Maladera pseudofuscipes 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 : 130-131

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

Figures 28 A–D, 100

Type material examined. Holotype: “N-Vietnam, Prov. Lao Cai, Sa Pa , 1600-1700 m, N22°19‘52‘‘; E103°50‘; 23.-27.V.1999 leg. Ahrens, Jäger, Fabrizi” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: Vietnam: 20 ♂♂, 18 ♀♀ “N-Vietnam, Prov. Lao Cai, Sa Pa , 1600-1700 m, N22°19‘52‘‘; E103°50‘; 23.-27.V.1999 leg. Ahrens, Jäger, Fabrizi ” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ “Vietnam N 1990 Sa-Pa 11-19.VI. 1500 m Hoang Lien son prov. Strnad Jan lgt./ VS130” ( CP) , 5 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ “Vietnam-N, Cao Bang prov. 12 km NE Cao Bang , 650+ 50m 22°45’45’’N 106°19’E L. Dembicky leg., 15.-16.V.2010 ” ( ZFMK) . China: 1 ♂ (+ 10 ex. unsexed) “ China, SE Yunnan, Xichou—E env., 1400-1700m, 13.-18.5.95 23°22-26’[N]/ 104°41-49’[E] L.+R. Businsky lgt.” ( CP) , 1 ♂ “Yunnan 1250-1500m 23.14N 104.34E Xinjie 24.6.1994 Vit Kuban leg.” ( CP), 1 @ “N Vietnam 21.27’N 105.39E 70km NW Hanoi, Tam Dao 9.-19.v.1996, 900- 1200m Pacholátko & Dembicky leg.” ( CP) .

Description. Length: 5.9 mm, length of elytra: 3.8 mm, width: 3.9 mm. Body oval, black to dark reddish brown, club of antenna yellowish, parts of pronotum and head with greenish shine, dorsal surface dull, except some single setae on head dorsal surface nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus wide and trapezoidal, shiny, widest at base, lateral margins convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles strongly rounded, anterior margin distinctly emarginate, margins strongly reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce an indistinct angle; surface weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, with numerous coarse punctures each bearing an erect seta; frontoclypeal suture finely incised, medially angled; smooth area anterior to eye weakly convex, as wide as long; ocular canthus short and wide (one third of ocular diameter), finely and sparsely punctate, with a terminal seta. Frons with fine, sparse punctures and a few single erect setae beside eyes. Eyes very small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.38. Antenna with nine or ten antennomeres; club with three antennomeres and straight, 1.1 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum transverse, widest at base, lateral margins evenly convex, distinctly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and rectangular, posterior angles blunt, weakly rounded at tip; anterior margin convex, with fine and complete marginal line, base without marginal line; surface finely and densely punctate, glabrous; lateral and anterior margin finely setose; hypomeron carinate, not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, dull, with fine, sparse punctures, smooth at middle.

Elytra widest at middle, striae distinctly impressed, finely and sparsely punctate, intervals weakly convex, with fine and sparse punctures concentrated along striae, with only a few short, setae on odd intervals; epipleural margin robust, ending at strongly curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose; apical border of elytra not membraneous, without visible rim of microtrichomes (at ca 100x magnification).

Ventral surface dull, coarsely and moderately densely punctate, metasternum sparsely covered with sparse fine setae; metacoxa with a few longer setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and irregularly densely punctate, glabrous, each sternite with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a robust long seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae 1.5 times as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.7. Pygidium moderately convex and dull, coarsely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, glabrous except a few robust setae along apical margin.

Legs wide and short, shiny; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Metafemur dull, with anterior margin acute, without serrated line behind anterior margin, setae of anterior row very short, posterior margin smooth and widened at apex ventrally, not serrate dorsally, with just a few short setae basally. Metatibia short, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/2.45, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group shortly before middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, with a few short robust setae basally; lateral face longitudinally convex, sparsely punctate, glabrous; ventral margin finely serrate, with four robust equidistant setae; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, moderately truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally smooth and glabrous, neither laterally nor dorsally carinate, sparsely setose ventrally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a smooth subventral longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 28 A–C. Habitus: Fig. 28D .

Diagnosis. Maladera pseudofuscipes is very closely related to M. fuscipes , it differs from the latter in having the antennal club slightly shorter in the male as well as by the shape of parameres: the dorsobasal lobe of the right paramere is divided into two longer and sharp processes which diverge from each other.

Etymology. The name of the new species (noun in apposition) is derived from the combined Gree prefix pseudo - (false) and the species name ‘ fuscipes ’, with reference to the similarity of the species to M. fuscipes .

Variation. Length: 5.9 mm, length of elytra: 3.8 mm, width: 3.9 mm. Female: eyes little smaller than in male, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.34; antennal club with three antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined; pygidium flat.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 100 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 28. A–D: Maladera pseudofuscipes Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–I: M. snizeki Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); J–M: M. fangana Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, E, J: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, H, L: aedeagus, right side lateral view; F: aedeagus, dorsal view; B, G, K: parameres, dorsal view; D, I, M: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 100. Distribution of the Maladera sikkimensis group: Maladera exima (Arrow, 1946), M. fangana sp. n., M. fuscipes (Moser, 1915), M. pseudoexima sp. n., M. pseudofuscipes sp. n..