Neoserica (s.l.) nykli Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, 2014

Ahrens, Dirk, Liu, Wangang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2014, A revision of the species of the Neoserica (sensu lato) vulpes group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini), Journal of Natural History 49 (17), pp. 1073-1130 : 1110-1111

Neoserica (s.l.) nykli Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu sp. nov.

( Figures 5I–L , 10 )

Type material examined

Holotype. ♂ ‘ China, Sichuan Daliang Shan , 2300 m 30 km West of Xide City, 15– 20.8.1998 leg. Stanislav Nykl’ ( ZFMK) . Paratypes. 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ ‘1928 Szechuen China DC Graham’ ( USNM) .

Description

Length. 8.3 mm, length of elytra: 6.1 mm, width: 4.4 mm. Body oblong, dark yellowish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent to moderately rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface flat and shiny, finely and densely, irregularly punctate, with numerous long erect setae in coarser punctures; frontoclypeal suture feebly incised and medially weakly angled; smooth area in front of eye approximately 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus long and slender, very finely and sparsely punctate, with a fine terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and sparse punctures, with a few long setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture. Eyes large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.74. Antenna with 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, nearly 1.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest a quarter before base, lateral margins evenly curved and weakly narrowed anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt and slightly rounded at tip, anterior margin convexly produced medially, broad marginal line widely missing, basal margin without marginal line; surface with moderately dense and fine punctures, with minute setae only; anterior and lateral borders setose; hypomeron distinctly carinate at base. Scutellum narrow and long, sharp at apex, with fine and moderately dense punctures and minute setae.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly convex and not densely punctate, intervals with punctures concentrated along striae, penultimate lateral interval with some single, fine setae; epipleural edge robust, ending at strongly curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border membranous, with short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, with large and dense punctures, sparsely and shortly setose, setae partly adpressed; metacoxa glabrous, with fine setae laterally, apical margin convex and external apical angle rounded; each abdominal sternite with a distinct transversal row of coarse punctures each bearing a short seta between fine and moderately dense punctation. Mesosternum between mesocoxae nearly half as wide as mesofemur, with irregularly scattered, fine setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.53. Pygidium moderately convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with sparse, short setae, a few longer setae on apex.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and moderately densely punctate; metafemur ventrally dull, anterior margin sharply carinate, without a submarginal serrated line, posterior margin moderately convex, with a few strong setae medially, only weakly widened externally in apical half and not serrated ventrally in distal half, finely serrated dorsally, with dense, short setae. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio width/length: 1/3.4, dorsal margin moderately carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group of spines shortly before half of metatibial length, apical one at about three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single fine spines; external face longitudinally convex, with moderately coarse, sparse punctures; ventral margin finely serrated, with four fine, equidistant spines; medial face impunctate, apex concavely truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally finely punctate, with a few long setae, with sparse, short setae ventrally; metatarsomeres impunctate and glabrous dorsally, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and glabrous, and with a fine longitudinal carina immediately beside it; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw bluntly truncate apically.

Aedeagus. Figure 5I–K .

Diagnosis

The new species is in shape of aedeagus similar to N. gainhaiziana sp. nov.; it differs from N. gainhaiziana in the longer and slenderer ventral process of phallobase as well as in shape of parameres: the left parameres is apically bent ventrally ( Figure 5I ).

Etymology

The new species is named after one of its collectors, Stanislav Nykl (noun in the genitive case).

Variation

Length. 8.3–8.5 mm, length of elytra: 6.1–6.2 mm, width: 4.4–4.5 mm. Female: antennal club composed of three antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined.

Figures

Figure 5. A–D: Neoserica ganhaiziana Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), E–H: N. biuncinata Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), I–L: N. nykli Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (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 (not to scale). Scale: 0.5 mm.

Figure 10. Distribution of the species of the Neoserica (s.l.) vulpes group: N. baishuiensis, N. heishuiana, N. kereni, N. lateriuncinata, N. luzhouana, N. nykli, N. parausta, N. pseudovulpes, N. ruzickai, N. usta, N. vulpes and N. kunmingensis.