Maladera businskyorum 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 : 85-86

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

Figures 17 I–L, 90

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China, W Sichuan, Jiulong Co. N near the Yalong Jiang great bend, 28°42’- 47’ & 101°49’-59’ 2300-3800m, 12.-16.VII.2001 coll. L. & R. Businsky / 769 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK). Paratypes: 5 ♂♂ “ China, NW Yunnan prov., Baishuitai, (San Ba terasses) 2600m, 4.-6.vi.2006, S. Murzin & I. Shokhin ” ( CP, ZFMK), 1 ♂ “Szechuen China DC Graham/ bet. Fu Lin & Yueh Shi 4000-8000ft. Jul 20-21’28” ( USNM), 1 ♂ “Shih Men Kan Kweichow Ch. 7-1934/ DC Graham coll” ( USNM), 1 ♂ “ China: Sichuan Prov., Moxi env. Hailuogou valley, Gonghe vill., 1715m, 29°37’27’’N 102°06’28’’E, / 17.-21.VI.2014 at light, in front of hotel, ruderals close to margin of mixed forest, J. Hajek, J. Ruzicka & M. Thoc leg.” ( NMPC), 2 ♂♂ “Museum Paris Se-Tchouen Env. de Ta-Tsien-Lou Mo-Sy-Mien Pére Aubert 1902” ( MNHN), 2 ♂♂ “ China: Hubei; Dahongshan 1700m, Shuizhou VI-2003 leg. Ying et al. ” ( ZFMK).

Description. Length: 9.8 mm, length of elytra: 7.4 mm, width: 5.7 mm. Body oblong-oval, dark reddish brown, antenna yellowish, surface dull, labroclypeus shiny, except a few short setae on sides of elytra, glabrous.

Labroclypeus wide and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins nearly straight and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles widely rounded, anterior margin weakly emarginate medially; margins moderately reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce an indistinct angle; surface flat, with an indistinct longitudinal elevation behind anterior margin, finely, densely punctate, glabrous; frontoclypeal suture distinctly incised, angled medially; smooth area anterior to eye convex, 2.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus short and narrow (1/3 of ocular diameter), finely densely punctate, terminal seta lacking. Frons dull, with moderately dense, fine punctures, with a few single setae beside eyes. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.63. Antenna with ten antennomeres; club with three antennomeres and straight, 1.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum transverse, widest at posterior third, lateral margins moderately evenly convex, moderately convergent anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior angles distinctly produced and sharp, posterior angles moderately rounded; anterior margin weakly convex, with fine complete marginal line, base without marginal line; surface moderately finely and densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; anterior and lateral margin finely setose; hypomeron carinate, not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine, moderately dense punctures.

Elytra widest at posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals slightly convex, with fine, moderately dense punctures being except on second interval partly concentrated along striae, with minute setae in punctures, otherwise glabrous; epipleural margin robust, ending at nearly blunt external apical angle of elytra, epipleura sparsely setose; apical border of elytra membraneous, with a fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at ca 100x magnification).

Ventral surface dull, finely and densely punctate, with dense and fine, adpressed setae, metasternal disc sparsely covered with longer setae; metacoxa with a few longer setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, glabrous, each sternite with a transverse row of punctures each bearing a fine seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.69. Pygidium weakly convex, dull, finely and sparsely punctate, without smooth midline, with a few long setae along apical margin.

Legs short and wide; femora dull, with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Anterior margin of metafemur acute, without adjacent serrated line, anterior row of setae completely reduced; posterior ventral margin smooth, moderately widened at ventral apex, dorsal posterior margin smooth, neither serrate, glabrous. Metatibia short and wide, widest at middle, ratio of width/length: 1/2.76, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group at middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, in basal half with a few short single spines close to dorsal margin; lateral face longitudinally convex, nearly entirely impunctate, only a few fine punctures beside dorsal and ventral margin, glabrous; ventral margin finely serrate, with four equidistant robust setae; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, shallowly emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally impunctate, glabrous, neither laterally nor dorsally carinate, moderately 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 as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 17 I–K. Habitus: Fig. 17L . Female unknown

Diagnosis. Maladera businskyorum Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. is rather similar to M. verticalis (Brenske) , but differs from the latter in having a slightly larger body size, less pronounced longitudinal elevation on the labroclypeus, and different shape of the right paramere, which is not inclined medially, but straight, and strongly narrowed at middle (lateral view).

Etymology. The new species is named (noun in the genitive singular case) in honour of L. & R. Businsky, collectors of the new species.

Variation. Length: 9.8–10.9 mm, length of elytra: 7.4–8.4 mm, width: 5.7–6.2 mm.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 90 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 17.A–D: Maladera yibini Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. wuliangshanensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–L: M. businskyorum Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (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. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 90. Distribution of the subgenus Omaladera: Maladera anhuiensis sp. n., M. businskyorum sp. n., M. cardoni (Brenske, 1896), M. dahongshanica sp. n., M. diversipes (Moser, 1915).