency (IGA n. 20124364) Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague.
description: Published as part of Bílý, Svatopluk, 2016, A new species of the genus Anthaxia Eschscholtz, 1829 from Mauritania (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Anthaxiini), pp. 384-386 in Zootaxa 4072 (3) on pages 384-386, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4072.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/270705