Serica (Serica) lushui 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 : 10-11

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

Fig. 2F–K

Type material examined. Holotype ♂ “ China: Yunnan prov., Lushui Co., Gaoligong Mts. , Luisahe vill., Hájek, Hrůzová, Král, Růžička & Sommer lgt. 10.vii.2019 / river valley, mixed forest on vegetation; in dead wood and fungi; 25°58.3–7′N, 98°44.4–45.3′E, 2135–2450m / Asia Sericini spec. 1340” ( NMPC) . Paratypes: 2 ♂♂ “ China: Yunnan prov., Lushui Co., Gaoligong Mts. , Luisahe vill., Hájek, Hrůzová, Král, Růžička & Sommer lgt. 10.vii.2019 / river valley, mixed forest on vegetation; in dead wood and fungi; 25°58.3–7′N, 98°44.4–45.3′E, 2135–2450m ” ( NMPC, ZFMK) .

Description of holotype. Length: 7.9 mm, length of elytra: 5.8 mm, width: 3.9 mm. Body oblong, dark brown, antenna yellow, legs reddish brown, on elytra and midline of pronotum with indistinct, more or less large, darker spots, dorsal surface dull; pronotum and elytra with sparse, moderately long, adpressed white setae, except on head and lateral margins of pronotum and elytra otherwise glabrous.

Labroclypeus as wide as long, widest at base, lateral margin moderately convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles weakly rounded, anterior margin distinctly and widely emarginate medially, anterior margin strongly reflexed; surface flat, moderately shiny, finely and densely punctate, with some short and superficial transverse wrinkles, 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 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus long and slender (1/3 of ocular diameter), smooth, with one short terminal seta. Frons flat, entirely dull; surface with fine and sparse punctures, with a few long, erect setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture, partly punctures with minute setae. Eyes very large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.95.Antenna with ten antennomeres; antennomeres three to seven transverse and short; club with three antennomeres, 3 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined and reflexed. Mentum elevated, anteriorly flattened. Labrum transverse, short, moderately produced, moderately emarginate medially.

Pronotum transverse, twice as wide as long, widest at base, lateral margins straight and weakly convergent anteriorly, in anterior third convex and strongly convergent, anterior angles weakly produced and convex, posterior angles blunt, rounded at tip; anterior margin medially with a complete, broad, distinct marginal line, strongly convexly produced medially; surface densely and finely punctate, with a few very fine, white setae on lateral disc, otherwise only with minute setae in punctures; anterior and lateral margins with long and moderately dense setae; hypomeron not 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; 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: 1/1.46. Pygidium moderately convex and dull, finely and densely punctate, smooth midline lacking, with sparse, moderately 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: 1/3.9; 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, indistinctly, sparsely and superficially punctate; ventral margin serrated, with two very widely separated short but 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, very minute setae, dorsally impunctate and without wrinkles; metatarsomeres laterally and dorsally carinate, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally, ventrally glabrous; first metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined and twice as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, external margin with a few small teeth in base half; anterior claws asymmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw small and lobiform, basal tooth of external claw evenly narrowed towards apex and sharply pointed.

Aedeagus: Fig. 2H–K . Habitus: Fig. 2F–G . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Serica lushui new species differs from S. becvari Ahrens, 2005 by the apically strongly widened external margin of the right paramere, and by the in apical half slightly narrower left paramere. From S. fansipan new species, Serica lushui new species differs by in a similar way as from S. becvari (i.e., the apically strongly widened external margin of the right paramere), as well as the lacking basolateral spiniform process.

Etymology. The name of this new species (noun in apposition) is derived from its occurrence in Lushui county (Yunnan, China).

Variation. Length: 7.6–8.2 mm, length of elytra: 3.6–5.8 mm, width: 3.6–4.3 mm.

Figures

FIGURE 2. A–E: Serica fansipan new species (holotype); F–K: S. lushui new species (holotype); A, H: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, K: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, I: parameres, dorsal view; J: aedeagus, dorsal view; D, F: habitus, dorsal view; E, G: habitus, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm. Habitus images not to scale.