Neoserica (s.l.) kunmingensis 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 : 1101-1103

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

( Figures 4A–D , 10 )

Type material examined

Holotype. ♂ ‘ Yunnan, South China, Yunnan Fu (West Hill), alt. 6500–7500 ft. August 21–22.1934, leg. Ernest R. Tinknam’ ( SYUG) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ ‘ Mt. Fanjingshan , Guizhou, 29.VII.2001, 1300–1900 m, leg. Zhao Fang’ ( CAU) , 1 ♂ ‘ Mt. Mianxuling, Mts. Fanjingshan , Guizhou, 29.VII.2001, 1700 m, leg. Dong Kangzhen’ ( IZAS) .

Description

Length. 9.0 mm, length of elytra: 6.4 mm, width: 4.4 mm. Body oblong, reddish brown, frons darker, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent to weakly rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface nearly flat and shiny, finely and densely punctate, with a 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 moderately long and slender, very finely and sparsely punctate, terminal seta lacking. Frons dull, with fine and sparse punctures, with moderately dense and long erect setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture, on disc with a few shorter, semi-erect setae. Eyes large, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.71. Antenna with 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, 1.5 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest shortly behind middle, lateral margins evenly curved and weakly narrowed anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and moderately sharp, posterior angles blunt and not 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 sparsely 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 moderately densely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae except on interval 2, odd intervals with some single, fine, semi-erect 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: 1/1.7. Pygidium moderately convex, finely and densely punctate, without impunctate midline, with sparse, long setae at 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: 1/3.7, 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 a fine, moderately dense 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 dorsally glabrous, 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 slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw bluntly truncate apically.

Aedeagus. Figure 4A–C . Female unknown.

Diagnosis

The new species is in genital shape rather similar to N. kereni , it differs from N. kereni in the less strongly bent and more sharply pointed ventral process of phallobase ( Figure 4B ) as well as the distinctly longer parameres of which the left one is fused dorsally with the phallobase.

Etymology

The new species is named after its type locality Kunming (= Yunnan Fu) ( Latin adjective in the nominative singular) .

Variation

Length. 8.8–9.0 mm, length of elytra: 6.3–6.4 mm, width: 4.4–4.9 mm.

Figures

Figure 4. A–D: Neoserica kunmingensis Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), E–H: N. parausta Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), I–L: N. rubellula 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 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.