Agrilus (Nigritius) scottoi, Curletti & Dutto, 2017

Curletti, Gianfranco & Dutto, Angelo, 2017, Agrilus (Nigritius) scottoi n. sp. from Cameroun (Coleoptera, Buprestidae), Zootaxa 4341 (3), pp. 423-424 : 423

Agrilus (Nigritius) scottoi n. sp. ( Fig. 1a, 1b, 1c )

Material examined. Holotype ♂: Cameroun, Centre prov., I.1992 ( Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Carmagnola ).

Holotype description. Length 10.3 mm. Colour black dorsally, with yellow spots on pronotum, elytra and lateroterga. Head with frons dark green, glabrous. Clypeus with thin transverse carina at the base. Antennae serrate from 4th antennomere. Eyes large, therefore with reduced cheeks. Pronotum depressed at the sides: the depressions covered by yellow pubescence. Posterior angles acute. Premarginal carina entire. Marginal carinae joined before the base. Prosternal lobe with anterior margin slightly sinuate. Prosternal process straight, parallel sided. Scutellum transversely carinate. Elytra with apex ending in a long and robust spine. Disc with 3 pairs of yellow pubescent spots, respectively on the base, at basal ⅓ and at apical ⅔. Lateroterga with spots of similar pubescence. Underside with gold reflections. Two small tubercles in the median part of the basal ventrite, as in the male of the Palearctic species A. angustulus ( Illiger, 1803) . Small and scarcely visible spots of pubescence at the base of the ventrites. Metepisternum covered with yellow pubescence. Apex of the last visible ventrite rounded. Apex of the last visible tergite whith an elongated and pointed process. Legs metallic gold. All claws bifid, but with the internal tooth shorter. Metatarsus longer than metatibia. Tarsal formulae: 1>2+3+4; 2>3+4. Aedeagus strongly sclerotized, parallel, slender, thin, with apex of median lobe acute (fig. 1c).

Etymology. This species in named after the ambassador Luigi Scotto for the support provided during the author’s researches in Africa.

Remarks. The label of Agrilus scottoi n. sp. has little data and the species is very similar to some taxa occurring in the Oriental Region, and for this reason, for several years, we did not describe it, however, after further study, we have decided to describe it.

Agrilus scottoi n. sp. has a mixture of characters seen in the subgenera Nigritius Curletti, 1998 , and Pantherina Curletti, 1998 . The elytral apices, ending with a strong spine, and the conformation of the metatarsus are typical of the subgenus Pantherina , but the presence of an elongated pointed process at the apex of last visible tergite, places this species without a doubt in the subgenus Nigritius Curletti, 1998 .

Within the subgenus Nigritius , several species have ochraceous pubescent spots on the elytra, but the majority have 4 pairs of spots and the elytral apices lack strong spines: among these, the most similar in body form are A. jedlickai Obenberger, 1931 and A. patricius Obenberger 1931 . Only one species has both apical elytral spines and three pairs of elytral spots: A. overlaeti Burgeon, 1941 from the Congo, but this differs in having large spots on the ventrites and a large yellow pubescent spot on the frons. Among the species of subgenus Pantherina , the most similar one is A. portonovencis Kerremans, 1903, widely distributed in Western Africa, differing only in the absence of the apical spines and ventrites with pubescent spots. Another species, A. woodi Obenberger, 1935 from Malawi and Tanzania, although having the apical spines, has 6 pairs of white pubescent elytral spots.

Figures

FIGURES 1. Agrilus scottoi n. sp., holotype. a) dorsal view, b) profile, c) aedeagus 3.4 mm.