Neoserica (s.l.) lateriuncinata Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, 2014

Ahrens, Dirk, Liu, Wangang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2014, A revision of the species of the Neoserica (sensu lato) vulpes group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini), Journal of Natural History 49 (17), pp. 1073-1130 : 1126-1128

Neoserica (s.l.) lateriuncinata Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu sp. nov.

( Figures 9A–D , 10 )

Type material examined

Holotype. ♂ ‘X-DA1528 China S. Sichuan pr., pass 30 km SW Mianning , 3000–3400 m leg. S. Murzin 11.–13.VIII.2007 Neoserica spnCHINA5’ ( ZFMK) . Paratype: 1 ♂ ‘ Szechuen China DC Graham /nr Luting Kiao Aug.9 1923 5–6000 ft alt./bet. Fu Kiao Lin Pass & Tatsienlu’ ( USNM) .

Description

Length. 9.4 mm, length of elytra: 6.9 mm, width: 5.4 mm. Body oblong, light reddish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface with a slightly iridescent shine and nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins straight and moderately convergent to distinctly rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins moderately reflexed, anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface very weakly convex medially and moderately shiny, finely and densely punctate, partly punctures fusing with each other, with a few long erect setae in coarser punctures; frontoclypeal suture feebly incised and medially weakly angled; smooth area in front of eye approximately 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus long and slender, very finely and sparsely punctate, without terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and sparse punctures, with a few long setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture. Eyes moderately large, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.64. Antenna composed of 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, 1.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins nearly straight and weakly narrowed anteriorly, anteriorly weakly convex, anterior angles moderately produced and slightly rounded at tip, posterior angles blunt, anterior margin convexly produced medially, broad marginal line widely missing, basal margin without marginal line; surface with moderately dense and fine punctures, with minute setae only; anterior and lateral borders setose; hypomeron distinctly carinate at base. Scutellum narrow and long, sharp at apex, with fine and moderately dense punctures and minute setae.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly convex and not densely punctate, intervals with punctures concentrated along striae and odd intervals with some single, fine setae; epipleural edge robust, ending at strongly curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border membranous, with short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, with large and dense punctures, sparsely and shortly setose, setae partly adpressed; metacoxa glabrous, with fine setae laterally, apical margin straight and external apical angle blunt and slightly rounded; each abdominal sternite with a distinct transversal row of coarse punctures each bearing a short seta between fine and moderately dense punctation. Mesosternum between mesocoxae nearly half as wide as mesofemur, with irregularly scattered, fine setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.53. Pygidium strongly convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with sparse, short setae, a few longer setae beside apical margin.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and moderately densely punctate; metafemur ventrally dull, anterior margin sharply carinate, without a submarginal serrated line, posterior margin moderately convex, with a few strong setae medially, only weakly widened externally in apical half and not serrated ventrally in distal half, finely serrated dorsally, with dense, short setae. Metatibia slender and moderately long, widest at apex, ratio width/length: 1/3.71, dorsal margin moderately carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group of spines shortly before half of metatibial length, apical one at about three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single fine spines; external face longitudinally convex, with moderately coarse, sparse punctures; ventral margin finely serrated, with four fine, equidistant spines; medial face impunctate, apex concavely truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres indistinctly punctate dorsally and glabrous, with evenly spaced, short setae ventrally; metatarsomeres ventrally glabrous and with a strongly serrated ridge, with a fine longitudinal carina immediately beside it; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw bluntly truncate apically.

Aedeagus. Figure 9A–C . Female unknown.

Diagnosis

The new species is very similar to N. baishuiensis sp. nov. It differs from N. baishuiensis by the smaller right paramere lacking the interior tooth ( Figure 9B, C ).

Etymology

The new species is named with reference to its lateral hook of phallobase with the combined Latin adjective, composed of the Latin noun latus - (genitive: lateris – side) and uncinatus (hook-shaped) (Latin adjective in the nominative singular).

Variation

Length. 9.3–9.4 mm, length of elytra: 6.8–6.9 mm.

Figures

Figure 9. A–D: N. lateriuncinata Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), E–H: N. leiboensis Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi 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 (not to scale). Scale: 0.5 mm.

Figure 10. Distribution of the species of the Neoserica (s.l.) vulpes group: N. baishuiensis, N. heishuiana, N. kereni, N. lateriuncinata, N. luzhouana, N. nykli, N. parausta, N. pseudovulpes, N. ruzickai, N. usta, N. vulpes and N. kunmingensis.