Maladera wulaoshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, 2021

Fabrizi, Silvia, Liu, Wan-Gang, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2021, A monograph of the genus Maladera Mulsant & Rey, 1871 of China (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Sericini), Zootaxa 4922 (1), pp. 1-400 : 247-248

Maladera wulaoshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n.

Figures 57 I–L, 119

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “[ China] Yunnan, Lincang, Mt. Wulaoshan , 2010-VII-31, N: 23.90648, E: 100.15944, 1807m / LW-1303” ( ISAZ).

Description. Length: 10.2 mm, length of elytra: 7.5 mm, width: 5.8 mm. Body wide, oval, reddish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull, labroclypeus, tarsomeres, and tibiae shiny, glabrous.

Labroclypeus wide, trapezoidal, lateral margins straight and convergent, producing with ocular canthus an indistinct angle, anterior angles strongly rounded, anterior margin weakly emarginate medially, margins weakly reflexed; surface flat, finely and densely punctate, with a few erect setae in slightly larger punctures anteriorly; frontoclypeal suture finely incised, bluntly angled medially; smooth area in front of eyes twice as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately wide and long (equals 1/3 of ocular width), finely and sparsely punctate, with a short terminal seta. Frons with superficial, moderately dense punctures, with two single setae beside eyes. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with three antennomeres, 1.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Eyes small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.55. Mentum convexly elevated and flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum widest at base, lateral margins moderately but evenly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin nearly straight, with a fine complete marginal line; basal margin without marginal line; surface finely and moderately densely punctate, setae of lateral and anterior margin fine but sparse, punctures with microscopic setae only. Hypomeron carinate, not ventrally produced. Scutellum wide, triangular, punctation as on pronotum.

Elytra widest behind middle, striae distinctly impressed, finely punctate, intervals weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae; epipleural margin robust, ending at strongly rounded external apical angle of elytra, sparsely setose; apex of elytra with a fine membraneous rim of short microtrichomes.

Ventral face coarsely and densely punctate, nearly glabrous, only metasternal plate and lateral metacoxa with a few robust setae. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.8. Abdominal sternites finely and moderately densely punctate, each with a row of coarse punctures bearing each a robust seta. Pygidium weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, lateral and apical margins with very short setae.

Legs moderately wide; femora finely and sparsely punctate, with two longitudinal rows of setae. Metafemur dull, anterior margin acute, without adjacent serrated line, anterior longitudinal row of setae completely reduced; posterior ventral margin almost straight, strongly widened in apical half, as the dorsally posterior margin not serrated, glabrous. Metatibia long and moderately wide, ratio width/ length: 1/ 2.5, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal one at middle, apical one at four fifths of metatibial length, basally with a few robust and short spines; lateral face weakly longitudinally concave, finely and sparsely punctate on sides only, widely smooth along midline; medial face impunctate and glabrous, apex concavely emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres impunctate dorsally, with dense, fine setae ventrally; metatarsomeres ventrally glabrous, with a strongly serrated carina, subventrally with a second, smooth longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere little shorter than following two tarsomeres combined, little longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, without blunt external extension at middle; anterior claws symmetric, interior tarsal claws sharply pointed.

Aedeagus: Fig. 57 I–K. Habitus: Fig. 57L . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Maladera wulaoshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. resembles species of Maladera ferruginea group and is most similar to M. bubengensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. Maladera wulaoshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from the latter in having the parameres strongly asymmetric apically and having well pronounced basal lobes on the parameres.

Etymology. The name of the new species is derived from its type locality, Wulaoshan (adjective in the nominative singular).

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 119 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 57. A–D: Maladera bubengensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. rubriventris Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–L: M. wulaoshanicaAhrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, E, I: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G, K: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F, J: parameres, dorsal view; D, H, L: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 119. Distribution of the Maladera ferruginea group: Maladera rubriventris sp. n., M. taiyangheensis sp. n., M. tengchongensis sp. n., M. tongzhongensis sp. n., M. wulaoshanica sp. n..