Neoserica (s. l.) ailaoshanica, Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2014

Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2014, A taxonomic revision of the Neoserica (sensu lato) calva group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), ZooKeys 448, pp. 47-81 : 58-61

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Scarabaeidae

Neoserica (s. l.) ailaoshanica sp. n. Figs 5 I–L, 6

Type material examined.

Holotype: ♂ "Mts. Ailaoshan, Jingdong, Yunnan, 7-9.VIII.2009, 2450m, leg. Xu Jishan, Zhang Liuxiang etc." (HBUM).

Description.

Body length: 6.5 mm, length of elytra: 4.8 mm, width: 3.8 mm. Body oblong, dark reddish brown, antennal club yellowish brown, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous, labroclypeus and anterior half of frons shiny.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, widest at base; lateral margins convex and convergent anteriorly; anterior angles moderately rounded; anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; margins moderately reflexed; surface slightly elevated medially and shiny, finely and densely punctate, with a few single setae. Frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised and slightly elevated. Smooth area anterior to eye approximately 1.5 times as wide as long. Ocular canthus moderately long and narrow, sparsely punctate, with a single terminal seta. Frons on posterior half dull; finely and sparsely punctate, anterior midline slightly elevated; with a few long and erect setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture, with dense, fine setae on posterior half. Eyes small, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.59. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with four antennomeres and straight, 1.6 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly. Labrum transverse, short, not produced medially, with median sinuation.

Pronotum widest at base; lateral margins evenly convex and convergent anteriorly; anterior angles distinctly produced and sharp; posterior angles blunt, moderately rounded at tip; anterior margin nearly straight, with a fine and complete marginal line; surface moderately densely and finely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; lateral and anterior border sparsely setose; hypomeron distinctly carinate basally. Scutellum large, with fine, very dense punctures, glabrous, on midline impunctate.

Elytra short-oval, widest shortly behind middle; striae weakly impressed, finely and moderately densely punctate; intervals weakly convex, with moderately dense punctures concentrated along striae, with minute setae in punctures, lateral odd intervals with a few single, erect setae. Epipleural edge fine, ending at moderately curved external apical angle of elytra; epipleura densely setose; apical border with a fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at 100 × magnification).

Ventral surface dull, finely and densely punctate. Metasternum, except long seta on disc, nearly glabrous, sparsely covered with minute setae in punctures. Metacoxa glabrous, with a few single setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctuate, glabrous except minute setae in punctures, with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a robust long seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.38. Pygidium weakly convex and dull, coarsely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, with a few long setae near apex.

Legs moderately slender. Femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Metafemur dull, sparsely and finely punctate; anterior margin acute, behind anterior margin without serrated line; posterior margin entirely serrated ventrally and moderately widened at apex; posterior margin finely serrated dorsally, glabrous. Metatibia slender and moderately long, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/3.7; dorsal margin finely carinate, with two groups of spines; basal group shortly behind middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length; in basal half with a few short robust setae in single robust punctures with serrated margin; external face longitudinally convex, finely and densely punctate, glabrous; ventral margin finely serrated, with three robust setae, distal one more distant; medial face densely and finely punctate, glabrous, apex moderately truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres ventrally with sparse, short setae, not carinate laterally, impunctate dorsally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ventral ridge and a few fine punctures dorsally; metatarsomere I as long as following two tarsomeres combined and nearly half of its length longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate, not widened before basal tooth; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw sharply truncate at apex.

Aedeagus. Fig. 5 I–K.

Female unknown.

Diagnosis.

Neoserica ailaoshanica sp. n. is rather similar to Neoserica luxiensis sp. n. in general appearance and the shape of the male genitalia but differs from it by the slightly longer antennal club and the shape of the aedeagus: the process of the apical phallobase is slightly longer and the right paramere is longer and narrower than that in Neoserica luxiensis .

Etymology.

The new species is named after its type locality, Ailaoshan.