Neoserica (s.l.) baishuiensis 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 : 1124-1126

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

( Figures 8E–H , 10 )

Type material examined

Holotype. ♂ ‘ China N-Yunnan 27°08 ′ N 100°14 ′ E Yulongshan mts. 2900–3500 m Baishui vill. leg. D. Král 7–12.VI.90’ ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ ‘X-DA1538 China S. Sichuan pr., Lingshan , 2600 m, 20 km E Mianning, leg. S. Murzin 17.VIII.2007 Neoserica spnCHINA5’ ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ ‘ China West Sichuan Moximian Luding Co. 13.–18.7.94 Beneš’ ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ ‘ China, Sichuan Daliang Shan , 2300 m 30 km West of Xide City, 15.– 20.8.1998 leg. Stanislav Nykl’ ( ZFMK) , 14 ♂♂ ‘ China, Sichuan Daliang Shan , 2300 m 30 km West of Xide City, 15.– 20.8.1998 leg. Stanislav Nykl’ ( ZFMK) , 2 ♂♂ ‘ China, N. Yunnan, env. Xiaguan , 2400 m, 29. vii.2002, leg. S. Murzin, I. Shokhin’ (CP) , 1 ♂ ‘Ch- S Sichuan, 26.–27.VI. road Xichang-Yanyan , 1998 pass 15 km SW Pingchuan 27.33N, 101.49E, cca 3200 m Jaroslav Turna leg.’ (CP) , 1 ♂ ‘ China, Daxue Shan Mts. , Sichuan, 40 km W Mianning, 7–8.vi.1999, 2750 m, 28°34 ′ N, 102°00 ′ E, V. Siniaev & A. Plutenko lgt.’ (CP) , 4 ♂♂ ‘ Den Shiang Lin Pass to Yachow /viii. 12–26 ‘28 2500–10800 ft. / China DC Graham’ ( USNM) , 1 ♂ ‘1928 Szechuen China DC Graham’ ( USNM) , 1 ♂ ‘ Pantian’ ge, Weixi , Yunnan, 23.VII.1981, 2500 m, light trap, leg. Wang Shuyong’ ( IZAS) , 2 ♂♂ ‘ Yanzigou, Xinxing, Luding , Sichuan, 7.VIII.2004, 1560 m, light trap, leg. Bai Ming’ ( IZAS) .

Description

Length. 9.2 mm, length of elytra: 6.5 mm, width: 4.9 mm. Body oblong, reddish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus shortly subtrapezoidal and wide, widest at base, lateral margins straight 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 weakly convex medially and moderately shiny, coarsely and very densely irregularly punctate, distance between punctures less than their diameter, punctures partly fused, with a few long erect setae; frontoclypeal suture very feebly incised and medially weakly angled; smooth area in front of eye short and approximately twice as wide as long; ocular canthus long and slender, very finely and sparsely punctate, with a moderately short single terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and somewhat irregularly scattered moderately dense punctures, with a few long setae beside eyes and a few short ones on disc. Eyes moderately large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.64. Antenna composed of 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, nearly 1.3 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins nearly straight and weakly narrowed anteriorly, in anterior quarter weakly curved, anterior angles moderately produced and moderately acute, posterior angles blunt and not rounded at tip, anterior margin convexly produced medially, broad marginal line widely interrupted medially, 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 not dense punctures, medially not smooth, minute setae present.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly convex and not densely punctate, odd intervals with punctures concentrated along striae and 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; each abdominal sternite with indistinct 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: 1/1.35. Pygidium strongly and evenly convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with short setae, a few longer setae beside apical margin.

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 straight, 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: 1/4.0, dorsal margin sharply 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 a moderately fine, 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, without longitudinal impressions, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a fine longitudinal carina immediately beside it; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and a quarter of its length longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw bluntly truncate apically.

Aedeagus. Figure 8E–G . Female unknown.

Diagnosis

The new taxon can be distinguished from all other species of the N. vulpes group by the lack of the ventral process of phallobase, from all species having a phallobase without a ventral process (the following two species) by the right paramere being large and spherical, with its longitudinal extension half of phallobasal length.

Etymology

The new species is named after its type locality, Baishui (Latin adjective in the nominative singular).

Variation

Length. 9.23 mm, length of elytra: 6.46 mm, width: 4.96 mm.

Figures

Figure 8. A–D: Neoserica xiaguanensis Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), E–H: N. baishuiensis Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype). A, E: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F: parameres, dorsal view; D, H: 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.