Maladera baoxingensis 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 : 186-188

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

Figures 42 A–D, 108

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China-Sichuan 12-14 July 1995 Baoxing, 100km N of Yaan Zd. Jindra lgt./ 585 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ “ China-Sichuan 12-14 July 1995 Baoxing, 100km N of Yaan Zd. Jindra lgt.” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ “ China Cent. Sichuan Ranguo Emei Co. 29.7.-3.8.94 Benes” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ “ China Centr. Sichuan Volong 150[km] SV[W] Chengdu 9.-10.7.94 Benes lg.” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ “ Wen Chuan Shien 30mi NNW Kuanshien 4000ft. VII-19 1933 / Szechwan China DC Graham” ( USNM) , 1 ♂ “[ China] Dabaitang, Xishui , Guizhou, 25-29.IX.2000, leg. Ren Guodong ” ( HBUM) .

Description. Length: 11.8 mm, length of elytra: 8.5 mm, width: 6.6 mm. Body wide, oval, blackish brown, antenna yellowish brown, dorsal surface dull, labroclypeus, tarsomeres, and tibiae shiny, glabrous.

Labroclypeus wide, lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent, lateral margins produce with ocular canthus an indistinct angle, anterior angles convex, anterior margin shallowly emarginate medially, margins weakly reflexed; surface weakly shiny, widely dull at base, surface convex medially, finely and densely punctate, distance between punctures smaller their diameter, with a few long erect setae; smooth area in front of eyes three times as wide as long; frontoclypeal suture finely incised, bluntly angled medially; ocular canthus moderately wide and short (1/3 of ocular diameter), finely and densely punctate, without a short terminal seta. Eyes small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.6. Frons with fine and moderately dense punctures, with a few single setae beside eyes. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with three antennomeres and straight, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated and flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and weakly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced; anterior margin convex, with widely interrupted marginal line; basal margin without marginal line; surface finely and densely punctate, punctures with microscopic setae only, setae of lateral and anterior margin sparse; hypomeron carinate. Scutellum wide, triangular, punctation as in pronotum.

Elytra widest shortly behind middle, striae finely impressed, finely punctate, intervals convex, sparsely and finely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae, with minute setae in punctures, odd intervals with a few erect short setae; epipleura 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 wide, as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/1.67. Abdominal sternites finely and moderately densely punctate, each with a row of coarse punctures bearing each a robust seta. Pygidium moderately convex, finely and densely punctate, with a few long setae on apical margin.

Legs moderately long and wide; femora superficially and sparsely punctate, with two longitudinal rows of setae. Metafemur shiny, anterior margin acute, without adjacent serrated line, anterior longitudinal row of setae absent; posterior ventral margin almost straight, moderately widened in apical half, neither ventrally nor dorsally serrated but smooth, glabrous. Metatibia short and wide, flattened, dorsal and ventral margins subparallel, ratio width/length: 1/2.9, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal one at basal third, apical one at two thirds of metatibial length, basally with a few robust and short setae; lateral face weakly longitudinally convex, with sparse, fine punctures; medial face impunctate, apex shallowly and concavely emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres sparsely finely punctate dorsally, with dense, fine setae ventrally; metatarsomeres ventrally glabrous, with a strongly serrated carina, subventrally with a second, smooth longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined, little longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate. Anterior claws symmetrical.

Aedeagus: Fig. 42 A–C. Habitus: Fig. 42D . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Maladera baoxingensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from the similar M. guanxiamensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. in having the dorsal process of the phallobase short and apically bent mesally, and the distinctive shape of the parameres: left paramere (lateral view) widened at apex and truncate; right paramere wider, nearly half as wide as long (lateral view).

Etymology. The new species is named after the type locality, Baoxing (adjective in the nominative singular).

Variation. Length: 10.7–11.9 mm, length of elytra: 8.4–8.6 mm, width: 6.6–7.4 mm.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 108 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 42. A–D: Maladera baoxingensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. siniaevi Ahrens, 2004 (China: Xizang Beibeng, Motuo). A, E: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F: parameres, dorsal view; D, H: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 108. Distribution of the Maladera granuligera group: Maladera baoxingensis sp. n., M. guangzhaishanica sp. n., M. guanxianensis sp. n., M. lushanensis sp. n..