Cyphogastra foveicollis

Cyphogastra foveicollis reaches approximately 30 millimetres (1.2 in) in length. The body is elongate and robust, typical of the genus. The basic colour of the elytra and thorax is metallic dark green or dark purplish. As in other Buprestidae, this metallic iridescence results from structural coloration rather than pigments; the cuticle contains multilayer reflectors consisting of stacked chitin layers that selectively reflect specific wavelengths of light, producing colours that shift depending on the viewing angle. Multilayer reflectors are the most widespread iridescence mechanism in beetles and are especially prevalent in Buprestidae. The species epithet foveicollis refers to the pitted or foveate pronotum (from the Latin fovea, "pit", and collis, referring to the neck or collar), a diagnostic character of the genus.

Cyphogastra foveicollis occurs in West Papua, in the Indonesian portion of New Guinea. The genus Cyphogastra as a whole is distributed across the Indo-Pacific, with its greatest diversity centred on the New Guinean region and the surrounding Malesian islands, extending to Melanesia, the Moluccas, and the Mariana Islands.

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