Maladera danfengensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, 2021

Fabrizi, Silvia, Liu, Wan-Gang, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2021, A monograph of the genus Maladera Mulsant & Rey, 1871 of China (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Sericini), Zootaxa 4922 (1), pp. 1-400 : 315-316

Maladera danfengensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n.

Figures 74 E–H, 128

Type material examined. Holotype ♂ “ China, SE-Shaanxi Danfeng NE env. 900-1500m, 28.-29.5.95/ 33°45-52’/ 110°22-37’ L.+ R. Businky lgt./ sp574 Asia Sericini spec.” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ “ China SW Anhui, 11.-26.V. Tianzhushan env. pitfall traps, 30.75N 116.45E Jaroslav Turna leg., 2004” ( ZFMK) , 5 ♂♂ “ China, W Henan, 7.- 8.VII. Funiu Shan , 33°42’N 112°15’E Shirenshan, 1500m, Jaroslav Turna, leg. 2007” ( ZFMK) , 7 ♂♂ “ China, W Henan, 15.V.-1.VII. 34°42’N 113°36’E Wanxianshan, 840m, Jaroslav Turna, leg. 2006” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ “China- Shaanxi Lüeang 22.5.- 25.5.2000 leg. E. Kucera ” ( CP) , 1 ♂ “ China, SE-Shaanxi Danfeng-NE env. 900-1500m, 28.- 29.5.95/ 33°45-52’/ 110°22-37’ L.+R. Businky lgt.” ( CP) , 1 ♂ “ Qinghe Forestry Farm , Kangxian County, Gansu, 8.VII.1999, 1400m, leg. He Tongli / LW-800” ( IZAS) , 1 ♂ “ China: An’hui Yuexi County Yaoluoping N.R. nr. resort 30°59’05’’N, 116°04’41’’E light trap alt. 1050m 16.vi.2013 Dai & Peng leg.” ( SNUC) .

Description. Length: 9.4 mm, length of elytra: 6.1 mm, width: 5.2 mm. Body oblong-oval, dark brown, antenna yellow, shiny, labroclypeus shiny, dorsal face nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus wide and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately rounded, anterior margin weakly emarginate, margins weakly reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce an indistinct angle; surface weakly convex medially, finely, densely punctate, with a few single erect setae; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, weakly curved; smooth area anterior to eye convex, twice as wide as long; ocular canthus short and narrow (1/4 of ocular diameter), finely densely punctate, with a short terminal seta. Frons with dense and fine punctures, with a few single setae beside eyes. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.57.Antenna with ten antennomeres, club composed of three antennomeres and straight, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum transverse, widest at base, lateral margins evenly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles distinctly produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin straight, with fine, rather indistinct marginal line, base without marginal line; surface finely and densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures being as long as puncture diameter, otherwise glabrous; anterior and lateral margin sparsely setose; hypomeron carinate, not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine, dense punctures.

Elytra widest at posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals moderately convex, with fine, moderately dense punctures concentrated along striae and with minute setae in punctures, penultimate interval with a few single erect setae; epipleural margin robust, ending at apical external angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose; apical border of elytra membraneous, with a very fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at ca 100x magnification).

Ventral surface shiny, finely and densely punctate, metasternum including disc sparsely setose; metacoxa glabrous, with a few longer setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, punctures with minute setae, each sternite with a transverse row of punctures each bearing a fine seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.45. Pygidium moderately convex, dull, finely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, with numerous long setae on apical half.

Legs moderately long and wide, shiny; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Metafemur in widest part shiny, anterior margin acute, without adjacent continuous serrated line, anterior row of setae complete; posterior ventral margin smooth, weakly widened at ventral apex, dorsal posterior margin smooth, neither serrate, with a few single long setae. Metatibia short and moderately wide, widest at middle, ratio of width/ length: 1/3.2, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group at one third, apical group at two thirds of metatibial length, in basal half with a few fine single setae and a short serrate line beside dorsal margin over basal quarter; lateral face longitudinally convex, except a few sparse punctures on base smooth and glabrous; ventral margin finely serrate, with three equidistant robust setae; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, concavely emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally impunctate, glabrous, neither laterally nor dorsally carinate, moderately setose ventrally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a smooth subventral longitudinal carina, glabrous; first metatarsomere little shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, tridentate, basal tooth blunt and indistinct; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 74 E–G. Habitus: Fig. 74H . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Maladera danfengensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from M. nigrobrunnea in that the filiform distal process of the basal lobe of the right paramere is weakly curved and the basal portion covered by the basal lobe. From M. japonica (Motschulsky) the new species may be distinguished in having the basal lobe of the right paramere widened and much shorter.

Etymology. The name of the new species (adjective in the nominative singular case) is derived from the name of its type locality, Danfeng.

Variation. Length: 8.4–9.4 mm, length of elytra: 6.0– 6.1 mm, width: 5.2–5.3 mm.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 128 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 74. A–D: Maladera sinica (Hope, 1845) (China: Fukien); E–H: M. danfengensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, E: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F: parameres, dorsal view; D, H: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 128. Distribution of the Maladera sinica group: Maladera danfengensis sp. n., M. kreyenbergi (Moser, 1918), M. nigrobrunnea (Moser, 1926), M. opacifrons (Fairmaire, 1891), M. sinica (Hope, 1845).