Anthaxia (Merocratus) miranda Deyrolle, 1864

Bílý, Svatopluk & Plachetka, Mikuláš, 2019, A study on the genus Anthaxia (Merocratus) Bílý 1989 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Anthaxiini), Zootaxa 4701 (1), pp. 82-90 : 82-90

Anthaxia (Merocratus) miranda Deyrolle, 1864

( Figs. 2, 3 , 11 )

Anthaxia miranda Deyrolle, 1864: 74 .

Type locality: Singapore .

Anthaxia miranda: Gemminger & Harold, 1869: 1389 (catalogue); Saunders, 1871: 56 (catalogue); Kerremans, 1892: 124 (catalogue); 1903: 176 (taxonomy); Obenberger, 1917: 176 (monograph); 1930: 547 (catalogue).

Anthaxia (Merocratus) miranda: Bílý, 1989: 385 (taxonomy); 1997: 29, 93 (catalogue); 1998: 154 (revision); Bellamy, 2003: 135 (taxonomy); 2008: 1429 (catalogue).

Described for the single female from Singapore. More females were collected recently in West Malaysia: Johor, 15 km NW Kota Tinggi, Muntahak Mt, 1°49‘N 103°48‘E, 200 m, 13.–14.v.2001, M. Říha leg. (9 females). Finally both sexes were collected in Indonesia: SW Kalimantan, Singkawang region, Mt. Bawang, Madi village, 1000–1500 m, i.2018, local collector (6 males, 3 females - some in copula).

Surprisingly strong sexual dimorphism was found: the male is much smaller (4.8–5.5 mm), frons dark golden green, vertex black, pronotum black with bright orange posterior angles and short, green, prescutellar line; elytra black-violet, with short, elongate, golden, scutellar triangle and weakly visible, green, lateral, semicircular line ( Fig. 2 ); aedeagus ( Fig. 11 ) rather short, angulately spindle-shaped, parameres with small, preapical spine. The female is much larger and stouter (7.0– 7.9 mm), frons green, pronotum green or blue-green with two, more or less triangular, black spots, elytra violet or dark violet, with green base and prolonged scutellar strip and with easily seen, green, lateral, semicircular lines ( Fig. 3 ). Ventral surface of the male bronze-violet, with golden green metepimera, lateral parts of metacoxae and femora; ventral surface of the female entirely golden green, abdominal ventrites with weak bronze lustre.

Distribution. Indonesia (Kalimantan) (new country record), Malaysia (Johor) (new country record), Singapore.

Figures

FIGURES 1–9. Subgen. Merocratus (dorsal view). 1—Anthaxia (M.) jakli Bílý, 1996, holotype, 6.2 mm; 2—A. (M.) miranda Deyrolle, 1864, male (Kalimantan), 5.1 mm; 3—A. (M.) miranda, female (Johor), 7.0 mm; 4—A. (M.) angustata Bílý, sp. nov., holotype, 5.4 mm; 5—A. (M.) priska Bílý, sp. nov., holotype, 4.0 mm; 6—A. (M.) priska Bílý, sp. nov., allotype, 4.6 mm; 7—A. (M.) violaceidorsis Bílý, sp. nov., holotype, 5.0 mm; 8—A. (M.) lucifera Plachetka, sp. nov., holotype, 7.0 mm; 9—A. (M.) lucifera Plachetka, sp. nov., allotype, 7.3 mm.

FIGURES 10–15. Subgen. Merocratus (aedeagi, schematically, not in scale). 10—Anthaxia (M.) jakli Bílý, 1996, holotype; 11—A. (M.) miranda Deyrolle, 1864 (Kalimantan); 12—A. (M.) angustata sp. nov., Bílý, holotype; 13—A. (M.) priska Bílý, sp. nov., holotype; 14—A. (M.) violaceidorsis Bílý, sp. nov., holotype; 15—A. (M.) lucifera Plachetka, sp. nov., holotype.