Four New Species of Jewel Beetles Discovered
Posted on July 8, 2011
A team of researchers from the Czech University of Life Sciences discovered four new species of jewel beetles (Buprestidae) from Southeastern Asia. Philanthaxia jakli (left) and Philanthaxia chalcogenoides (right) are pictured above. The scientists say this family of beetles is named for their "beautiful body and fascinating, shiny colors."
The new species were reported in an article in ZooKeys.
The new species P. pseudoaenea occurs in Thailand, while P. jakli, P. chalcogenioides and P. lombokana are distributed on some Indonesian islands (Sumatra, Borneo, Lombok). The biology of all the species is unknown because all specimens were obtained from locals.
Oto Nakl�dal, a co-author of the study, says, "All new species belong to the genus Philanthaxia. Before the publication of this study, 61 species had been known from this genus. Currently, it comprises of 65 species, with a primarily Southeast-Asian distribution, except for two species extending to the Australasian region."