Striking New Species ofBrachysDejean, 1833 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico Author Hespenheide, Henry A. text The Coleopterists Bulletin 2015 2015-06-30 69 2 221 224 http://dx.doi.org/10.1649/0010-065x-69.2.221 journal article 10.1649/0010-065x-69.2.221 1938-4394 Brachys barri Hespenheide , new species ( Fig. 2 ) Description. Holotype female: Rounded heptagonal, more abruptly narrow in front than behind; black head, pronotum, and venter, strongly shiny, with pale golden reflections, anterior 2/3 of elytra bright blue, more greenish blue along suture, posterior 1/3 irregularly reddish coppery, extending anteriorad at lateral margin and middle of each elytron, shorter along suture ( Fig. 2 ); head nearly glabrous with sparse, inconspicuous setae between upper margins of eyes and on vertex, and just above epistoma and antennal insertions; pronotum glabrous on disc, sparsely covered with silvery setae along base lateral to midline and more broadly along lateral margins; elytra glabrous in blue area, coppery area with dense coppery setae with narrow band of silver setae along anterior margin; ventral surface with uniform, sparse, short, inconspicuous setae, line of sparse silvery setae along posterior margin of terminal ventrite; 3.55 mm long, 1.75 mm wide. Head: Width 1.00 mm, weakly depressed along midline, more broadly so between eyes; epistomal width 1/5 of distance between inner margins of eyes. Pronotum: Strongly convex at anterior margin in cross-section, nearly flat in lateral view, transversely depressed along base lateral to midline, widest at base, sides very weakly rounded to apical angles; prehumeral carinae broadly, weakly rounded ridge for about 1/2 length of pronotum at middle; surface shagreened on midline at base and on disc, otherwise ocellate punctate along margins. Scutellum triangular, weakly rounded on anterior margin, about 2X wider than long. Elytra: Slightly narrower than pronotum at base, equally wide at base and middle, weakly emarginate between; humeri moderately prominent, each elytron with strong, linear depression along base interior to humerus, and weakly carinate along lateral margin only on anterior 4/5 of blue area; surface obsoletely punctate on disk in blue area, becoming transversely rugulose at lateral margins, surface densely micropunctate and granular in the apical coppery area. Venter: Faintly, inconspicuously shagreened and ocellate punctate, punctures open behind. Apex of terminal abdominal ventrite broadly rounded with 12 deflexed, blunt teeth, longest at middle becoming shorter at lateral edges. H o l o t y p e. Mexico : Mexico , 7.4 km NW Temescaltepec , 2148 m , 20.08.1991 , W.F. Barr , oak-pine for[est] ( CASC , on indefinite loan from WFBM ) . Etymology. Named in honor of the noted coleopterist and collector of the unique holotype , the late William F. Barr (Westcott and Merickel 2012). Discussion. This is arguably one of the most beautiful species of Brachys in Mexico . The short lateral carina on the elytra of this and the following species is unusual among previously described species in the genus, with only Brachys intervallorum Hespenheide , Brachys simplex Waterhouse , and the following species having partial carinae, and Brachys fulgidus Fisher and Brachys exquisitus Hespenheide lacking carinae altogether.