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

Ahrens, Dirk, Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2014, A taxonomic review of the Neoserica (sensu lato) abnormis group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), ZooKeys 439, pp. 27-82 : 47

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Scarabaeidae

Neoserica (s. l.) natmatoungensis sp. n. Figs 7 I–L, 9

Type material examined.

Holotype ♂ "Myanmar (Burma), Province Chin/ Chin Hills Umg. Kanpetlet Natmatoung N.P. (NF), 23.VI.2008 leg. Michael Langer/ E 093°57'N, 21°13' H= ca. 1500m" (ZFMK). Paratypes: 3 ♂♂ "Myanmar (Burma), Province Chin/ Chin Hills Umg. Kanpetlet Natmatoung N.P. (NF), 23.VI.2008 leg. Michael Langer/ E 093°57'N, 21°13' H= ca. 1500m" (ZFMK).

Description.

Body length: 11 mm, length of elytra: 7.6 mm, width: 5.2 mm. Body oblong, dark brown, ventral surface and antennal yellowish brown, anterior labroclypeus shiny, dorsal surface moderately shiny, frons dull, with numerous long, yellow, semi-erect setae.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, little wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately rounded, anterior margin weakly sinuate medially, margins strongly reflexed; surface flat and shiny, basis without dull toment, finely and densely punctate, with numerous coarser punctures interspersed each bearing a long erect seta; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, flat and distinctly curved medially; smooth area anterior to eye approximately twice as wide as long; ocular canthus long and slender, impunctate and glabrous, with a long terminal seta. Frons dull, finely and densely punctate, with numerous coarser punctures interspersed each bearing a long erect seta. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.69. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with five antennomeres, straight, as long as remaining antennomeres combined; antennomere 6 subequal to two thirds of length of club, antennomere 5 transverse. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly. Labrum weakly produced medially, with a moderate median sinuation.

Pronotum transverse, subrectangular, widest just before base, lateral margins evenly convex and strongly convergent towards sharp and moderately produced anterior angles, posterior angles blunt, rounded at the tip; anterior margin strongly convexly produced medially, marginal line robust and complete medially; surface densely and finely punctate, with coarse punctures irregularly interspersed each bearing a long semi-erect seta, fine punctures minutely setose; setae of lateral and anterior border dense; hypomeron basally distinctly carinate, but carina not produced. Scutellum moderately wide and short, with fine, dense punctures, widely smooth on basal midline, with only minute setae.

Elytra oblong, widest at middle, striae weakly impressed, finely and moderately densely punctate, intervals weakly convex with fine and moderately dense punctures concentrated along striae, all intervals with sparse semi-erect long setae, otherwise punctures only with very minute setae; epipleural edge fine, ending at the blunt external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border chitinous, without fringe of microtrichomes (visible at 100 × magnification).

Ventral surface shiny, coarsely densely punctate and finely setose; metacoxa glabrous, with a few short setae laterally, posterior margin straight; abdominal sternites finely and densely punctuate, with minute setae in punctures, each sternite with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a robust short seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as slender mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.47. Pygidium weakly convex and moderately shiny, coarsely and densely punctate, on basal portion also with finer punctures interspersed, without a smooth midline, with dense, long setae.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate between the rows; metafemur shiny, anterior margin acute, behind anterior edge without serrated line, punctures and setae of anterior longitudinal row complete, posterior margin in apical half ventrally smooth and neither widened nor serrate in apical quarter, posterior margin dorsally distinctly serrated, on its basal portion with a very few short setae. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/4.3, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group at one third, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few robust but single setae; lateral face longitudinally convex, finely and sparsely punctate, subdorsal longitudinal carina on lateral face present on about two third of metatibial length; ventral edge finely serrated, with three robust setae of which the two distal ones are widely separated; medial face smooth, apex moderately distinctly concavely sinuate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres ventrally with sparse, short setae, laterally not carinate, protarsomeres smooth, meso- and metatarsomeres with a few fine punctures; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a sharp subventral carina immediately beside it, first metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined and distinctly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw sharply truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 7 I–K. Female unknown.

Diagnosis.

The new species differs from all other species of the Neoserica abnormis group in the antennal club composed of five antennomeres, while it is entirely different from Lepidoserica by the strongly produced anterior angles of pronotum and the unproduced hypomeron.

Variation.

Body length: 9.5-11 mm, length of elytra: 7.0-7.6 mm, width: 5.1-5.2 mm.

Etymology.

The new species is named after its type locality, the Natmatoung National Park.