Tetraserica fabriziae Liu, Li & Ahrens, 2023

Ahrens, Dirk, Lukic, Daniel, Pham, Phu, Li, Wei & Liu, Wangang, 2023, Tetraserica Ahrens, 2004 of continental Southeast Asia: new records, new species and an updated key to species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericinae: Sericini), Zootaxa 5374 (4), pp. 451-486 : 463-464

Tetraserica fabriziae Liu, Li & Ahrens , new species

Fig. 4G–L

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ Mengdui Town , Zhenkang County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, 27.V.2022, Zhao Yuchen, Lu Jinbo, Light Trap ” ( IZAS) . Paratypes: 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀ “ Gao Shan Trough Village , Yao’an County, Chuxiong, Yunnan Province, 24.V.2022, Xu Rentao, light trap ” ( IZAS) , 1 ♂, 5 ♀♀ “ Fengwei Town , Zhenkang County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, 26.V.2022, Lu Jinbo, light trap ” ( IZAS).

Description of the holotype. Length: 8.5 mm, length of elytra: 6.2 mm, width: 4.5 mm. Body oval, dark reddish brown, labroclypeus and dorsal surface shiny, glabrous.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex, anterior angles strongly convex, anterior margin shallowly emarginate medially, lateral margin and ocular canthus producing a blunt angle, margins moderately reflexed; surface moderately convex medially, coarsely and moderate densely punctate, without setae; frontoclypeal suture feebly impressed and moderately angled medially; smooth area in front of eye approximately four times as wide as long; ocular canthus moderate and triangular (1/2.5 of ocular diameter), weakly punctate, with one terminal seta. Frons weakly shiny and punctate, bearing only a few erect setae beside eyes. Eyes moderately large, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.69. Antenna yellowish brown, with ten antennomeres, club in male with four antennomeres, slightly longer than remaining antennomeres combined, first joint of club approximately as long as club. Mentum anteriorly weakly elevated and weakly convex in middle.

Pronotum strongly transverse, widest just before base, lateral margins in basal quarter strongly convex, in anterior portion moderately convex and evenly convergent anteriorly; anterior angles distinctly produced, posterior angles strongly convex. Anterior margin slightly convex medially, with a fine, complete marginal line. Surface densely and finely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; lateral margins sparsely setose. Hypomeron not carinate. Scutellum triangular, with fine and dense punctures.

Elytra oblong, widest at posterior third, striae weakly impressed, finely and densely punctate; intervals weakly convex, with fine, dense punctures, glabrous except minute setae in punctures; epipleural edge robust, ending at the strongly rounded external apical angle of elytra, epipleura slightly setose, apical border membraneous, with a fine rim of short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, reddish brown, thorax with large and dense punctures, sparsely setose, metasternum sparsely covered with fine, short, or minute setae; metacoxa glabrous, with a few single setae laterally; abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a robust seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/1.5. Pygidium weakly convex and dull, coarsely densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with fine setae along apical margin.

Legs moderately wide; metafemur moderately shiny, anterior margin acute, lacking an adjacent serrated line; ventral posterior margin straight and smooth ( Fig. 4L ), moderately widened in apical half; dorsal posterior margin smooth, with moderately dense, short setae basally. Metatibia moderately short, widest at middle, ratio width/ length: 1/ 3.2, Dorsal margin longitudinally convex, with two groups of spines, basal one at first third, apical one at two thirds of metatibial length, basally with a few short single setae; lateral face smooth, sparsely finely punctate; ventral margin finely serrate, with four robust equidistant setae; medial face smooth; apex interiorly near tarsal articulation moderately concave. Tarsomeres in distal half with fine, dense setae ventrally, dorsally smooth; metatarsomeres ventrally with a strong serrated ridge and glabrous, first metatarsomere shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus. Fig. 4G–J . Habitus: Fig. 4K .

Diagnosis. Tetraserica fabriziae Liu, Li & Ahrens , new species differs from T. longipenis Liu, Fabrizi, Bai, Yang & Ahrens, 2014 and T. angkhangensis Kobayashi, 2017 by the evenly moderately narrow right paramere which is apically not widened. In this new species, the median phallobasal lamina is straight as in T. longipenis , and the moderately long dorsal lobe of left paramere is at apex slightly hooked dorsally.

Variation. Length: 8.1–8.5 mm, length of elytra: 6.2–6.3 mm, width: 4.5–4.8 mm. Female: Antennal club with three antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Eyes slightly smaller than in male. Pygidium flat.

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to Silvia Fabrizi, who we keep all in warmest memory and who greatly contributed to the knowledge of Sericini chafers (noun in genitive singular case).

Figures

FIGURE 4. A–F: Tetraserica yucheni Liu, Li & Ahrens, new species (holotype); G–L: T. fabriziae Liu, Li & Ahrens, new species (holotype). A, G: aedeagus, left side lateral view; B, C, H, I: parameres, dorsal view; D, J: aedeagus, right side lateral view; E, K: habitus; F, L: hind leg. Scale: 0.5 mm. Legs and habitus not to scale.