Philanthaxia lombokana, Bily, Svatopluk & Nakladal, Oto, 2011

Bily, Svatopluk & Nakladal, Oto, 2011, Four new species of the genus Philanthaxia Deyrolle, 1864 from Southeast Asia and comments on P. iris Obenberger, 1938 (Coleoptera, Buprestidae, Thomassetiini), ZooKeys 116, pp. 25-36 : 32-33

Philanthaxia lombokana sp. n. Figs 4, 510

Diagnosis.

Rather large (6.7-10.1 mm), robust, strongly convex with silky lustre; dorsal surface of male (Fig. 4) bronze with feeble purple lustre; elytra with slightly developed mirror effect at posterior half; frons golden-green, vertex bronze; dorsal surface of female (Fig. 5) purple-bronze, lateral portion of elytra dark blue-violet; scutellum golden green, narrow postscutellar, sutural stripe golden; antennae and legs black with weak bronze lustre in both sexes; ventral surface black with brass tinge; dorsal surface asetose; ventral surface with sparse, fine, recumbent, white pubescence; prosternal process with rather dense, erect, grey pubescence; distal portion of metacoxae and lateral portions of abdominal ventrites with patches of white tomentum.

Description of the holotype.

Head large, distinctly wider than anterior pronotal margin; frontoclypeus widely, shallowly emarginate; frons flat with shallow, rounded, medial impression; vertex flat, 5 times as wide as width of eye; eyes relatively small, elliptical, rather strongly projecting beyond outline of head; antennae slender, reaching posterior third of lateral pronotal margins when laid alongside; scape very slender, slightly curved, 6 times as long as wide; pedicel small, ovoid, 1.8 times as long as wide; third antennomere small, slightly claviform, 1.6 times as long as wide; antennomeres 4-10 obtusely triangular, 1.2-1.8 times as long as wide; terminal antennomere rhomboid, 1.8 times as long as wide; sculpture consisting of small, very dense, oval or rounded cells without central grains which are larger and more prolonged in frontal impression, smaller and rounded on remainder of head.

Pronotum strongly convex, nearly bell-shaped, 1.9 times as wide as long; lateroposterior depressions nearly indistinct; anterior margin shallowly biarcuate, posterior margin nearly straight; lateral margins straight, tapering anteriorly at anterior half, regularly arched at posterior half; posterior angles nearly rectangular; maximum pronotal width at base; sculpture consisting of small, dense, rounded cells without central grains on anterior half; prescutellar portion with rather rough, long, transverse rugae, posterior angles with short, transverse rugae. Scutellum widely pentagonal, slightly impressed medially, 2.5 times as wide as long.

Elytra regularly, strongly convex, 1.8 times as long as wide with maximum width at posterior third, slightly caudiform; humeral swellings well-developed; basal, transverse depression short, wide, not reaching scutellum; elytral epipleura narrow, reaching posterior third of elytral length; posterior third of elytral margins weakly serrate; each elytron with eight fine striae; interstices with fine, short, transverse rugae at posterior half; basal half of elytra with rough, deep, transverse rugae.

Ventral surface rather lustrous, finely ocellate, prosternum roughly ocellate; prosternal process very weakly convex, obtusely pointed apically, not enlarged posteriad procoxae; anal ventrite apically obtusely rounded, without lateral serration. Legs relatively long, slender; meso- and metatibiae finely bent outwards at posterior half. Claws slender, hook-shaped, slightly enlarged at base.

Aedeagus (Fig. 10) short, flat, nearly spatulate, parameres subparallel at basal half, slightly enlarged and regularly rounded towards apex at posterior half; median lobe simply pointed apically.

Sexual dimorphism. Except for the colouration (see above) female differs from male only by more robust and larger body.

Variability. Pronotum 1.9-2.1 times as wide as long; elytra 1.7-1.9 times as long as wide. No variability in colouration was observed in males; several female paratypes possesses darker lateral portion of elytra (nearly black with slight metallic tinge) and darkened medial portion of pronotum (black with intensive blue-green tinge).

Measurements. Length 6.7-10.1 mm (holotype 8.0 mm); width: 2.6-4.0 mm (holotype 3.0 mm).

Type specimens.

Holotype (male, NMPC): "Indonesia, Lesser Sundas, Lombok Isl., xi.2008, S slopes of Mt. Rinjani, 800 m, local collectors"; paratypes (19 males, 23 females, NMPC, SJCP): the same data.

Type locality.

Indonesia, Lesser Sundas, Lombok Isl., S slopes of Mt. Rinjani, 800 m.

Etymology.

This species is named after the locality of the type specimens, Lombok Island.

Distribution.

Indonesia, Lombok Island

Differential diagnosis.

Philanthaxia lombokana sp. n. belongs to the group of species with simple tarsal claws, wide depressed frons and wide scutellum. It is the third species distributed eastwards of the Wallace Line. This species is very similar to Philanthaxia iris Obenberger, 1938 (see below) from Java from which it differs by the different colouration, less lustrous body, more flattened frons which is only slightly medially impressed and by the different male genitalia (Figs 10 vs. 11).