Neoserica (s.l.) leiboensis 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 : 1128-1130

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

( Figures 9E–H , 11 )

Type material examined

Holotype. ♂ ‘ China - S Sichuan, 1997 Daliang Shan mts. 27.VII. Road Meigu-Leibo pass 15 km NE Meigu 28°25[′]N, 103°17[′] E M. Tryzna et O. Šafránek lgt.’ (CP) . Paratypes: 1 ♂, 1 ♀ ‘ China, Sichuan Daliang Shuan , 2300 m 30 km West of Xide City, 15.– 20.8.1998 Leg. Stanislav Nykl’ ( ZFMK) , 3 ♂♂ ‘ China, S Sichuan 27.VII. Daliang Shan mts., 1997 road Meigu-Leibo pass 15 km NE Meigu 28°25 ′ N, 103°17 ′ E Jaroslav Turna leg.’ (CP, ZFMK) .

Description

Length. 8.3 mm, length of elytra: 5.6 mm, width: 4.7 mm. Body oblong, dark yellowish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent to moderately rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface flat and shiny, coarsely and densely, irregularly punctate, with a few longer, 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, with a fine terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and sparse punctures, with a few short setae. Eyes large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.74. Antenna with 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, nearly 1.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest a quarter before base, lateral margins evenly curved and weakly narrowed anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior angles weakly produced and distinctly rounded, posterior angles blunt and slightly rounded at tip, 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 very sparsely setose, setae nearly completely abraded in holotype; 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, 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 convex and external apical angle 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: 1/1.48. Pygidium strongly convex and shiny, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with sparse, short setae, a few longer setae on apex.

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 long, widest at apex, ratio width/length: 1/3.8, 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 dorsally finely punctate, with a few long setae, with sparse, short setae ventrally; metatarsomeres impunctate and glabrous dorsally, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and glabrous, and with a fine longitudinal carina immediately beside it; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and distinctly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw bluntly truncate apically.

Aedeagus. Figure 9E–G .

Diagnosis

The new species differs from all other species of N. vulpes group by lacking the ventral process of phallobase; this feature it shares with N. lateriuncinata sp. nov. and N. baishuiensis sp. nov. which are rather similar in shape of parameres. The new species differs from these two in the shape of the dorsolateral process of the phallobase, being smaller and ventrally concavely sinuate in N. leiboensis sp. nov.

Etymology

The new species is named after its type locality close to the Leibo pass (Latin adjective in the nominative singular).

Variation

Length. 7.9–8.5 mm, length of elytra: 5.5–5.7 mm, width: 4.5–4.8 mm. Female: Eyes slightly smaller, antennal club composed of four antennomeres, first joint of club subequal to one quarter of club length.

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 11. Distribution of the species of the Neoserica (s.l.) vulpes group: N. baoshana, N. biuncinata, N. dundai, N. ganhaiziana, N. laocaiana, N. leiboensis, N. ningyuanensis, N. rubellula, N. shinkaisiensis, N. sichuanica, N. weishanensis, N. xiaguanensis and N. yangjiapingensis.