Agrilus alajuelensis Hespenheide, 2012, new species
Creators: name: Hespenheide, Henry A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Buprestidae
Agrilus
Agrilus alajuelensis

description: Agrilus alajuelensis, new species
(Figs. 48, 49)
Description. Holotype female: Relatively slender, in cross-section flattened above, convex below, essentially flat from side, 5.90 mm long, 1.30 mm wide; front and anterior 3/4 of pronotum red, epistoma golden, antennomeres 1– 6 green, posterior 1/4 of pronotum, elytral humeri and lateral 1/3 of elytral margins bright greenish-blue, scutellum black; basal 1/7 of elytra golden green, rest of elytra dull golden, beneath and metathoracic legs legs black with more or less strong golden or golden-coppery reflections, pro- and mesothoracic legs with golden-greenish reflections; head, pronotum, elytral humeri and lateral 1/3 of elytral margins, and abdomen mostly glabrous; setae recumbent and inconspicuous on basal 1/7 of elytra, setae short and golden on rest of elytra, setae white and moderately dense on hypomeron, metasternum, epimeron, dorsal 1/2 of episterna, metacoxal plate, in spot at posterior end of dorsal portion of abdominal ventrite 1, and in spots on anterolateral portion of abdominal ventrite 3.
Head with front convex, with very faint depression along midline on lower 1/2 and small but deep oval transverse depression above epistorma, depression flanked on each side by large pore, surface weakly transversely rugose, shagreeened at middle, more strongly and finely longitudinally rugose above; epistoma 1/3 as wide as distance between inner margins of eyes, polished, raised, transversely carinate between middle of antennal insertions and above ventral margin, ventral margin weakly emarginate, eyes large, oval; antennae elongate, nearly reaching posterior angles of pronotum, serrate from antennomere 4, antennomeres 4–11 rounded-triangular.
Pronotum slightly narrower than elytra at posterior margin, with sides narrowly emarginate at base, then nearly parallel, narrowing slightly; when viewed from side marginal carina nearly straight and submarginal carina slightly undulate, narrowly separated for anterior 5/6; from above anterior margin produced as broadly rounded lobe; basal margin angulately emarginate at middle of each elytron, very shallowly emarginate before scutellum; anterior portion of disc very convex in cross section, with moderately deep transverse depression at basal 1/3, deeper anterior to scutellum and then at posterior angles and margins; prehumeral carinae very fine, parallel and close to margin for 1/2 length of pronotum; disc finely, concentrically rugose, somewhat shagreened at posterior angles. Scutellum strongly shagreened, pentagonal, broadly acuminate behind, with strong transverse carina.
Elytra broadest at humeri, lateral margins emarginate to middle, then narrowing to obliquely truncate apices, apices acutely angulate with 4–6 small teeth; each elytron with triangular-oval depression at base and short raised swollen area along suture posterior to basal depression, disc weakly costate for entire length, more strongly so for 1/3 anterior to middle, with additional stronger ridge posterior to humeri almost to middle; surface finely imbricate throughout.
Prosternum with sides of prosternal process nearly parallel between coxae, apex broadly rounded triangular; prosternal lobe weakly rounded. Metacoxal plate with posterior margin nearly straight, upper exterior angle rounded-obtuse. Abdomen with suture between ventrites 1 and 2 indicated at sides with strong depression, dorsal portion of ventrite 1 broader behind and visible from above, dorsal portions of ventrites 2–5 very narrow. All legs with femora with small acute teeth on ventral margin - profemora with 4–5 teeth, mesofemora with 5–6 stronger teeth, metafemora with 4 small teeth; metatarsomere 1 longer than 2–4 combined, tarsal claws similar on all tarsi, cleft with shorter blunt inner tooth.
Type material. Holotype: Costa Rica: Prov. Alajuela, P.N. Volcán Tenorio, Upala, Bijagua, Est.Heliconias, Send. Laguna Dantas, 1000m, Red de Golpe. L_N_298100_423760, 20 Oct 2000, A. López (INBC, INB 0003336271). Paratypes: Costa Rica: Ala[juela], 20 km S Upala, 1–9 May 1991, F.D. Parker (EMUS), Prov. Alaj[uela], Fca. San Gabriel 2 km suroeste Dos Rios, 600m, L-N-318800, 383500, May 1990, II Curso Parataxon (INBC, INBIOCRI 000286393).
Etymology. This species is named for the Costa Rican province in which all of the known specimens were collected.
Discussion. This species is similar to A. cavei, A. incredulus and A. basalis. Agrilus basalis and A. cavei lack the strong post-humeral elytral ridge of the other two species, lack a deep depression dorsal to the epistoma, and have less sharply angulate and dentate elytral apices. Additionally, A. cavei females have a golden-green front and conspicuous setae at the posterior angles of the pronotum. Agrilus alajuelensis differs from A. incredulus in having a glabrous front with a deep depression dorsal to the epistoma, less blue at the base of the pronotum (1/4 the length of the pronotum rather than 1/3), elytra black along the suture distal to scutellum, a stronger and finer post-humeral ridge, and more sharply angulate apices. This species is very similar in form to A. cizeki (Curletti 2005), which also shares the strong post-humeral elytral ridge, a small depression dorsal to the epistoma, and the sharply angulate and dentate elytral apices, but A. cizeki is very differently colored, with an entirely bluish-green pronotum with sparse setae in the posterior angles and elytra with bluish reflections and a complete, uniform investiture of short golden setae, in addition to other differences. Agrilus alajuelensis differs from A. nevermanni primarily in the pattern of setae on the elytra and ventral surface and the form of the post-humeral elytral ridge which is very fine in A. alajuelensis and broader in A. nevermanni, but they share the characters of the red front, a depression dorsal to the epistoma, and sharply angulate and dentate elytral apices. The two female paratypes of A. alajuelensis are 5.00 and 5.85 mm long.
description: Published as part of Hespenheide, Henry A., 2012, New Mexican and Central American species of Agrilus Curtis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) mimetic of flies, pp. 1-27 in Zootaxa 3181 on pages 21-22, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.279976