Neoserica (s.l.) tianeana, Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2014

Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2014, A taxonomic revision of the Neoserica (sensu lato) pilosula group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), ZooKeys 440, pp. 89-113 : 92-94

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Scarabaeidae

Neoserica (s.l.) tianeana sp. n. Figs 2 A–D, 5

Type material examined.

Holotype: ♂ "Dashan Forestry Farm, Tian’e, Guangxi, 3.VIII.2002, 1100m, leg. Jiang Guofang" (IZAS).

Description.

Body length: 7.2 mm, length of elytra: 5.2 mm, width: 3.9 mm. Body oblong, reddish brown, antennal club yellowish brown, dorsal surface shiny, densely covered with fine, semi-erect setae (pilosity partly abraded; Fig. 2D).

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, widest at base; lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent towards moderately rounded anterior angles; anterior margin shallowly sinuate medially; margins moderately reflexed; surface moderately elevated medially, coarsely and finely, densely punctate, densely setose. Frontoclypeal suture finely incised, weakly elevated and moderately angled medially. Smooth area anterior to eye three times as wide as long. Ocular canthus moderately long, impunctate, with two or three setae. Frons with coarse and dense punctures, with dense setae being bent posteriorly. Eyes large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.75. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with four antennomeres and straight, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly. Labrum short and almost straight anteriorly, with a transverse rim of very dense, short and robust setae.

Pronotum widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent anteriorly; anterior angles distinctly produced and moderately sharp; posterior angles blunt, rounded at tip; anterior margin with fine, complete marginal line, weakly produced medially; surface densely and finely punctate, densely setose; anterior and lateral borders with sparse but longer setae; hypomeron carinate at base. Scutellum with fine, dense punctures and a few fine setae.

Elytra oblong, widest behind middle, striae weakly impressed, finely and densely punctate; intervals nearly flat, odd ones slightly convex; intervals with fine, dense punctures, densely covered with fine, moderately long setae. Epipleural edge fine, ending at moderately curved external apical angle of elytra; epipleura densely setose, apical border with a wide membranous rim of microtrichomes (visible at magnification 100 ×).

Ventral surface shiny, finely and densely punctate. Metasternum with short, fine setae. Metacoxa glabrous, with a few single setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, finely setose, with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a long seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.73. Pygidium strongly convex and shiny, finely and densely punctate, without smooth midline; shortly and densely setose, with sparse long and erect setae on disc and beside the apical margin.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and densely punctate. Anterior margin of metafemur acute, without adjacent serrated line; posterior margin of metafemur smooth, dorsally and ventrally, in apical half moderately widened. Metatibia wide and moderately long, widest at middle; ratio of width/length: 1/2.7; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with two groups of spines; basal group at middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length; in basal half with a few strong and short single setae in coarse punctures beside a undulated serrated line; lateral face densely and coarsely punctate, densely and shortly setose; ventral edge finely serrated, with four robust equidistant setae; medial face impunctate; apex weakly truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Meso- and metatarsomeres of holotype also missing. Protibia moderately long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw sharply truncate at apex. Female unknown.

Aedeagus: Fig. 2 A–C.

Diagnosis.

Neoserica tianeana sp. n. differs from Neoserica pilosula and the other previous species by the long, non-spherical right paramere being subequal in length to the left one.

Etymology.

The new species is named after the type locality, Tian’e.