Maladera opacifrons ( Fairmaire, 1891 )

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 : 319-320

Maladera opacifrons ( Fairmaire, 1891)

Figures 75 I–L, 128

Serica opacifrons Fairmaire, 1891: 195 .

Autoserica opacifrons: Brenske 1897: 398 .

Maladera opacifrons: Nomura 1974: 108 ; Ahrens 2002: 88; 2006b: 237; 2007b: 24.

Type material examined. Syntypes: 1 ♂ “Chang Yang/ Museum Paris 1906 coll. Leon Fairmaire / Type/ Serica opacifrons Fairm. Tchang Yang ” ( MNHN) , 1 ♂ “Chang Yang near Ichang 6-8000 ft., June 88./ Coll. Kraatz / Serica opacifrons Fairm. Changyang (handwritten Fairmaire” ( DEIC) , 1 ♂ “Chang Yang near Ichang 6-8000 ft., June 88./ Coll. Kraatz / opacifrons/ ♂ ” ( ZMHB) , 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ “Chang Yang near Ichang 4-6000 ft., V. VII. VIII. / opacifrons Brsk. / coll. Brenske ” ( ZMHB) .

Additional material examined. 1 ♀ “N. China / Yelutuna Reiche China / Mus. Laferte / Ex Museo D. Sharp 1890/ Serica opacifrons [handwritten Brenske]/ Museum Paris ex coll. R. Oberthür ” ( MNHN) , 1 ♂ “ Quingua F. Simon / Museum Paris 1906 Coll. Leon Fairmaire ” ( MNHN) , 1 ♂ “ Baoguosi Temple, Mts. Emeishan , Sichuan, 27.III.1957, 550- 750m, leg. Lu Youcai ” ( IZAS) , 1 ♂ “ Mt. Kouling , 10.VII.1918 ” ( IZAS) .

Redescription. Length: 9.0 mm, length of elytra: 6.8 mm, width: 5.2 mm. Body oblong-oval, dark brown, antenna yellow, shiny, labroclypeus shiny, dorsal face nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus wide and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately rounded, anterior margin weakly emarginate, margins weakly reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce an indistinct angle; surface weakly convex medially, finely, densely punctate, with a few long setae anteriorly; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, weakly curved; smooth area anterior to eye convex, twice as wide as long; ocular canthus short and narrow (1/4 of ocular diameter), finely densely punctate, with a terminal seta. Frons with dense and fine punctures, with a few single setae beside eyes. Eyes small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.59. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club composed of three antennomeres and straight, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum transverse, widest shortly before base, lateral margins evenly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles distinctly produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin straight, with fine marginal line, base without marginal line; surface finely and densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures being as long as puncture diameter, otherwise glabrous; anterior and lateral margin sparsely setose; hypomeron carinate, not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine, dense punctures.

Elytra widest at posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals moderately convex, with fine, moderately dense punctures concentrated along striae and with minute setae in punctures, odd interval with a few single erect setae; epipleural margin robust, ending at apical external angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose; apical border of elytra membraneous, with a very fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at ca 100x magnification).

Ventral surface shiny, finely and densely punctate, metasternum including disc sparsely setose; metacoxa glabrous, with a few longer setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, punctures with minute setae, 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: 1/1.34. Pygidium strongly convex, dull, finely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, with numerous long setae on apical half.

Legs moderately long and wide, shiny; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Metafemur in widest part shiny, anterior margin acute, without adjacent continuous serrated line, anterior row of setae complete; posterior ventral margin smooth, weakly widened at ventral apex, dorsal posterior margin smooth, neither serrate, with a few single long setae. Metatibia short and moderately wide, widest at middle, ratio of width/ length: 1/3.4, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group at one third, apical group at two thirds of metatibial length, in basal half with a few fine single setae; lateral face longitudinally convex, except a few sparse punctures on base smooth and glabrous; ventral margin finely serrate, with three equidistant robust setae; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, concavely 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, glabrous; first metatarsomere distinctly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, tridentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 75 I–K. Habitus: Fig. 75L .

Remarks. In the female, the metatibia is slightly shorter, ratio of width/length: 1/2.76.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 128 ) and Table 1.

Species of uncertain systematic position

Figures

FIGURE 75. A–D: Maladera kreyenbergi (Moser, 1918) (lectotype); E–H: M. nigrobrunnea (Moser, 1926) (lectotype); I–L: M. opacifrons (Fairmaire, 1891) (syntype: China: Chang Yang near Ichang). 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 128. Distribution of the Maladera sinica group: Maladera danfengensis sp. n., M. kreyenbergi (Moser, 1918), M. nigrobrunnea (Moser, 1926), M. opacifrons (Fairmaire, 1891), M. sinica (Hope, 1845).