Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) komareki Obenberger 1931

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) komareki Obenberger, 1931

(Figs. 3, 20)

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

Type locality: Salisbury [Zimbabwe, Harare].

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

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) 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) 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).