Neoserica (s.l.) rubellula 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 : 1104-1106

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

( Figures 4I–L , 11 )

Type material examined

Holotype. ♂ ‘ China: Hubei; Dahongshan 1700 m, Shuizhou VI-2003 leg. Ying et al.’ ( ZFMK) . Paratypes. 2 ♂♂ ‘ China: Hubei; Dahongshan 1700 m, Shuizhou VI-2003 leg. Ying et al.’ ( ZFMK) .

Description

Length. 8.1 mm, length of elytra: 6.0 mm, width: 4.8 mm. Body oblong, dark reddish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins slightly convex and strongly convergent to widely rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anterior margin shallowly sinuate medially; surface weakly convex medially and 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, with a fine terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and sparse punctures, with a few long setae beside the eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture. Eyes moderately large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.73. Antenna composed of 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, 1.5 times as long as the remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins weakly evenly curved and weakly narrowed anteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt and weakly rounded at tip, anterior margin convexly produced medially, broad marginal line widely missing, basal margin without marginal line; surface with 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 a narrow rim of 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 nearly right-angled; 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: 1/1.39. Pygidium flat, at apex 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: 1/3.94, 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 moderately coarse, moderately dense punctures; ventral margin finely serrated, with four fine, equidistant spines; medial face impunctate, apex concavely truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres smooth and glabrous, only mesotarsomeres with a very few fine, dorsal setae, with evenly spaced, short setae ventrally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ventral ridge and a fine longitudinal carina immediately beside it; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly shorter dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw bluntly truncate apically.

Aedeagus. Figure 4I–K . Female unknown.

Diagnosis

The new species is in shape of genitalia rather similar to N. parausta sp. nov., but the phallobase is more robust and stout with a more robust ventral process; the external process of the right paramere is distinctly shorter than the median one.

Etymology

The new species is named with reference to its body colour with the Latin adjective rubellulus (somewhat reddish) (Latin adjective in the nominative singular).

Variation

Length. 8.1–9.6 mm, length of elytra: 6.0– 6.9 mm, width: 4.8–5.6 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 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.