Miridiba huesiotoi Li & Yang, 2015

Gao, Chuan-bu & Coca-Abia, María Milagro, 2021, Revision of the genus Miridiba Reitter, 1902 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae): genital morphotypes and new taxonomic data, European Journal of Taxonomy 749, pp. 1-94 : 30-31

Miridiba huesiotoi Li & Yang, 2015

Miridiba huesiotoi Li & Yang in Li et al., 2015: 524 (type loc.: Green Island, Taiwan, China).

Miridiba huesiotoi – Bezděk 2016: 271 (catalogue). — Gao et al. 2018: 13 (catalogue); 2019: 461 (species list; in key).

Diagnosis

See Li et al. (2015).

Remarks

Miridiba huesiotoi was described based on the male holotype and eleven paratypes (5 males and 6 females) ( Li et al. 2015). According to the original description, M. huesiotoi can be separated from M. formosana by having pubescence on pronotum, elytra and scutellum hardly observable; apex of clypeus moderately bilobed; anterior angles slightly protuberant; metafemora slender, slightly broadened at middle; parameres with upper part curved downwardly, exceeding the end of the ventral branches extremely. In our opinion, features at the external morphology are not discrete enough to differentiate M. huesiotoi from M. formosana . 1) Setae on body distinctly short / distinctly long. 2) The apex of clypeus moderately bilobed / weakly bilobed. 3) Anterior angles of pronotum slightly protuberant / moderately protuberant. 4) Metafemora slender, slightly broadened at middle / expanded anteriorly and posteriorly. 5) Parameres with upper part curved / strongly curved. These differences found by Li et al. (2015) could be due to intraspecific variability of M. formosana . However, given that we were unable to examine the types of M. huesiotoi to study the variability of these characters or to compare them with the type of M. formosana ; M. huesiotoi is considered a valid species until further investigation is done. Based on the 9-segmented antennae and the parameres described by Li et al. (2015), this species is included in this genital morphotype I “ Trichophora ”.

Distribution

China (Taiwan).