Gynaecoserica seinghkuensis, Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2009

Ahrens, Dirk & Fabrizi, Silvia, 2009, A review of the genus Gynaecoserica Brenske, 1896 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), Journal of Natural History 43 (25 - 26), pp. 1505-1584 : 1577-1578

Gynaecoserica seinghkuensis sp. nov.

( Figures 5 (K–M), 9B)

Type material examined

Holotype. Ƌ “ Upper Burma: Seinghku Valley. Wang. 28.5 N 97.35 E. 6.500¢ 26.v.1926 F. Kingdon Ward. / Brit. Mus. 1926-400./ 482 Sericini Asia spec.” ( BMNH) . Paratypes. 2 ♀♀ “ Burma: Seinghku Valley . 6000 ft. ix.1933. R. J.H. Kaulback. B.M. 1934–41.” ( BMNH, CA) , 2 ♀♀ “ S.E. Tibet: Zayul , Rong Tö Valley. 6000 ft. 8-10.v.1933 / F. Kingdon Ward & R. J.H. Kaulback. B.M. 1934–41” ( BMNH) , 3 ♀♀ “ S.E. Tibet: Rong Tö Valley . 6,500 ft. 23.v.1933./ F. Kingdon Ward & R. J.H. Kaulback. B.M. 1934–41” ( BMNH) .

Description

Length 5.1 mm, length of elytra 3.2 mm, width 2.9 mm. Body oblong, dorsal surface reddish brown, with frons, a median spot on anterior half of pronotum, scutellum and ventral surface dark brown, antenna yellowish, dorsal surface dull and densely and robustly setose, pilosity on elytra in male less dense.

Labroclypeus widest at middle, lateral margins moderately curved, anteriorly strongly convergent to strongly rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anterior margin shallowly sinuate medially; surface distinctly convex medially and shiny, finely and very densely punctate, distance between punctures less than their diameter, on median convexity punctation less dense, with a few coarser punctures behind anterior margin bearing long, erect setae; frontoclypeal suture feebly incised and medially strongly curved; smooth area in front of eye approximately as wide as long; ocular canthus short and slender, finely and sparsely punctate, with a terminal seta. Frons shiny, only posteriorly dull, with fine, dense punctures, glabrous except some erect setae behind frontoclypeal suture and beside eyes. Eyes small, ratio of diameter: interocular width 0.47. Antenna yellow, with 10 antennomeres; club dark, with five antennomeres, club a little longer than the remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum very weakly elevated only and flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins straight and subparallel in basal half, in anterior half weakly curved and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles strongly produced and moderately sharp, posterior angles blunt, anterior margin convexly produced medially, with a distinct fine marginal line, basal margin without marginal line; surface with dense and fine punctures, with robust white short or long setae in the punctures, which are bent backwards; anterior and lateral borders thinly setaceous; hypomeron distinctly margined at base but not ventrally produced. Scutellum narrow and short, triangular, with sparse, fine punctures, which are apically very shallow, medially smooth, microscopic setae present in the punctures.

Elytra moderately long, widest shortly behind the middle, striae feebly impressed and finely and densely punctate, intervals almost flat, with fine and moderately dense punctures, punctures with fine microscopic setae, odd intervals with single coarse punctures bearing a strong yellowish seta, which are erect or adjacent, interior apical angle of elytra with a strong seta; epipleural edge fine ending at the strongly curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setaceous, apical border without short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, with fine and moderately dense punctures, sparsely setose, metacoxa only laterally with a few strong adjacent setae; each abdominal sternite with indistinct transverse row of coarse punctures bearing short setae between fine, dense punctation, penultimate sternite apically with a shiny smooth sclerotized bor- der, which is one-sixth as long as sternite, last sternite medially almost half as long as penultimate one. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur, with irregularly scattered very strong setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum: metacoxa 1: 1.36. Pygidium strongly convex at apex, coarsely and densely punctate, with broad smooth midline, surface shiny and almost glabrous, with dull toment and numerous long setae only beside apical margin.

Legs slender and moderately long; femora dull, with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate; metafemur shiny, sharply margined anteriorly and without a submarginal serrate line, posterior margin weakly convex and glabrous, its external part only weakly widened in apical half and indistinctly serrate, internally finely serrate, with short setae. Metatibia slender and short, medially moderately widened, widest at apex, ratio width: length 1: 3.5, dorsally very weakly edged, with two groups of spines, basal one at one-third, apical one at two-thirds of metatibial length, basally with a few single, fine spines in the punctures; external face longitudinally convex, with moderately dense and coarse punctures, glabrous; ventrally edged and serrate, with four strong, equally distant spines, internal face not punctate and smooth, apex interiorly near tarsal articulation sharply and deeply truncate. Tarsomeres dorsally glabrous and impunctate, ventrally with sparse, short setae; metatarsomeres ventrally with a strongly serrate ridge, beside which is a fine longitudinal carina, first metatarsomere slightly shorter than the following two tarsomeres combined and one-third longer than the upper tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical.

Aedeagus shown in Figure 5 (K–M).

Variation

Length 5.1–5.2 mm, length of elytra 3.2–3.7 mm, width 2.9–3.0 mm. Coloration varies from uniformly reddish brown to dark brown. Female: labroclypeus a little narrower and more deeply punctate, antennal club with three antennomeres, distinctly shorter than the remaining antennomeres combined, all elytral intervals densely thinly setose, pygidium dull, also with broad smooth midline, but all over densely setose.

Diagnosis

This species is rather similar in the general shape of the parameres to G. alma sp. nov. and G. amara sp. nov., all three taxa sharing the basally produced parameres. Gynaecoserica seinghkuensis sp. nov. may be differentiated from the other two by the pronotum being at least partly densely covered with white setae.

Etymology

Named according to the Seinghku valley where the type locality is situated .

Figures

Figure 5. (A–C) Gynaecoserica obliqua sp. nov. (holotype), (D–F) G. rostrata sp. nov. (holotype), (G–J) G. schima sp. nov. (holotype), (K–M) G. seinghkuensis sp. nov. (holotype), (N–P) G. vogleri sp. nov. (holotype), (Q–S) G. ziyardamensis sp. nov. (holotype). (A, D, G, K, N, Q) Aedeagus, left side lateral view; (C, F, J, M, P, S) aedeagus, left side lateral view; (B, E, I, L, O, R) parameres, dorsal view; (H) parameres, subdorsal view. Scale bars 0.5 mm.