Agrilozodes bellamyi, Portela, Clayton & Mermudes, José Ricardo M., 2013

Portela, Clayton & Mermudes, José Ricardo M., 2013, A new species of Agrilozodes Théry, 1927, new record for A. pygmaeus (Kerremans, 1897) and a key for the genus (Coleoptera, Buprestidae), Zootaxa 3637 (2), pp. 183-189 : 184-187

Agrilozodes bellamyi sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–4 , 8 )

Description. Holotype Male ( Figs. 1 , 8 ). Length, 11.4 mm, width at humeri, 3.5 mm; subcylindrical and elongated; narrowing posteriorly. Main colour of dorsal, and ventral surfaces and legs iridescent black, with golden reflection; elytra with red latero-longitudinal vitta extending from humeral depressions to the mid length, neither reaching the anterior margin nor the elytral suture; transverse vitta on the apical third, of the same colour, becoming progressively narrower from the epipleural margin to, but not reaching, the suture; head, pronotum and ventral surface with irregular fine punctures, each puncture bearing a seta; setae short and erect on dorsal surface, and long on ventral surface. Head and anterior part of prothorax with punctures moderately dense, sparser on posterior part; elytra with punctures moderately large on striae, rarely with setae; meso, metaventrites and legs sparsely punctate. Head ( Fig. 2 ) with moderate longitudinal elevation between the eyes, slightly impressed towards the vertex; inner margins of eyes converging ventrally. Antennal insertions large, with dorsal margin raised, moderately convex medially, unpunctured. Frontoclypeus emarginate; genae weakly rounded. Labrum convex, emarginate at apex. Antennae ( Fig. 3 ) short, 9th antennomere reaching the anterior margin of pronotum when laid along side; antennomere 1 widening from the base towards the apex, twice as wide as antennomere 2; 2 enlarged towards the apex; 3 subequal to 2; 4–10 serrate, decreasing in length; 11 securiform; 4–11 with long setae on dorsal surface and short setae on ventral surface; antennomeres (4–10) with posterolateral sensory fields.

Pronotum ( Fig. 4 ), 1.4 x wider than long, at posteriolateral angles; anterior margin slightly convex at middle; posterior margin sinuate; posterolateral angles acute and oblique; lateral margins converging from posterior angles towards anterior margin; anterior half of disc convex. Scutellum cordiform, without punctures, wider than long. Prosternum with anterior margin concave, disc with punctures sparser than those of pronotum; mesepisternum excavated; metacoxal plate transversely impressed.

Elytral base slightly narrower than posterior margin of pronotum, wider at base than apex, 3.4 x longer than prothorax; humeri moderately elevated, with a shallow humeral depression; disc transversely convex; interstriae 2 and 4 progressively elevated in posterior two thirds, finishing abruptly before apical margin; lateral margin sinuate at medial third; epipleura elevated; disc separated from epipleura by a carina, which disappears progressively towards humeral angles; apical margin arcuate, with spines at inner and outer angles.

Abdomen with ventrite 1 almost twice as long as 2–4; 5 with apical margin bilobed.

Legs with femora fusiform; tibiae with pair of distal black brownish spines; tarsomere 1–4 rounded, with wide pulvillae; 1 longer than 2–4, which are progressively longer; 5 clavate, with separate claws.

Type material. Holotype male: BRAZIL, Paraíba: Juazeirinho (Soledade), 9–11.XI.1957; F. Assis Silva leg., ex Coleção Campos Seabra (MNRJ).

Since 25th of July, 1957, Juazeirinho was designated a city of Paraíba State ( Brazil), as it remains today.

Etymology. The specific name is in honour of Dr. Charles L. Bellamy , who very kindly helped us and encouraged us in the study of Buprestidae of Brazil.

Remarks. Each species has a distinctive pronotal shape and colour pattern ( Figs. 4–13 ). A. bellamyi ( Figs. 1–4 , 8 ) resembles A. ocularis ( Figs. 5 , 9 ), A. suarezi ( Figs. 7 , 11 ) and A. praeclarus ( Fig. 13 ) in the two black transverse vittae of the apical half of the elytra. However, A. bellamyi differs from A. praeclarus by the convex frons and pronotum lacking a longitudinal groove. In A. praeclarus the frons is strongly depressed and the pronotum has a longitudinal median groove, which extends from the anterior margin without reaching the middle. A. bellamyi has pronotum with anterior margin slightly sinuate, with punctures moderately fine, very sparse; in A. pygmaeus ( Figs. 6 , 10 ) the anterior margin is strongly sinuate with prominent subrectangular projection. Furthermore, A. bellamyi is larger than A. pygmaeus with the space between the punctures less than the diameter of each puncture; by contrast, A. pygmaeus has the pronotum with weak and sparse punctures; the space between the punctures at least, 3 to 4 x the diameter of a puncture. A. bellamyi . differs from A. ocularis and A. suarezi by the colour pattern of the elytra and pronotum; A. bellamyi has a broad black vitta on elytral suture and the pronotum entirely black, like A. praeclarus , A. pygmaeus and A. valverdei ( Fig. 12 ), while A. ocularis and A. suarezi have the black vitta of the elytral suture progressively narrowed, and the pronotum has the lateral margins red. A. bellamyi also has the posterior angles pointed and oblique, and a moderate elevation between the eyes, while A. ocularis and A. suarezi have moderate depression between the eyes. A. bellamyi differs from A. valverdei by the size ( A. bellamy is larger) and shape of the pronotum; A. bellamyi has the pronotum widest behind the middle ( Figs. 4 ), while A. valverdei has the opposite; A. valverdei , also differs from A. bellamyi by the two parallel black vittae at the middle of elytra.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. 1 – 3. Agrilozodes bellamyi Portela & Mermudes sp. nov., holotype male: 1, dorsal view (scale bar: 1 mm); 2, frontal view of head (scale bar: 0,5 mm); 3, ventral view of antennae (scale bar: 0,25 mm). 4 – 7. Pronotum: 4, Agrilozodes bellamyi Portela & Mermudes sp. nov., holotype male; 5, A. ocularis (Kerremans, 1903); 6, A. pygmaeus (Kerremans, 1897); 7, A. suarezi (Cobos, 1962). Scale bar: 2 mm.

FIGURES 8 – 13. Habitus: 8, Agrilozodes bellamyi Portela & Mermudes sp. nov., holotype male; 9, A. ocularis (Kerremans, 1903); 10, A. pygmaeus (Kerremans, 1897); 11, A. suarezi (Cobos, 1962); 12, A. valverdei (Cobos, 1962); 13, A. praeclarus (Perroud, 1853). Scale bar: 2 mm. (Photo 12, by Mercedes P. García, MNCN).