Emphania nitida Moser, 1911

Ahrens, Dirk & Fabrizi, Silvia, 2008, A taxonomic revision of the Malagasy genus Emphania Erichson, 1847 (Insecta, Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), Zoosystema 30 (4), pp. 917-927 : 923

Emphania nitida Moser, 1911

Emphania nitida Moser, 1911: 513 .

TYPE MATERIAL. — Lectotype (here designated): ♂ “ Madagascar Amber Geb./ nitida Mos. ” ( ZMHB).

Paralectotype: 1 ♂ “ Madagascar Amber Geb.” ( ZMHB).

REDESCRIPTION OF LECTOTYPE

Length: 6.2 mm; length of elytra: 4.2 mm; width: 3.9 mm. Dorsal body surface dark brown with greenish or partly reddish shine. Head and antenna as in E. metallica , but lateral margins of labroclypeus evenly convex and convergent to anterior angles, clypeal surface almost flat and beside the fine and dense punctures sparsely covered with coarse punctures each bearing a long, erect seta; punctures on frons more sparse; eyes, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.65; antennomeres 3-5 not fused.Pronotum as in E. metallica ; lateral margins weakly and more

evenly convex; basal marginal line laterally distinct; surface glabrous with a single long seta on the centre of each pronotal half. Scutellum as in E. metallica , punctures evenly dense. Elytra and metacoxa as in E. metallica , external angle of metacoxa posteriorly right-angled. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/2.1. Mesosternal process indistinct. Pygidium moderately convex, finely and very sparsely punctate, on basal half almost smooth, with a few long setae on apical half. Legs as in E. metallica , but metatibia widest shortly before apex, ratio of metatibial width/length: 1/3.5, its basal groups of spines at the basal quarter of metatibial length and longitudinally impressed punctures sparse; metatibial medial face with one to four coarse punctures beside the dorsal margin.

Aedeagus: Figure 2 A-C.

VARIATION

Length of elytra: 4.2-4.5 mm; width: 3.8-3.9 mm.

REMARKS

The species differs from E. metallica in numerous characters such as the significantly smaller body size, the distinctly incised elytral striae and the shape of the posterior margin of the metacoxa, the unfused antennomeres 3-5, and the shape of male genitalia. It is in shape of genitalia very similar to E. sulcipennis , and may be distinguished by the generally shorter aedeagus, the smaller body and the flat elytral intervals.

Since in the original description there is no comment on the number of specimens the description was based, one of the two available syntypes was designated as lectotype. The genitalia of the paralectotype was dissected by Moser but it is lacking on the cartoon attached to the specimen.

Figures

FIG. 2. — A-C, Emphania nitida Moser, 1911 (lectotype); D-F, E. sulcipennis Moser, 1911 (Madagascar Nord, Montagne d’Ambre); G-I, E. semiviridis n. sp. (holotype); J-L, E. erichsoni n. sp. (holotype); M-O, E. subsmaragdina n. sp. (holotype); P-R, E. ranomafanae n. sp. (holotype); A, D, G, J, M, P, aedeagus,left side lateral views;B, E, H, K, N, Q, aedeagus,dorsal views;C, F, I, L, O, R, aedeagus, right side lateral views. Scale bars: 1 mm.