Ankareus bilyi, Levey, Brian, 2016

Levey, Brian, 2016, Two new species of Ankareus Kerremans (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Haplostethinae) from southern Africa, Zootaxa 4147 (5), pp. 575-582 : 578-581

Ankareus bilyi sp. nov.

( Figs 7, 9 , 14 )

Type material. Holotype Ƌ ( NMPC): “ Zambia, Southern Province, 30km SE Choma , 27- 28.12.2002, A. Kudrna Jr. Lgt. ”.

Description. Length 3.51 mm. Width at widest point of pronotum 1.40 mm. Colour: Entirely black with a slight greenish bronze reflection.

Head: Eyes strongly convex; gena strongly depressed below eyes for reception of basal segment of antenna; antennal insertions not bordered internally by a strongly developed carina; vertex convex with a deep round depression at centre; punctation weak, not very dense, the punctures rather large; fronto-clypeus strongly depressed relative to vertex. Antenna short, not reaching beyond mid-length of pronotum when laid alongside; scape about twice as long as wide, club shaped; pedicel ovate, much wider at base than apex, not asymmetrical; antennomere 3 slightly longer than pedicel, club shaped, wider at apex than base of antennomere 4; antennomere 4 slightly longer than antennomere 3; antennomeres 5–10 about as long as antennomere 3, triangularly expanded, petiolate at base; antennomere 11 elongate, slightly longer than antennomere 10; antennomeres 4–11 clothed with rather long setae.

Pronotum ( Fig. 9 ): About 1.65 times as wide as long; widest at mid-length, weakly narrowing to basal angles, more strongly narrowing to apical angles; anterior and posterior margins almost straight, the basal margin with a broad, well-defined impunctate subelytral band; moderately densely punctured with small strong punctures, the punctures enclosed by a fine matrix of round to polygonal cells over the entire surface; moderately densely clothed with fairly long pale brown adpressed setae; lateral margins with the prelateral (supralateral) carina extending from the basal angle almost to the apical angle, visible for its full length from above, almost parallel to the lower marginal carina except close to basal angle.

Scutellar shield (scutellum): Shield-shaped, about as long as wide.

Elytra: About 2.0× as long as wide together; lateral margins almost parallel in basal two-thirds, before curvilinearly narrowing to the broad subtruncate apices; humeral callosities slightly elevated, impunctate; base depressed between humeral callosities and scutellum, with a strongly developed basal costa; moderately densely punctured with small strong punctures and transverse rugose sculpture; densely clothed with fairly long adpressed pale brown setae; epipleuron broad in basal half, strongly narrowing at level of hind coxa, then continuing at the same width to sutural angles.

Prosternum: Without a groove for the reception of the antennae; prosternal process fairly broad, without any indication of a longitudinal ridge on each side of the mid-line; sculpture of pronotal hypomeron and prosternum composed of round cells with accompanying punctures like that of pronotum; cavity for reception of prosternal process formed by the mesoventrite laterally and narrowly by the metaventrite posteriorly.

Legs: Not particularly long and slender; femora slightly fusiform; tibia straight, slightly curved outwards at the apex; tarsi about two-thirds length of tibia; tarsomere 1 slightly shorter than segments 2 and 3 together; 2 slightly longer than 3; 4 slightly longer than 2, strongly lobed; 5 elongate, as long as 2 and 4 together; claws slightly curved and slightly toothed and broadened at base.

Abdominal ventrites: Clothed with moderately dense, fairly long, conspicuous pale brown setae, moderately densely punctate with small fine punctures, those on ventrites 1 and 2 composed of round cells with accompanying punctures like that of pronotum; apical ventrite broadly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 14 ): short and broad, median lobe strongly enlarged at apex with a large acute tooth on each side.

Diagnosis. The aedeagus of this species is very different from that of the seven species from Arabia and Africa mentioned above and A. bellamyi . ( Figs. 11–19 ). From the original descriptions and specimens I have seen of the species described from Arabia and Africa, only A. tsavoensis has imbricate or round to polygonal pronotal sculpture similar to that of A. bilyi . Many species of Australian Helferella Cobos, 1957 have a similar pronotal sculpture (see Williams & Weir 1987, 1988). I have examined the female holotype of A. tsavoensis which has imbricate pronotal microsculpture at the centre with the sculpture laterally forming incipient polygonal cells ( Fig. 10 ). It differs from A. bilyi as shown in Table 1.

Etymology. This species is named after my friend and colleague Svata Bílý for his help over the years in the loan of specimens and identifications.

TABLE 1.

Other material examined.

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 10. 7. Dorsal habitus of A. bilyi, holotype; 8. Dorsal habitus of A. tsavoensis Bellamy, holotype; 9. Pronotum of A. bilyi, holotype; 10. Pronotum of A. tsavoensis Bellamy, holotype. (Scale bars = 1 mm).

FIGURES 11 – 19. Aedeagus (Figures 15 – 19 after the original species description publications). 11. A. natalensis Bellamy, Port St. John; 12. A. relictus (Bílý), Thanomah; 13. A. bellamyi, holotype; 14. A. bilyi, holotype; 15. A. transvaalensis Bellamy; 16. A. capensis Bellamy; 17. A. kenyensis Bellamy; 18. A. somalicus Bellamy; 19. A. luciphilus Bílý. (All figures at approximately same scale. Scale bar = 0.5 mm).