Agrilus punctatissimus Waterhouse

Hespenheide, Henry A., 2012, New Mexican and Central American species of Agrilus Curtis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) mimetic of flies, Zootaxa 3181, pp. 1-27 : 20

Agrilus punctatissimus Waterhouse

(Fig. 44)

Agrilus punctatissimus Waterhouse 1889:107 .

Redescription. Holotype female: Relatively slender, in cross-section flattened above, convex below, elytra weakly convex from side, 6.40 mm long, 1.60 mm wide; head and pronotum red, epistoma golden green, rest of body black except basal 1/5 of elytra with greenish-blue reflections, beneath with strong golden-coppery reflections; head and pronotum glabrous; elytra with long, recumbent and golden setae on costae, in sutural depressions, and on lateral margins on posterior 3/5 to apices; setae short white and sparse beneath on pro-, meso-, and metasternum; dorsal margin of metasternum and ventral 1/2 of metepisternum and abdomen glabrous except spots of setae on anterolateral portion of abdominal ventrite 3 and sides of abdominal ventrites 4–5.

Head with front convex from above, with very weak medial depression, stronger on lower 1/2 of front, surface rugose; epistoma 1/4 as wide as distance between inner margins of eyes, transversely carinate between middle of antennal insertions, ventral margin emarginate, eyes large, oval; antennae serrate from antennomere 4, antennomeres 4–11 triangular.

Pronotum slightly narrower than elytra at posterior margin, with sides widening somewhat at base then nearly straight; when viewed from side marginal carina nearly straight, submarginal carina weakly undulate, narrowly separated for anterior 5/6; from above anterior margin produced as narrowly rounded lobe; basal margin weakly angulately emarginate at middle of each elytron, straight before scutellum; anterior portion of disc with weak transverse depression before apex and stronger transverse depression at basal 1/3, deeper anterior to scutellum and broadening at margins to middle; prehumeral carinae indistinct, diverging slightly from marginal carina for 1/4 length of pronotum; disc rugose. Scutellum pentagonal, acute behind, with strong transverse carina.

Elytra broadest beyond middle, lateral margins weakly emarginate behind humeri, then narrowing to apices, apices narrowly rounded-angulate and finely denticulate; each elytron with obliquely triangular-oval depression at base and short raised area along suture posterior to basal depression, disc weakly costate for middle 1/2 of length anterior to middle with depressions between costae and suture; surface finely imbricate throughout.

Prosternum not observed. Metacoxal plate with posterior margin nearly straight, upper exterior angle subquadrate. Abdomen with suture between ventrites 1 and 2 obsolete except for slight depression at sides. Pro- and mesofemora with weakly denticulate ventral margin; tarsi missing.

Specimen examined. México: “ Cordova/ Mexico./Salle Coll.//672” (Holotype, BMNH).

Discussion. Although Waterhouse writes that “This species so closely resembles A. basalis that I separate it with hesitation,” it is quite distinct from A. basalis and other species in the group in having a completely red pronotum. It is known only from the unique type.