Serica (Serica) bomi Ahrens, Zhao, Pham & Liu, 2024

Ahrens, Dirk, Zhao, Ming-Zhi, Pham, Phu Van & Liu, Wan-Gang, 2024, Taxonomic updates on Pachyserica Brenske, 1898 and Serica MacLeay, 1819 reveal 38 new species and new challenges of Sericini systematics regarding DNA barcodes and genus-level diagnostic key characters (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericinae), Zootaxa 5491 (1), pp. 1-89 : 13-14

Serica (Serica) bomi Ahrens, Zhao, Pham & Liu , new species

Fig. 3G–L

Type material examined. Holotype ♂ [ China] “ Zuogong, Bomi , Xizang, 14.VIII.1983, 2300m, leg. Han Yinheng / Asia Sericini 1328 spec.” ( IZAS) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ [ China] “ Motuo , Xizang, 23.VIII. 1982, 621m, leg. Han Yinheng ” ( IZAS) , 1 ♂ [ China] “ Bomi , Xizang, 3.IX.1982, 3050m, leg. Lin Zai ” ( ZFMK) .

Additional material examined. Doubtful record: China, 1 ♂ “Mts. Maoershan, Guangxi, 14.VII.1985, 1900m, leg. Liao Subai ” ( IZAS) .

Description of holotype. Length: 7.5 mm, length of elytra: 6.0 mm, width: 4.0 mm. Body oblong, dark brown, antenna yellow, legs, margins of pronotum, and parts of ventral surface reddish brown, on elytra with indistinct, more or less large, slightly darker spots, dorsal surface dull; elytra with sparse setae, otherwise glabrous.

Labroclypeus moderately wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins straight and moderately convergent anteriorly, anterior angles distinctly rounded, anterior margin distinctly and widely emarginate medially, anterior margin strongly reflexed; surface flat, shiny, finely and densely punctate, with a few long, erect setae behind anterior margin; frontoclypeal suture finely incised, slightly elevated and bent; smooth area anterior to eye moderately large and flat, about as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long and slender (1/4 of ocular diameter), smooth, with one short terminal seta. Frons flat, with a concave impression on each side behind frontoclypeal suture, anteriorly shiny, posterior half dull; surface with fine and irregularly dense punctures, with a few long, erect setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture. Eyes large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.76.Antenna with nine antennomeres; antennomeres three to seven transverse and short; club with three antennomeres, 1.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined and reflexed. Mentum elevated, anteriorly flattened. Labrum transverse, short, moderately produced, moderately emarginate medially.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins in basal half weakly concave and subparallel, in anterior half moderately convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles weakly produced and blunt, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin medially with a complete, distinct marginal line, moderately produced medially; surface densely and finely punctate, midline punctate, with a few fine, white setae on lateral disc, otherwise only with minute setae in punctures; anterior and lateral margins with long and moderately dense setae; hypomeron distinctly carinate at base. Scutellum slender and long, partly shiny, triangular, finely and densely punctate.

Elytra oblong, widest at apical third, striae weakly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals slightly convex, with fine, moderately dense punctures, dark spots completely smooth; odd intervals with sparse, fine, short, white setae; epipleural edge fine, ending at moderately curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border chitinous, without membranous rim of fine microtrichomes (magnification 100x).

Ventral surface dull, finely and not densely punctate, moderately densely setose, metacoxa glabrous, with a few long setae only laterally; abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, with a transverse row of coarse punctures, each bearing a short seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as the slender mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.31. Pygidium strongly convex and dull, finely and densely punctate, smooth midline present only on base, apical half with dense, long setae.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, coarsely and not densely punctate between the rows, with robust setae on basal half; metafemur shiny, anterior margin acute, without a continuously serrated line behind anterior margin, ventral posterior margin serrated in apical half and not widened, dorsal posterior margin completely serrated, in basal half with a few long setae which are half as long as width of metafemur. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/4.5; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group shortly before middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single, robust setae; lateral face longitudinally concave, with sparse and superficial, longitudinal punctures, partly wrinkled; ventral margin serrated, with five equidistant robust setae; medial face with a shallow longitudinal groove medially, sparsely punctate and glabrous; apex interiorly near tarsal articulation distinctly but bluntly truncate. Tarsomeres ventrally with sparse, minute setae, dorsally impunctate and without wrinkles; metatarsomeres laterally weakly carinate, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally; first metatarsomere distinctly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and almost twice as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, external margin smooth; anterior claws asymmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw small and lobiform.

Aedeagus: Fig. 3I–L . Habitus: Fig. 3G–H . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Serica bomi new species differs from Serica tomiensis Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2009 by the slightly shorter and more triangular right paramere which has the blunt angle at basal external margin more pronounced; the mesal basal is also more complex.

Etymology. The name of this new species (noun in apposition) is derived from its type locality Tomi (Xizang, China).

Variation. Length: 7.5–9.2 mm, length of elytra: 6.0– 6.4 mm, width: 4.0– 4.5 mm.

Remark. The specimen record with the labels “Mts. Maoershan, Guangxi ” is probably errorneous, given it is more than 1000 km distant from the other records of this obviously endemic species.

Figures

FIGURE 3. A–F: Serica zhamu new species (holotype); G–L: S. bomi new species (holotype); A, I: aedeagus, left side lateral view; D, L: aedeagus, right side lateral view; C, K: parameres, dorsal view; B, J: aedeagus, dorsal view; E, G: habitus, dorsal view; F, H: habitus, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm. Habitus images not to scale.