Microserica geberbauer, Ahrens, Dirk, 2004

Ahrens, Dirk, 2004, Revision of the Microserica lineata Moser, 1915 ­ group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini), Zootaxa 667, pp. 1-14 : 7-10

Microserica geberbauer sp. n. ( Figs 7–10 , 14 )

Type material examined: Holotype ɗ “NE Thailand, 1–15.1991[sic], Mae Hong Son Ban Huai Po, 800–1600 m, S. Bily leg.” ( NHMB). Paratypes: 8 ɗɗ, 10 ΨΨ same data as holotype ( NHMB, CA), 8 ɗɗ, 9 ΨΨ “NW [sic] Thailand, 19.19N, 91.59 E Mae Hong Son, 1991 Ban Si Lang, 1200 m 23.–31.5., L. Dembický leg.” ( NHMB, NHMW, CA), 1 ɗ “ Thai, 10.–16.V.1991 Chiang Dao 600 m 19°24’N 98°55’E Vit Kubán leg./ TS 20” ( TICB), 1 ɗ “ Thai, 17.–24.V.1991 Chiang Dao 600 m 19°25’N 98°52’E Vit Kubán leg./ TS 20” ( TICB), 1 ɗ “NW Thailand, 4.–6.5. Mae Hong Son, 1991 Ban Si Lang, 1200 m J. Horák leg.” ( TICB).

Description. Length: 5.0 mm, length of elytra: 3.3 mm, width: 3.0 mm. Body oval, reddish dark brown, frons and two large spots on pronotum dark with greenish lustre, labroclypeus, legs, and elytra yellowish, the latter with margins and odd intervals dark, dorsal surface dull, slightly iridescent in part, labroclypeus strongly shiny; body surface almost glabrous, punctures with minute setae, only, elytra additionally with a few, moderately long and fine, setae.

(lpm — left paramere; ms — dorsomedian sinuation of phallobase; phb — phallobase; rpm — right paramere).

Labroclypeus narrow and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins moderately convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles strongly rounded, lateral border and ocular canthus produced into a distinct obtuse angle, anterior and lateral margins moderately reflexed, anterior margin moderately sinuate medially, surface almost flat medially and shiny, finely and densely punctate, with a few long, erect setae anteriorly; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly impressed and weakly curved; smooth area in front of eye twice as wide as long; ocular canthus short and triangular, almost impunctate, with a short single terminal seta. Frons with fine and dense punctures, glabrous, partly with minute setae and beside eyes with a few erect long setae. Eyes small, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.53. Antenna yellow, with ten antennomeres; club with four antennomeres equal in length, club twice as long as than the remaining antennomeres combined and weakly reflexed outward. Mentum almost flat.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest shortly before base, lateral margins in basal half subparallel, almost evenly curved and weakly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles distinctly produced and acute, posterior angles weakly rounded, anterior margin convexly produced medially, with a distinct and fine marginal line, basal margin without marginal line, surface with uniformly dense and fine punctures, with adpressed minute white setae in the punctures; anterior and lateral borders setaceous; hypomeron carinate, its basal margin not produced ventrally. Scutellum narrow and short, apex weakly rounded, with fine and moderately dense punctures, on base medially widely smooth, minute setae present in the punctures.

Elytra oval, widest at middle, striae distinctly impressed and finely densely punctate, intervals sparsely finely punctate laterally only, all intervals strongly convex, throughout with minute setae in the punctures, odd intervals with a few strong erect setae, interior apical angle of elytron with a strong seta, humerus, apical and lateral margins dark, before apex with a dark spot; epipleural edge robust but convex, ending at the strongly convex external apical angle of elytron, epipleura densely setaceous, apical border broadly membraneous, with a rim of short microtrichomes extending widely to apical epipleural margin.

Ventral surface dull, with fine and dense punctures, with dense short setae, setae adpressed, metacoxa minutely setose, laterally with robust adpressed setae; each abdominal sternite with indistinct transversal row of coarse and dense punctures, sternite bearing short strong setae between fine and dense punctation, all sternites bearing minute white setae. Mesosternum between mesocoxae almost as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.68. Pygidium distinctly wider than long, dull, moderately convex apically, with fine and moderately dense punctures bearing fine and very short white setae, on apical half with numerous erect yellowish setae, without smooth midline.

Legs moderately slender; femora on ventral surface dull, finely and moderately densely punctate, glabrous, with two longitudinal rows of setae; anterior edge of metafemur acute, with a robust adjacent continuously serrated line, posterior margin weakly convex and glabrous, ventrally weakly widened in apical half but not serrate, posterior margin dorsally not serrate. Metatibia moderately slender and long, dorsal and ventral margin almost subparallel, ratio width/ length: 1/ 3.75, dorsally longitudinally convex, with two groups of spines, the basal group at one third, apical one at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single spines in the punctures; lateral face longitudinally convex, with sparse and moderately coarse punctures, punctures with minute setae; ventral edge sharp and serrated, with four strong and long, equally spaced spines, medial face impunctate and smooth, apex interiorly (near tarsal articulation) distinctly truncate. Tarsomeres dorsally glabrous and impunctate, ventrally with a very few sparse, short setae; metatarsomeres ventrally with a single strongly serrated carina, subventral carina very fine and indistinct, first metatarsomere as long as the following two tarsomeres combined and almost twice as long as the upper tibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical.

Aedeagus: Figs 7–9 .

Variability. Length: 4.8–5.3 mm, length of elytra: 3.0– 3.6 mm, width: 2.7–3.2 mm. Female: Antennal club with three antennomeres, club as long as remaining antennomeres combined; pygidium moderately convex and completely dull.

Diagnosis. Microserica geberbauer sp. n. is very similar to M. lineata Moser, 1915 in genital shape and habitus. It may be differentiated from M. lineata by the antennal club twice as long as the remaining antennomeres combined, by the two separated dark spots on the pronotum and by the presence of long setae on the elytra. Furthermore M. geberbauer sp. n. differs from M. lineata by the reduced length of the right paramere and by the lateral process of the phallobase at left side narrowed toward the apex. The apex of the right paramere is weakly widened in M. geberbauer sp. n.

Etymology. Named after Hans and Wilhelm Geberbauer in recognition of their support for a taxonomic revision of Thai Sericini and nature conservation. The name is treated as a noun in apposition. Gender is masculine.

Figures

FIGURE 14: Microserica geberbauer sp. n. (Paratype: Thailand; Mae Hong Son: Ban Huai Po), habitus (not to scale).

FIGURE 7 – 10: Microserica geberbauer sp. n. (Holotype: Thailand; Mae Hong Son: Ban Huai Po); 7 — Aedeagus left side lateral view, 10 — Aedeagus right side lateral view, 8 — Parameres dorsal view, 9 — Aedeagus dorsal view. Scale: 0.5 mm.