Serica (Serica) christophreuteri 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 : 15-16

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

Fig. 4H–M

Type material examined. Holotype ♂ “ Myanmar: Kachin state ca. 35 km NW Putao way to Hponkan Razi ca. 1900m, 10.8.2006 leg. C. Reuter / Asia Sericini spec. 1316” ( NHMW).

Description of holotype. Length: 10.2 mm, length of elytra: 7.4 mm, width: 4.9 mm. Body oblong, dark brown, antenna yellow, legs and ventral surface reddish brown, elytra without spots, dorsal surface dull; elytra with sparse setae, otherwise glabrous.

Labroclypeus moderately wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent anteriorly, anterior angles weakly rounded, anterior margin distinctly emarginate medially, anterior margin strongly reflexed; surface concave, shiny, finely and moderately densely punctate, with a few long, erect setae behind anterior margin; frontoclypeal suture finely incised and straight; smooth area anterior to eye moderately large and weakly convex, about 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus short, triangular, sharply pointed (1/6 of ocular diameter), smooth, with one short terminal seta. Frons flat, entirely dull; with fine and sparse punctures, with a long, erect setae beside eyes, behind frontoclypeal suture and on posterior disc. Eyes very large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.98. Antenna with ten antennomeres; antennomeres three and four longer than wide, antennomeres five to seven transverse and short; club with three antennomeres, 2.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined and reflexed. Mentum distinctly elevated, anteriorly flattened. Labrum transverse and short, moderately produced, with a blunt tooth in the median emargination.

Pronotum twice as wide as long, widest shortly before base, lateral margins convex and convergent anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and blunt, posterior angles slightly rounded; anterior margin strongly produced medially and with a complete, distinct marginal line; surface sparsely and finely punctate; surface 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, triangular, finely and densely punctate.

Elytra oblong, widest at apical third, striae weakly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals flat, with fine, moderately dense punctures; intervals with sparse, single, fine, short 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: 1/1.52. Pygidium strongly convex and dull, finely and moderately densely punctate, 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: 1/5.2; dorsal margin only in apical half carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group at middle, apical group at four fifths of metatibial length, basally with a few single, robust setae; lateral face longitudinally concave, impunctate and not wrinkled; ventral margin serrated, with four almost 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 carinate, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally; first metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined and distinctly less than twice as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, external margin smooth; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw normal, with pointed at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 4J–M . Habitus: Fig. 4H–I . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Serica bomi new species differs from Serica mianningensis Ahrens, 2005 and S. xichangensis Ahrens, 2005 by the lateral tooth of the right paramere which is situated at apex instead of the middle of the paramere; the left paramere is more elongate and its lateral subapical tooth is less pronounced.

Etymology. This new species (noun in genitive singular case) is dedicated to its collector, Christoph Reuter (Berlin).

Figures

FIGURE 4. A–F: Serica guangxiensis new species (holotype); H–M: S. christophreuteri new species (holotype); A, J: aedeagus, left side lateral view; E, M: aedeagus, right side lateral view; C, D, L: parameres, dorsal view; B, K: aedeagus, dorsal view; F, H: habitus, dorsal view; G, I: habitus, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm. Habitus images not to scale.