Acmaeodera bertrami, Levey, Brian, 2009

Levey, Brian, 2009, An interesting new species of Acmaeodera (s. str.) Eschscholtz 1829 from the Afrotropical Region (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Zootaxa 2155, pp. 23-27 : 24-27

Acmaeodera bertrami n. sp.

( Figs. 1–7 )

Specimens examined. Holotype ɗ (BMNH): TANZANIA, Mkomazi G.R., Ibaya Camp, J.G. Davies/ burnt hillside, pitfall traps, 3/ 4.iv.1995 / 90/1998-69, J. Davies, BMNH(E); 6 paratypes: 4ΨΨ, same data as holotype but with additional information for 1Ψ as follows: burnt hillside, pitfall traps, 22.i.1996 /203/263/; 1Ψ, burnt grassland, pitfall traps, 6/ 7.iv.1995 /105/263/; 2ΨΨ unburnt grassland, pitfall traps, 18.i.1996 / 218/ and 221. i.1996 /222/ (BMNH, NMCW). 2ΨΨ, Tanzania, Iringa D., Ruaha N.P., Msembe, 22.v.1973, Bjørnstad 41650 and v.1974, Bjørnstad 41649 (ABCN, NMCW).

Description. Length 6.6 – 8.25 mm. Moderately flattened, without a dorsal inflection. Head, pronotum, underside and appendages black, with a slight bronzy reflection, sometimes posterior margin of ventrite 2 – 4 and part of ventrite five yellow brown Elytra straw coloured, sometimes suffused with purple brown in the region of the scutellum, this colour sometimes becoming more extensive, and the straw colour restricted to the lateral third of the basal half of the elytra. Pubescence hair-like, long to moderately long on the head, pronotum and elytra, moderately long on the underside.

Head: vertex almost flat, sometimes with a slight ill defined median depression, with a very short median carina in line with the posterior margin of the eyes, which may be partly concealed by the anterior median lobe of the pronotum; vertex broad, more than twice the width of an eye; eyes moderately convex, the inner margins slightly divergent dorsally; sculpture composed of very dense to almost contiguous flat bottomed umbilicate punctures, enclosing a small pin prick seta bearing puncture, near the rim of each umbilicate puncture. Epistome weakly concave, depressed relative to the lower part of the vertex, with a fairly narrow, moderately deep emargination, without a defined rim; supra-antennal tubercules slightly developed, unpunctured, with obvious microsculpture; pubescence long and wavy, mostly white with a few brown hairs on the upper part of the vertex.

Antenna: about 1.5 (female) to 1.7 X (male) vertical diameter of eye; serrate from 5th segment; antennomere 2 longer than wide, almost barrel shaped; 3-4 about same length as 2, almost cylindrical in female, 4 slightly triangular in male; 5-10 strongly transversely triangular in male and densely covered in sensillae, in female more weakly transverse and less densely covered in sensillae; 11 transversely ovate.

Pronotum: moderately convex, strongly transverse, 1.67 – 1.91 X as wide at base as long in mid line; strongly abruptly widening from base to widest point thence gradually narrowing to anterior margin; anterior margin bisinuate with a rather acute narrow median lobe; basal margin almost straight to weakly bisinuate; lateral carina, complete, sharp, slightly crenulate, visible for most of its length from above; latero-basal and pre-scutellar punctures small and deep, surrounded by small but fairly well defined depressions; mid line very narrowly unpunctured, narrowly depressed in anterior half; sculpture consisting of very dense to almost contiguous flat bottomed umbilicate punctures, enclosing a small pin prick seta bearing puncture, near the rim of each umbilicate puncture; pubescence dense, consisting of long, mainly lateral directed white seta at the sides, and a mixture white and brown mainly forward directed setae on the disc.

Elytra: 2.15 – 2.21 X as long as wide at the base; parallel sided over the humeral callosities, constricted just behind the humeral callosities and thence almost parallel sided to about the apical two fifths, before narrowing to the narrowly rounded apex; lateral margin weakly toothed in apical two fifths; epipleura very weakly curved opposite the humeral callosity, partly concealed by the dorsal projection of the metasternum; puncturation arranged in regular striae; the strial punctures large and deep, oval to elongate oval, about half the width of the interstriae on the disc, to about one third the width of the interstriae close to the lateral margin; sometimes becoming coalescent in apical quarter to form weak grooves; each interstria bearing a single row of minute setae bearing punctures; interstriae flat on disc to weakly convex near the lateral margin; pubescence long, hairlike, erect, brown to black, and white, mixed together.

Underside: anterior margin of prosternum slightly concave, with a well marked marginal groove but without a marginal bead; prosternal process very densely punctured with shallow flat bottomed umbilicate punctures enclosing a small pin prick seta bearing puncture, near the rim of each umbilicate puncture; proepisternum (hypomeron) densely punctured with shallow flat bottomed umbilicate punctures enclosing a small pin prick seta bearing puncture, near the rim of each umbilicate puncture, the umbilicate punctures larger than those of the prosternum; prosternum and proepisternum without a depression to receive the antennae in repose; metasternum and meatacoxae punctured as prosternal process; metasternum produced dorsally, completely concealing the metepisternum and overlapping the elytral epipleura opposite the humeral callosity ( Fig. 7 ); abdominal sternites moderately densely to densely punctured with very shallow flat bottomed umbilicate punctures near lateral margins, which become transformed to lunate punctures on the disc, each enclosing a small pin prick seta bearing puncture, near the rim; whole underside densely clothed with moderately long, white, semi erect pubescence.

Legs: metacoxa arcuately emarginate, with a small but well developed acute tooth at the exterior distal angle; protibia strongly spatulate in the distal two thirds ( Fig. 4 ); meso- and metatibia not spatulate, distally produced in the form of a triangular tooth; tarsal segments 1– 4 with well developed ventral pads; tarsal segment 5 as long as 1– 4 together; tarsal claws with well developed almost square basal teeth which extend about half the length of the claw.

Aedeagus ( Figs. 1, 2 ): median lobe distally slightly bulbous and abruptly contracted to a prolonged semitransparent acute apex, the lamina large and broad; parameres with inner margins almost straight distally.

Ovipositor ( Fig. 3 ): short urite-like.

Remarks. I have examined specimens of 35 Afrotropical species assigned to the subgenera Acmaeodera and Acmaeotethya , and looked at the descriptions of the Afrotropical species described in Holm (1978, 1985 & 1986) and Holm & Schoeman (1999), and A. bertrami is clearly different from any species described therein.

In Holm (1978), this species will key to A. amoenula Fahraeus 1851 in the key to Acmaeodera (s. str.). A. amoenula however belongs in the subgenus Acmaeotethya . It differs from this species in numerous ways, most notably the dorsally produced metasternum which completely conceals the metepisternum and overlaps the epipleura below the humeral callosity; the lack of an excision in the epipleura below the humeral callosity; the long pubescence on the head and elytra (short in A. amoenula ); the large strial punctures, more than half the width of the interstriae (about one third the width in A. amoenula ).

The nearly straight margin of the elytral epipleura opposite the humeral callosity and the short transverse ovipositor places A. bertrami in the subgenus Acmaeodera (s. str.) sensu Volkovitsh (1979). The form of the aedeagus of the new species is most like that of the elater and cercropia species-groups of the subgenus Acmaeodera (see figures in Volkovitsh, 1979).

Acmaeodera bertrami differs from all other species of Acmaeodera (s. lat.) I have examined in having the lateral part of the metasternum strongly produced dorsally, completely concealing the metepisternum and overlapping the elytral epipleura opposite the humeral callosity ( Fig. 7 ). Volkovitsh (pers comm.) says he has not seen this character in any other Acmaeoderini . Some species of Acmaeodera (s. str.) have the metepisternum almost completely concealed by the metasternum e.g. A. cylindrica (Fabricius 1775) and A. pilosellae (Bonelli 1812) of the cylindrica species-group, but the metasternum does not overlap the elytral epipleura.

Acmaeodera bertrami differs from all species of Acmaeodera (s. str.) I have examined in the very strongly spatulate development of the fore-tibia ( Fig. 4 ). Some Acmaeodera (s. str.) e.g. A. pilosellae have the apex of the fore-tibia flattened and produced as a broad tooth which may be a precursor of the spatulate development seen in A. bertrami . Spatulate fore-tibia occur in a number of different groups of Afrotropical Acmaeodera namely the subgenera Cavacmaeodera Holm 1999, Paracmaeodera Thery 1946 , many species of the subgenus Rugacmaeodera Holm 1978 , some species of the subgenus Ptychomus Marseul 1866 , and in the genus Brachmaeodera Volkovitsh & Bellamy 1992 . It is evident that a spatulate fore-tibia is found in many different groups and the characteristic is either plesiomorphic in Acmaeodera or an independent development in different phyletic lines.

The apparently unique (apomorphic) development of the metasternum ( Fig. 7 ), and the spatulate fore-tibia ( Fig. 4 ) suggests that this species is not closely related to any described species of Acmaeodera (s. str.), and should be placed in a species group of its own. The structure of the aedeagus suggests it may have some affinities to the elater and cercropia species-groups, and possibly the pulchra and cylindrica species-groups.

Etymology. This species is named after my father Bertram Levey for his support in the early years, without which I would have been unable to follow my interest in entomology.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. 1. parameres of Holotype; 2. median lobe of Holotype; 3. ovipositor of Paratype, Tanzania – Iringa D. Ruaha N. P. Msembe; 4. protibia and tarsus of Holotype; 5. dorsal aspect of Paratype, Tanzania Iringa D. Ruaha N. P. Msembe, female 8.25 mm; 6. lateral aspect of Paratype Tanzania Mkomazi G. R. Ibaya camp, female 6.6 mm; 7. lateral aspect showing metasternum.