Serica (s. str.) tashigaonensis, Sreedevi & Ranasinghe & Fabrizi & Ahrens, 2019

Sreedevi, Kolla, Ranasinghe, Sasankha, Fabrizi, Silvia & Ahrens, Dirk, 2019, New species and records of Sericini from the Indian subcontinent (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) II, European Journal of Taxonomy 567, pp. 1-26 : 23-25

Serica (s. str.) tashigaonensis sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A5B0AF1B-5AB6-41EE-BC22-85D0DB9820DA

Fig. 4 E–H

Diagnosis

Serica tashigaonensis sp. nov. resembles S. kingdoni Ahrens, 1999 in the short, simply shaped parameres; however, in the new species the phallobase is strongly asymmetric at the apex and the left paramere is strongly narrowed towards apex.

Etymology

The name (adjective in the nominative singular) refers to the type locality close to Tashigaon ( Nepal).

Type material

Holotype

NEPAL • ♂; “E-Nepal, Arun Valley , W above Tashigaon, 25-2700m, 26-27.V.2014, leg. J. Schmidt, 27°36′33″ N, 87°13′28″ E / 1032 Sericini Asia spec.”; NME.

Description

MEASUREMENTS. Length: 9.4 mm, length of elytra: 7.1 mm, width: 5.0 mm.

HABITUS AND COLORATION. Body oblong ( Fig. 4H ), dark brown, antennae and legs yellowish, ventral parts reddish brown, punctures on elytra reddish brown, dorsal surface dull; frons, pronotum and elytra with sparse, adpressed white setae.

HEAD. Labroclypeus as wide as long, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent, anterior angles blunt, anteriorly deeply and widely sinuate medially, lateral margins moderately reflexed, anterior margin strongly reflexed; surface flat and shiny, finely and densely punctate, with a few long, erect setae behind middle; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, slightly elevated and weakly curved; smooth area anterior to eye large and moderately convex, approximately 2.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus short and slender (¼ of ocular diameter), smooth, with one short terminal seta. Frons completely dull and flat, with fine and moderately dense punctures, with long, erect setae beside eyes and on posterior part. Eyes very large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.9. Antenna with ten antennomeres; antennomeres three to six slightly wider than long, antennomere seven transverse and short; club with three antennomeres, 2.5 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined and strongly reflexed outward. Mentum weakly elevated, anteriorly flattened. Labrum transverse, short, moderately produced, moderately sinuate medially.

PRONOTUM. Moderately transverse, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent anteriorly, anterior angles weakly produced, rounded at tip, posterior angles weakly rounded; anterior margin medially with a widely lacking marginal line and strongly convexly produced medially; surface not densely and finely punctate, a few larger punctures with white, short and appressed setae, otherwise only with very minute setae in punctures; anterior and lateral borders long and densely setose; hypomeron not carinate at base. Scutellum slender and long, triangular, finely and moderately densely punctate, with a few minute setae in punctures.

ELYTRA. Oblong, widest at apical third, striae weakly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals flat, with fine, sparse punctures concentrated along striae, punctures on odd intervals denser, impunctate spots dark, intervals with fine, short, white setae which are sparsely scattered, sutural and lateral intervals with a few long, erect setae; epipleural edge fine, ending at moderately curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border finely membranous, membranous rim composed of fine microtrichomes (magnification 100×).

ABDOMEN. Ventral surface dull, finely and not densely punctate, moderately densely setose, metacoxa glabrous, with a few long setae only laterally; abdominal sternites finely and densely punctuate, with a transverse row of coarse punctures, each bearing a short seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as slender mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.16. Pygidium weakly convex and dull, finely and densely punctate, smooth midline lacking, with long, moderately dense setae.

LEGS. Very slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, coarsely and not densely punctate between rows, with robust setae on basal half; metafemur dull, anterior margin acute, without a continuously serrated line behind anterior edge, posterior margin serrated ventrally in apical half and not widened, completely serrated dorsally, in basal half with a few long setae which are half as long as width of metafemur. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/5.1, dorsally sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group shortly before middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single, robust setae; longitudinally concave externally, impunctate, with numerous irregular wrinkles; ventral edge serrated, with three nearly equidistant spines; medial face with a shallow longitudinal groove medially, impunctate, apex interiorly near tarsal articulation distinctly but bluntly truncate. Tarsomeres ventrally with sparse, very minute setae, dorsally smooth; metatarsomeres laterally and dorsally carinate, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally; first metatarsomere as long as two following tarsomeres combined and nearly twice as long as upper tibial spur; mesotarsomeres in holotype lacking. Protibia long, bidentate, external edge with a few small teeth at base, anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw normally pointed, as external one.

MALE GENITALIA. Aedeagus: Fig. 4 E–G.

Female

Unknown.

Figures

Fig. 4. A–D. Serica (s. str.) eberlei sp. nov., holotype, ♂. E–H. S. (s. str.) tashigaonensis sp. nov., holotype, ♂. A, E. Aedeagus, left side lateral view. C, G. Aedeagus, right side lateral view. B, F. Parameres, dorsal view. D, H. Habitus. Scale bars: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.