Neoserica (s. str.) pseudosangangana Liu & Ahrens, 2015

Liu, Wan-Gang, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2015, New species and records of the Neoserica (sensu stricto) group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini), Journal of Natural History 49 (39), pp. 2379-2395 : 2384-2386

Neoserica (s. str.) pseudosangangana Liu & Ahrens , sp. nov.

( Figure 1E–H )

Type material examined

Holotype: ♂ [ China] ‘ Libo , V.1998 ’ ( IZAS) . Paratypes: 2 ♀♀ [ China] ‘ Libo , V.1998 ’ ( IZAS) .

Description

Length: 8.1 mm; length of elytra: 6.2 mm; width: 4.8 mm. Body oval, dorsal surface reddish brown, frons, anterior pronotum, ventral surface and legs dark brown with greenish shine, sutural and lateral elytral intervals black, dorsal surface with dense, fine, yellowish, adpressed setae, erect setae except on head almost entirely abraded in holotype.

Labroclypeus subrectangular, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent to broadly rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct obtuse angle, anterior margin straight, strongly reflexed; surface moderately convex medially and moderately shiny, coarsely and sparsely punctate, with several long erect setae; frontoclypeal suture slightly impressed and moderately curved, smooth area anterior to eye nearly 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately short and robust, finely and densely punctate, with a single terminal seta. Frons finely and densely punctate, with moderately dense, adpressed, short setae, interspersed with coarse punctures (setae abraded in holotype). Eyes small, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.53. Antenna with 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined, first joint of club subequal in length to club. Mentum elevated and flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins in basal half subparallel, moderately sinuate before posterior angles, weakly curved and convergent in anterior half, anterior angles not produced and strongly rounded, nearly obsolete, posterior angles slightly acute, anterior margin straight, with distinct and fine marginal line, base without marginal line; surface with fine and dense punctures each bearing a yellowish, adpressed seta and with coarser punctures interspersed; anterior and lateral borders moderately setose; hypomeron carinate, basal margin of hypomeron moderately produced ventrally. Scutellum subtriangular, apex moderately rounded, with fine and dense punctures and moderate adpressed setae.

Elytra oblong, widest at middle, striae moderately impressed, with fine and dense punctures, intervals weakly convex, with fine, dense punctures and fine, adpressed setae, each interval with numerous larger single punctures each bearing an erect long seta (partly abraded in the holotype); epipleural edge moderately strong, ending at strongly rounded external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border chitinous, without short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, with large, dense punctures and dense, short adpressed setae, metacoxa with similar punctation and pilosity and with some robust setae laterally, abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate and setose, each sternite with an indistinct transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a short, robust seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae slightly wider than mesofemur, with numerous strong setae on an indistinct semicircular carina. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/2. Pygidium weakly convex, with fine, dense punctures and fine setae, with a few robust setae in coarse punctures, without smooth midline.

Legs moderately slender, femora with fine and dense punctures, densely setose; anterior edge of metafemur acute lacking an adjacent serrated line, posterior margin weakly convex, with a few fine setae medially, weakly widened in apical half ventrally but not serrate, serrate dorsally. Metatibia moderately long, convexly widened at middle, ratio width/length: 1/3, dorsally sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group at middle, apical one at three quarters of metatibial length, with a few single spines in punctures basally, beside dorsal margin with a blunt, indistinctly serrate carina from base to middle; lateral face longitudinally convex, finely and densely punctate and setose, ventral edge serrate, with three equidistant strong spines; medial face very sparsely punctate and with a few fine setae, apex interiorly near tarsal articulation deeply and sharply truncate. Tarsomeres glabrous and impunctate dorsally, with sparse, short setae ventrally; metatarsomeres with strong longitudinal impressions dorsally, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally, with a strong longitudinal carina laterally, first metatarsomere distinctly longer than dorsal tibial spur, metatarsomeres 3–5 lacking in holotype, as well as the protibia.

Aedeagus

Figure 1E–G .

Diagnosis

The new species is rather similar externally to N. sangangana Ahrens, 2003 . As in N. mengsongensis Liu & Ahrens , sp. nov., the phallobase is produced dorsolaterally at the apex, however, in this new species the left side rather than the right side is produced and the process is wider and much less spikelike ( Figure 1E–G ).

Etymology

The new species is named N. pseudosanganagana in reference to its resemblance to N. sangangana in external morphology.

Variation

Length: 7.0– 8.1 mm, length of elytra: 5.6–6.2 mm, width: 4.6–4.8 mm. Female: antennal club with three antennomeres; club as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Protibia short, bidentate, anterior claws symmetrical, with a sharply pointed basal tooth.

Figures

Figure 1. (A-D) Neoserica (s. str.) mengsongensis Liu & Ahrens sp. nov. (holotype); (E-H) Neoserica (s. str.) pseudosangangana Liu & Ahrens sp. nov. (holotype). (A, H) Aedeagus, left side lateral view; (C, G) aedeagus, right side lateral view; (B, F) parameres, dorsal view; (D, H) habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm.