Anthaxia ( Haplanthaxia ) komareki Obenberger, 1931

Anthaxia ( Haplanthaxia) komareki Obenberger, 1931 View in CoL

( Figs. 3 View FIGS , 20 View FIGS )

Anthaxia komareki Obenberger, 1931: 111 View in CoL . Stat. rev. (not syn. of Anthaxia ( H.) pilifrons Kerremans View in CoL ).

Type locality: Salisbury [ Zimbabwe, Harare] .

Anthaxia komareki: Bílý, 1985: 37 View in CoL (taxonomy, syn. of pilifrons View in CoL ); 1995: 50 (taxonomy, as syn. of pilifrons View in CoL ); 1997: 32, 84 (catalogue, as syn. of pilifrons View in CoL ); Bellamy, 2008: 1448 (catalogue, as syn. of pilifrons View in CoL ).

Type specimen studied. Holotype (male, NMPC): “Salisbury // Anthaxia Komareki m. Type [h], Det. Dr. Obenberger [p] // TYPUS [p, red, framed] // Mus. Nat. Pragae Inv. 22764 [p, h, orange]”.

Diagnosis. Small ( 4.8 mm), head and pronotum dark bronze, almost black, elytra bronze; frons with rather long, white pubescence, elytra and lateral sides of pronotum with long, yellow-brown pubescence; ventral surface almost black with long, recumbent, yellow-white pubescence; body elongate, elytra weakly wedge-shaped, not caudiform; aedeagus ( Fig. 20 View FIGS ) short, spindle-shaped, weakly sclerotised.

Differential diagnosis. Anthaxia ( H.) komareki differs from the very similar species, A. ( H.) pilifrons , by the wider vertex, convex pronotum without lateroposterior depressions, shorter distal antennomeres of male which are much wider than long, by the different aedeagus ( Fig. 20 View FIGS ) and other characters given in the key.

Distribution: Zimbabwe.

I erroneously synonymised this species with Anthaxia ( H.) pilifrons when I had for study only the holotypes of both species ( Bílý, 1985). Now when I have had a chance to study more specimens of A. ( H.) pilifrons I have changed my opinion and I suppose A. ( H.) komareki to be a distinct species although very similar to A. ( H.) pilifrons (see the key).