Neoserica (s.l.) gaoligongshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu

Ahrens, Dirk, Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2014, A taxonomic review of the Neoserica (sensu lato) septemlamellata group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), ZooKeys 402, pp. 67-102 : 84-86

Neoserica (s.l.) gaoligongshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu sp. n. Figs 3 I–L, 7

Type material examined.

Holotype ♂ "China, Yunnan prov.; Gaoligongshan mts.; 90km W of Baoshan; S. Bečvář leg.; 26-29.v.1995/ Coll. P. Pacholátko Brno Merhautova 68 Czech Republic/ 714 Sericni: Asia spec." (CPPB). Paratypes: 8 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ "China, W Yunnan prov., mts. 60Km E Tengchong, 2300m 14.-19.v.2006, S. Murzin & I. Shokhin leg./ Coll. P. Pacholátko Brno Merhautova 68 Czech Republic" (CPPB, ZFMK).

Description.

Length: 10.5 mm, length of elytra: 7.3 mm, width: 5.9 mm. Body oblong, dark reddish brown, antennal club yellowish brown, dorsal surface except dull pronotum moderately shiny, except a few long setae on head and sides of elytra nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus trapezoidal, distinctly wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately rounded, anteriorly very weakly sinuate medially, margins moderately reflexed; surface slightly convex and shiny, basis without dull tomentum, punctation dense, small punctures mixed with coarse ones each bearing a long erect seta; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, slightly elevated and distinctly angled medially; smooth area anterior to eye approximately twice as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long (length = 1/3 of ocular diameter) and wide, with a few minute punctures and a few long setae. Frons shiny, in posterior third dull, with coarse and fine, dense punctures, densely covered with long erect setae. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.65. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with seven antennomeres, moderately reflexed, 2.5 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined; antennomere 4 subequal to two thirds of length of club, antennomere 3 half as long as pedicellus. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately transverse, subrectangular, widest a quarter before base, weakly shiny, on disc with dull tomentum, lateral margins evenly convex and moderately convergent anteriorly, slightly narrowed basally, anterior angles moderately sharp and distinctly produced, posterior angles blunt, slightly rounded at tip; anterior margin convexly produced medially, marginal line incomplete medially; surface densely and coarsely punctate, only with minute setae; setae of anterior and lateral border fine and sparse; hypomeron distinctly carinate basally, carina not produced. Scutellum narrow and long, dull, with coarse, dense punctures and minute setae.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third, striae weakly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, punctures except on second interval concentrated along striae, with only very minute setae, otherwise glabrous, penultimate lateral interval with single, long erect setae, ultimate lateral interval with short, fine, adjacent setae instead of minute ones; epipleural edge wide, ending at widely rounded apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border narrowly membranous, with a fine fringe of microtrichomes (visible at 100 ×).

Ventral surface dull, coarsely and densely punctate, metasternum moderately setose; metacoxa glabrous, with a few long setae laterally, posterior margin slightly concave; abdominal sternites finely and densely punctuate, minutely setose, with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a more robust, long seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/1.34. Pygidium strongly convex and shiny, coarsely and densely punctate, with a narrow smooth midline, with a few long erect setae on apical half.

Legs moderately slender and not very long; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate, nearly glabrous; metafemur dull, anterior margin acute, immediately behind anterior edge with a continuously serrated line, punctures and setae of anterior longitudinal row complete, posterior margin in apical half ventrally smooth and not widened, posterior margin smooth dorsally, not serrated, with dense, short setae. Metatibia moderately slender and long, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/3.5; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with three groups of spines, basal group shortly before middle, median one shortly behind middle, and apical group at 4/5 of metatibial length, basally with a few robust but single setae; beside dorsal margin with a continuously serrated line being subparallel with dorsal margin 4/5 of metatibial length; lateral face longitudinally convex, finely and sparsely punctate, without convex subdorsal longitudinal carina on lateral face; ventral margin finely serrated, with four robust setae with the posterior one being more distant from the others; medial face smooth, apex concavely sinuate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres with dense, short setae ventrally, not carinate laterally, smooth dorsally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ventral ridge and a sharp subventral carina immediately beside it, first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, tridentate, but basal tooth rather indistinct; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw sharply truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 3 I–K.

Diagnosis.

Neoserica gaoligongshanica sp. n. is in external shape most similar to Neoserica septemfoliata , but it differs by the dull pronotum, the larger body size, and the shape of male copulatory organ: the phallobasis is wider, strongly asymmetric apically, with the parameres being strongly dorsoventrally produced having large basal lobes fused with the rest of the paramere.

Etymology.

The new species is named according its type locality, Gaoligongshan.

Variation.

Length: 10.2-11.3 mm, length of elytra: 7.3-8.0 mm, width: 5.9-6.0 mm. Female: Antennal club composed of five antennomeres, slightly longer than remaining antennomeres combined, first joint of club a quarter to one third of length of club, 5th antennomere slightly transversely produced; eyes slightly smaller than in male (ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.58).