Dedalopterus lexuanhuei Pham, Ahrens & Sabatinelli, 2024

Pham, Phu Van, Ahrens, Dirk & Sabatinelli, Guido, 2024, The genus Dedalopterus Sabatinelli & Pontuale, 1998 (Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Leucopholini) in Laos and Vietnam, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 5406 (1), pp. 141-152 : 142-147

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5406.1.7
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4CB53437-B2F9-4C82-AEA9-E2E18B13A6AF
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10624692
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/976F0F09-FFD7-FFD1-FF11-FB26FAFD3D51
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Dedalopterus lexuanhuei Pham, Ahrens & Sabatinelli
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Dedalopterus lexuanhuei Pham, Ahrens & Sabatinelli , new species urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:59B426F3-D7E0-4D81-B261-F83F4BF6C8A1

( Figs 1 View FIGURE 1 ; 2A–B View FIGURE 2 ; 3A–C View FIGURE 3 ; 4D, F, I View FIGURE 4 ; 5C, F, I View FIGURE 5 )

Type material. Holotype, ♂ “ VIETNAM, Kon Tum Province, Ngoc Linh Mountain , 31.iii–6.iv.2004, light trap, Le Xuan Hue leg.” ( IEBR) . Paratypes, 2♂♂, 2♀♀ “ VIETNAM, Kon Tum Province, Ngoc Linh Mountain , iv–v.2022, local collector leg.” ( IEBR) ; 4♂♂ “ Kon Tum Province, Ngoc Linh Mountain , alt. 1500m, v.2020, local collector leg.” ( ZMPC) ; 4♂♂, 5♀♀ “ Kon Tum Prov., Dak Glei Distr., Ngoc Linh Nat. res., v.2022, local collectors” ( MHNG, ZFMK) ; 6♂♂, 2♀♀ “ Quang Nam prov., Tâi Giang [Tây Giang] distr., Axan , 1300m, vi.2022, local collector leg.” ( MHNG, ZFMK) .

Specimen excluded from the type series. 1♂ “N. Vietnam, Yen Bai Pro., Mu Cang Chai , 1700m, v.2022, local collectors” ( MHNG). This specimen is likely erroneously labelled since the collecting locality is extremely distant from the type locality but close to the range of D. malyzsi Bunalski, 2001 .

Description of holotype (male). Body length: 20.5 mm; body width: 9.0 mm, dorsal integument and appendages yellowish-brown to dark brown, canthus dark brown and abdominal ventrites light brown to chestnut ( Fig. 2A View FIGURE 2 ).

Head. Antennal club 2x longer than stalk, scape 1.43x longer than wide and distally bulbous, pedicel and segments 3–5 equidimensional and beadlike, and segments 6–7 wider than long and anteriorly pronounced into sharp teeth, tooth of segment 7 longer ( Fig. 1H View FIGURE 1 ). Terminal maxillary palpomere nearly 2x longer and 1.4x wider than penultimate palpomere, both margins equally inflated and apex moderately sharp, and dorsally a callus covers proximal two thirds of surface ( Fig. 1F View FIGURE 1 ). Labrum glabrous except for sparse longer setae along its lower front margin. Frontoclypeal suture complete, slightly concave-forward; deep frontal depression; vertex flat, not carinate; eyes large but not very prominent ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ).

Pronotum. Pronotal vestiture consists of round white scales composing sagittal vitta, on longitudinal depression; disk covered by narrow yellowish-white scales; and short beige setae and longer beige hairs along lateral margins ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ).

Elytra. Elytral vestiture with large, oval, imbricating white scales in intervals 1–3; narrow yellowish-white scales in secondary intervals within costae 2–3; narrow off-white to beige scales on sutural edge and in mesial part of secondary interval within costa 4; beige spines in costa; and beige setae mixed some narrow yellowish-white scales in (marginal) interval 5 ( Figs 1C View FIGURE 1 , 2A View FIGURE 2 ).

Pygidium. Strongly convex at basal half, disk with off-white spines, off-white scales at base, off-white setae at lateral margins and apex; pygidial apex constricted to produce a slender and sharp spine ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ).

Abdomen. Ventrites 1–5 bear white scales and spines, posterior margin of ventrites 5–6 with narrow white scales; posterior margin of ventrite 6 with yellowish-white setae.

Legs. Protibia tridentate, with basal tooth obsolete and situated more distantly from distal two teeth ( Fig. 1E View FIGURE 1 ). Basal protarsomere longer than protarsomere 2, basal mesotarsomere as long as mesotarsomere 2, and basal metatarsomere subequal metatarsomere 2. Ventral tooth of all tarsal claws situated nearly at half-length of claw, bases inclined slightly forward ( Fig. 1I View FIGURE 1 ).

Aedeagus. Parameres asymmetric, moderately long and slender, distal parts curved to the right; right paramere shorter and thinner than left one. In lateral views, parameres slightly curved and left termination ventrally expanded into hatchet, right termination gradually tapers to blunt upper point. Ventral setation moderately long and dense covered distal half of ventral paramere ( Figs 3A–C View FIGURE 3 ).

Variability. Male paratypes: Body length: 18.5–20.5 mm; body width: 8.3–8.8 mm; a male paratype with basal tooth of protibia almost absent. Other features are identical to the holotype. Female paratypes ( Figs 1B View FIGURE 1 , 2A, C View FIGURE 2 ): Body usually bigger than males, body length: 20.5–22.2 mm, body width: 10.3 – 10.5 mm; antennal club shorter or subequal to stalk; pygidium slightly convex, rounded apex; (marginal) interval 5 with large, oval, imbricating yellowish-white and white scales; antennomeres 3–5 slightly longer than wide, antennomeres 6–7 anteriorly less pronounced and blunt; callus correspondingly narrower; protibia broader and tridentate.

Differential diagnosis. Dedalopterus lexuanhuei Pham, Ahrens & Sabatinelli , new species is most similar to D. pulchellus and D. malyszi . They can be distinguished from the each other the apical segment of maxillary palp with a large callus on its outer surface and frontal depression deep in D. lexuanhuei Pham, Ahrens & Sabatinelli , new species and D. pulchellus , but with a minor callus and frontal depression superficial in D. malyszi ; protibia tridentate in D. lexuanhuei Pham, Ahrens & Sabatinelli , new species, but protibia bidentate in the two remaining species ( Fig. 6D – F View FIGURE 6 ); right paramere much shorter than the left one in D. lexuanhuei Pham, Ahrens & Sabatinelli , new species, parameres of equal length in D. pulchellus , and the right paramere shorter than the left one in D. malyszi ( Fig. 4E – I View FIGURE 4 ), and they also differ in stripes of scales of elytra ( Fig. 4A – D View FIGURE 4 ).

Etymology. This species is named after Assoc. Prof. Le Xuan Hue, former IEBR staff, who collected the holotype.

Distribution. Vietnam (Kon Tum Province, Ngoc Linh Mountain), located in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam, near the border with Laos and Cambodia. Ngọc Linh (a Sino-Vietnamese name meaning “Jade Mountain”) is a mountain of the Annamite Range that stretches between the provinces of Quảng Nam and Kon Tum.