Maladera cervicornis, Ranasinghe & Eberle & Benjamin & Ahrens, 2020

Ranasinghe, Sasanka, Eberle, Jonas, Benjamin, Suresh P. & Ahrens, Dirk, 2020, New species of Sericini from Sri Lanka (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 621, pp. 1-20 : 11-15

Maladera cervicornis sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8B6DAFF6-F615-4D2E-A776-937A80C0924E

Figs 4 E–H, 5D, 6D

Diagnosis

Maladera cervicornis sp. nov. is in external morphology very similar to M. kandyensis Fabrizi & Ahrens, 2014 . The new species differs by the tubercle on 3 rd abdominal sternite as well as by the shape of parameres.

Etymology

The name of the new species is derived from the combined Latin nouns cornu (horn) and cervus (deer), with reference to the shape of the parameres, resembling the horns of a deer (noun in nominative case).

Type material examined

Holotype

SRI LANKA • ♂; “ X-SR0188 , Sri Lanka , Matale District , Riverston, Pitawala Pathana, 7.54976718N, 80.75212294E, 902m, Black light, 15-II-2019, Eberle & Ranasinghe ”; ZFMK.

Paratype

SRI LANKA • 1 ♂; “ X-SR0189 , Sri Lanka , Matale District , Riverston, Pitawala Pathana, 7,54976718N, 80,75212294E, 902m, Black light, 15-II-2019, Eberle & Ranasinghe ”; ZFMK .

Description

MEASUREMENTS. Length: 7.2 mm, length of elytra: 5.4 mm, width: 4.4 mm.

VARIATION. Length: 7.2–7.8 mm, length of elytra: 5.4–5.8 mm, width: 4.4–4.5 mm.

HABITUS AND COLORATION. Body short oval, dark brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface shiny, nearly completely glabrous.

HEAD. Labroclypeus short and rectangular, wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins moderately convex and convergent to broadly rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing an indistinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anterior margin almost feebly sinuate medially; surface slightly convex, finely and densely punctate, distance between punctures smaller than their diameter, with numerous erect setae in larger punctures; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised and bluntly bent medially; smooth area in front of eye approximately three times as wide as long; ocular canthus long and narrow, minutely and superficially punctate, without a single short terminal seta. Frons with fine, dense punctures, with a few long erect setae in larger punctures. Eyes very large, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.97. Antenna yellow, with ten antennomeres; club with three antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and anteriorly flattened.

PRONOTUM. Wide, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and evenly narrowed to the anterior angles, anterior angles moderately produced and sharp, anterior marginal line very fine but complete medially, anterior margin straight; surface finely densely punctate, except a few short and fine setae laterally glabrous; anterior and lateral borders setose, basal margin without marginal line; hypomeron ventrobasally carinate and slightly produced ventrally. Scutellum short and broad, triangular, with fine and dense punctures, glabrous.

ELYTRA. Short oval, widest shortly behind middle, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly convex, with moderately fine, dense punctures and with dense, fine, short setae; epipleural edge fine, ending at the weakly convex external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose; apical border narrowly membranous, apex covered with short microtrichomes.

VENTRAL SURFACE. Shiny, thorax and metacoxa with large and dense punctures, sparsely setose, metacoxa with minute adjacent setae in the punctures except for numerous long setae laterally, apical margin weakly convex, without a broad rim of long white microtrichomes; each abdominal sternite, in addition to evenly distributed fine and dense punctures bearing each a fine seta, with a distinct transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a long and more robust seta, 3 rd sternite with a sharp median tubercle being half as high as sternite length, penultimate sternite apically with a shiny smooth chitinous border, which is a quarter as long as the sternite. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur, with a semi-circular ridge bearing robust setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.89. Pygidium moderately convex, moderately finely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with short and moderately dense, adjacent setae or with moderately dense, long, erect setae.

LEGS. Short and wide; femur with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and densely punctate; metafemur shiny, anterior edge acute, lacking an adjacent serrated line, ventral surface densely punctate and setose, posterior ventral margin straight, only little widened in apical half, finely serrate apically, dorsally not serrated, glabrous. Metatibia short, widest at middle, posteriorly only very little narrowed, ratio width/ length: 1/ 2.87, dorsally sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal one at middle, apical one at three quarters of metatibial length, basally beside dorsal margin with two single punctures with serrated margins, each bearing a single robust spine and beside them a longitudinal serrated line; lateral face almost flat, with dense, large but superficial punctures and with minute setae in the punctures; ventral margin with four strong spines equidistant from each other, medial face smooth, apex interiorly near tarsal articulation shallowly concave. Meso- and metatarsomeres finely and sparsely punctate but glabrous dorsally, ventrally with sparse, short setae; metatarsomeres ventrally with a strongly serrated ridge, beside which is a strong longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined and as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate. All claws symmetrical, feebly curved and long, with normally developed basal tooth.

AEDEAGUS. Fig. 4E – G.

HABITUS. Fig. 4H .

Female

Unknown.

Distribution

See Fig. 5D .

New distribution records

Figures

Fig. 4. A–D. Maladera galdaththana sp. nov. (holotype). E–H. M. cervicornis sp. nov. (holotype). A, E. Aedeagus, left side lateral view. C, G. Aedeagus, right side lateral view. B, F. Parameres, dorsal view. D, H. Habitus (not to scale). Scales: 0.5 mm.

Fig. 5. Distribution of the new species. A. Selaserica athukoralai sp. nov. B. Neoserica dharmapriyai sp. nov. C. Maladera galdaththana sp. nov. D. M. cervicornis sp. nov.