Maladera shiruguanensis 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 : 185-186

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

Figures 41 I–L, 109

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China, W Hubei / E Chongquing, Shiruguan , 1.-9.VII.2003 pass ~ 5km NW Taiyanghe pitfall traps, 30.65N 109.5E Jaroslav Turna leg., ~ 1700m / 737 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ “Szechuen China DC Graham/ Shin Kai Si Mt. Omei 4-5000 feet Aug 16, ‘33” ( USNM) , 1 ♂ “ Mt. Omei Kiating , Szechuan China VII.32/ G.M. Franck Collector ” ( ZFMK) .

Description. Length: 11.3 mm, length of elytra: 8.8 mm, width: 7.2 mm. Body wide, oval, dark brown, antenna yellowish brown, dorsal surface dull, labroclypeus, tarsomeres, and tibiae shiny, glabrous.

Labroclypeus wide, lateral margins convex and moderately convergent, lateral margins produce with ocular canthus an indistinct angle, anterior angles strongly convex, anterior margin shallowly emarginate medially, margins weakly reflexed; surface moderately shiny, at base widely dull, surface nearly flat, finely and densely punctate, distance between punctures smaller their diameter, with numerous 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, with a short terminal seta. Eyes moderately large, 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, little shorter than remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated and flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum widest at base, lateral margins evenly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced; anterior margin convex, with complete 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, less densely punctate on midline.

Elytra convex, widest at posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely punctate, intervals flat, finely and densely punctate, 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: 1/1.5. Abdominal sternites finely and moderately densely punctate, each with a row of coarse punctures bearing each a robust seta. Pygidium strongly convex, coarsely and densely punctate, on apical margin with a few long setae.

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, not widened in apical half, neither ventrally nor dorsally serrated but smooth, glabrous. Metatibia moderately long and wide, flattened, ratio width/length: 1/3.8, 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 a very superficial 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. 41 I–K. Habitus: Fig. 41L . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Maladera shiruguanensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from M. guanxianensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. in having the dorsal process of the phallobase abruptly narrowed, as well as by the distinctive shape of the parameres: the left paramere is reflexed around its own axis, narrowed apically in lateral view, and slightly widened before apex (dorsal view), rather than being narrowed at apex (as in M. guanxianensis ).

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

Variation. Length: 11.3–12.4 mm, length of elytra: 8.8–9.5 mm, width: 7.0– 7.2 mm.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 109 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 41. A–D: Maladera guanxianensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. guangzhaishanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–L: M. shiruguanensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, E, I: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G, K: parameres, dorsal view; D, H, L: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 109. Distribution of the Maladera granuligera group: Maladera maguanensis sp. n., M. mupingensis sp. n., M. shiruguanensis sp. n., M. siniaevi Ahrens, 2004.