Neoserica (s. l.) huangi, 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 : 44-47

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Scarabaeidae

Neoserica (s. l.) huangi sp. n. Figs 7 E–H, 9

Type material examined.

Holotype ♂ [China] "Dongqiong, Chayu, Xizang, 16.VII.1973, 1850-2500m, leg. Huang Fusheng" (IZAS).

Description.

Body length: 11.8 mm, length of elytra: 8.8 mm, width: 6.8 mm. Body oblong, dark brown, antennal club brown, anterior labroclypeus shiny, dorsal surface dull, densely covered with minute erect setae.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, distinctly wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins moderately convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately rounded, anterior margin weakly sinuate medially, margins moderately reflexed; surface nearly flat and shiny, basis with dull toment, punctation moderately dense and superficial, punctures each bearing a long erect seta; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, flat and distinctly curved medially; smooth area anterior to eye nearly as wide as long; ocular canthus short (length =1/4 of ocular diameter) and wide, densely and minutely setose. Frons dull, with fine and dense but superficial punctures each bearing a short to minute seta, beside eyes and behind the frontoclypeal suture with a few longer erect setae. Eyes small, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.46. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with six antennomeres, straight, as long as remaining antennomeres combined; antennomere 5 two thirds as long as the club, antennomere 4 slightly transverse, antennomere 3 half as long as pedicellus. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly. Labrum distinctly produced medially, with a moderate median sinuation.

Pronotum moderately transverse, subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins evenly convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced, posterior angles blunt, slightly rounded at the tip; anterior margin weakly convex medially, marginal line widely interrupted medially; surface densely and finely punctate, with short to minute erect setae in punctures; setae of anterior and lateral border absent; hypomeron basally distinctly carinate, but carina only weakly produced. Scutellum moderately long, subtriangular, with fine, moderately dense punctures, impunctate on basal midline, with minute erect setae in punctures.

Elytra oblong, widest at posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely and moderately densely punctate, intervals nearly flat, with moderately dense evenly spaced, fine punctures each bearing a short fine erect setae, odd intervals with a few fine longer setae; epipleural edge fine, ending at the blunt external apical angle of elytra, epipleura sparsely setose, apical border chitinous, with only a very fine fringe of microtrichomes (visible at 100 × magnification).

Ventral surface dull, coarsely and densely punctate, densely covered with short setae; metacoxa glabrous, with a very few short setae laterally, posterior margin weakly convex; abdominal sternites finely and unevenly densely punctuate, densely and finely setose, 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: 1/1.43. Pygidium weakly convex and dull, coarsely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, densely and finely setose, setae on apical half longer.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate between the rows; metafemur dull, anterior margin acute, behind anterior edge without serrated line, anterior longitudinal row complete, posterior margin in apical half ventrally smooth and slightly widened, posterior margin dorsally distinctly serrated, on its basal portion with a few short setae. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/3.9, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group just before the middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few robust but single setae; lateral face longitudinally convex, impunctate, subdorsal longitudinal carina on lateral face present on about two third of metatibial length; ventral edge finely serrated, with three robust equidistant setae; medial face smooth, apex moderately concavely sinuate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres ventrally with sparse, short setae, laterally not carinate, protarsomeres smooth, meso- and metatarsomeres with a few very fine punctures; metatarsomeres ventrally glabrous, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a sharp subventral carina immediately beside it, first metatarsomere slightly longer than following two tar someres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw sharply truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 7 E–G. Female unknown.

Diagnosis.

Neoserica huangi differs from all other species of the Neoserica abnormis group in the minute to short, dense erect pilosity of the body, as well as the nearly subsymmetrical parameres (basal half).

Etymology.

The new species is named after its collector, Huang Fusheng.