Neoserica (s.l.) weishanensis 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 : 1092-1094

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

( Figures 2E–H , 11 )

Type material examined

Holotype. ♂ ‘ Yunnan 2000–2800 m 25.11N 100.24E Weibaoshan mts. W slope 25- 28/6.92 Vit Kubáň leg./ Coll. Milan Nikodym, Praha’ ( ZFMK) . Paratype: 1 ♂ ‘ Yunnan 1800–2500 m 25.01N 100.21E Weishan mt. 22.–25.6.92 David Král lgt.’ ( NMPC) .

Description

Length. 9.0 mm, length of elytra: 6.2 mm, width: 4.7 mm. Body oblong, dark brown, labroclypeus, legs and margins of pronotum lighter, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus small, subtrapezoidal and moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins nearly straight and strongly convergent to moderately rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins moderately reflexed, anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface slightly convex medially and moderately shiny, finely, superficially and moderately densely punctate, with numerous 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, impunctate, with one short terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and sparse punctures, with sparse but evenly scattered long setae. Eyes moderately large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.68. Antenna composed of 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, 1.3 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum wide, widest at a quarter before base, lateral margins nearly evenly convex, weakly narrowed anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and acute, posterior angles blunt, sharply tooth-like produced 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 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 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: 1/1.52. Pygidium strongly convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with minute setae, with numerous long 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: 1/3.8, 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 three fine, equidistant spines; medial face impunctate, apex concavely truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres, except first mesotarsomere impunctate and glabrous dorsally, with evenly spaced, short setae ventrally; first mesotarsomere with two single long setae; metatarsomeres with only very minute setae ventrally, with a strongly serrated ventral ridge and with a fine longitudinal carina immediately beside it, dorsal surface with superficial longitudinal wrinkles; 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 2E–G . Female unknown.

Diagnosis

The new species differs from N. ruzickai sp. nov. and N. shinkaisiensis sp. nov. (both with bifid right paramere) by having the right paramere less widened and spherical, its medial apical process strongly bent ventrally (not straight).

Etymology

The new species is named after its occurrence in the Weishan mts (Latin adjective in the nominative singular).

Variation

Length. 8.1–9.0 mm, length of elytra: 5.9–6.2 mm, width: 4.7–4.8 mm.

Figures

Figure 2. A–D: Neoserica shinkaisiensis Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), E–H: N. weishanensis Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), I–L: N. ningyuanensis Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype). A, E, I: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G, K: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F, J: parameres, dorsal view; D, H, L: 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.