Nipponoserica sericanioides Ahrens, Fabrizi, & Liu

Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Yang, Xingke, Bai, Ming & Ahrens, Dirk, 2017, New species of Nipponoserica and Paraserica from China (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), ZooKeys 721, pp. 65-91 : 72

Nipponoserica sericanioides Ahrens, Fabrizi, & Liu sp. n. Figures 2 E–I, 4

Type material examined.

Holotype: ♂ "Zheijang, Fengyangshan, Datianping, 2007-V-30/ LW-1242" (ZFMK). Paratypes: 1 ♂ "Zheijang, Fengyangshan, Datianping, 2007-V-30/ LW-1242bis" (IZAS).

Diagnosis.

Nipponoserica sericanioides sp. n. bears strong asymmetrical parameres (both the basal and distal portions), which somewhat resembles the general morphology of species of Sericania .

Description.

Length: 9.5 mm, length of elytra: 6.2 mm, width: 5.3 mm. Body oblong, including legs reddish brown, frons dark brown, antenna yellowish brown, dorsal surface shiny and glabrous.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal and moderately wide, widest at base; lateral margins moderately convex and convergent, with moderately rounded anterior angles; lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle; margins weakly reflexed; anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface slightly concave and shiny, finely and densely punctate, with a few short, erect setae anteriorly. Frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised and weakly curved medially; smooth area in front of eye 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately short and triangular, finely and densely punctate with a short single terminal seta. Frons with fine and moderately dense punctures, with a few long setae beside eyes. Eyes small, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.6. Antenna with nine antennomeres; club with three antennomeres, 3 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined, strongly reflexed. Mentum elevated and flattened anteriorly. Labrum produced and deeply sinuate medially.

Pronotum transverse, widest at base, lateral margins straight and slightly convergent, in anterior third convex and narrowed anteriorly; anterior angles weakly produced and blunt; posterior angles blunt, rounded at tip; anterior margin strongly and convexly produced medially with a distinct and broad marginal line; basal margin without marginal line; hypomeron distinctly margined at base; surface with dense and fine punctures, glabrous; anterior and lateral borders sparsely setaceous. Scutellum narrow and long, well pointed at apex, with fine and moderately dense punctures.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate; intervals weakly convex, with fine and sparse punctures concentrated along striae, glabrous except for a few short setae on odd intervals; epipleural border robust, ending at strongly curved external apical angle; epipleura densely setaceous; apical border chitinous without rim of microtrichomes (visible at 100 × magnification).

Ventral surface dull, metasternum partly shiny, with moderately dense, large punctures, sparsely setose, only on metasternal disc with a few longer setae. Metacoxa glabrous, laterally with a few fine setae. Abdominal sternites shiny, with fine, dense punctation, each with indistinct transversal row of coarse punctures bearing a short seta; penultimate sternite with a shallow and short median furrow, apical margin of sternite tooth-like elevated beside furrow. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as mesofemur, with irregularly scattered, strong setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/1.23. Pygidium shiny, at apex dull, moderately convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, with sparse short setae and a few longer setae on apical half.

Legs slender, shiny; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and moderately densely punctate. Metafemur shiny, anterior margin acute, without a submarginal serrated line; posterior margin straight with a few strong setae medially, ventrally weakly widened in apical half and serrate; dorsally serrated with short setae. Metatibia slender and long, widest shortly before apex, ratio width/length: 1/3.9; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with one group of spines (basal group of spines reduced) at four-fifths of metatibial length, basally with a few single spines in punctures; external face beside dorsal margin longitudinally roof-like carinate, sparsely finely punctate, with some longitudinal, superficial wrinkles; ventral margin finely serrate, with three fine setae of which the apical one is more distant; medial face impunctate but superficially wrinkled; apex bluntly truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres glabrous and impunctate dorsally, with sparse, short setae ventrally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a fine longitudinal carina laterally; first metatarsomere distinctly longer than second, distinctly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical. The aedeagus has the apical part of the parameres asymmetrical, but the basal lobes are symmetrical (Fig. 2 E–G). Female unknown.

Etymology.

The name of the new species, according to its similarity to the species of the genus Sericania , is based on the genus name Sericania and the Greek suffix -oides (similar).

Variation.

Length: 9.5-10.0 mm, length of elytra: 6.2-7.1 mm, width: 5.2-5.3 mm.