Neoserica (s.l.) biuncinata Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, 2014

Ahrens, Dirk, Liu, Wangang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2014, A revision of the species of the Neoserica (sensu lato) vulpes group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini), Journal of Natural History 49 (17), pp. 1073-1130 : 1108-1110

Neoserica (s.l.) biuncinata Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu sp. nov.

( Figures 5E–H , 11 )

Type material examined

Holotype. ♂ ‘X-DA1529 China S. Sichuan pr., pass 30 km SW Mianning , 3000–3400 m leg. S. Murzin 11.–13.VIII.2007 Neoserica spnCHINA4’ ( ZFMK).

Description

Length. 9.1 mm, length of elytra: 6.8 mm, width: 5.0 mm. Body oblong, reddish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal and moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins nearly straight and moderately convergent to weakly rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface flat and shiny, coarsely and moderately densely, irregularly punctate, with a few long erect setae; frontoclypeal suture feebly incised and medially weakly angled; smooth area in front of eye approximately 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus long and slender, very finely and sparsely punctate, without a terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and somewhat irregularly scattered moderately dense punctures, with a few long setae beside eyes and a few short ones on disc. Eyes large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.76. Antenna composed of 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, nearly 1.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins evenly curved and weakly narrowed anteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and slightly rounded at tip, posterior angles blunt and not rounded at tip, anterior margin convexly produced medially, broad marginal line widely missing, basal margin without marginal line; surface with moderately dense and fine punctures, with minute setae only; anterior and lateral borders setose; hypomeron distinctly carinate at base. Scutellum narrow and long, sharp at apex, with fine and moderately dense punctures, medially narrowly smooth, minute setae present.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly convex and not densely punctate, intervals with punctures concentrated along striae and odd intervals with some single, fine setae; epipleural edge robust, ending at strongly curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border membranous, with short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, with large and dense punctures, sparsely and shortly setose, setae partly adpressed; metacoxa glabrous, with fine setae laterally, apical margin slightly concave and external apical angle nearly right-angled; each abdominal sternite with indistinct transversal row of coarse punctures each bearing a short seta between fine and moderately dense punctation. Mesosternum between mesocoxae nearly half as wide as mesofemur, with irregularly scattered, fine setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.42. Pygidium moderately convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with short setae, a few longer setae beside apical margin.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and moderately densely punctate; metafemur ventrally dull, anterior margin sharply carinate, without a submarginal serrated line, posterior margin moderately convex, with a few strong setae medially, only weakly widened externally in apical half and not serrated ventrally in distal half, finely serrated dorsally, with dense, short setae. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio width/length: 1/3.9, dorsal margin sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group of spines shortly before half of metatibial length, apical one at about three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single fine spines; external face longitudinally convex, with a moderately fine, sparse punctures; ventral margin finely serrated, with four fine, equidistant spines; medial face impunctate, apex concavely truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally finely punctate, with a few long setae, with sparse, short setae ventrally; metatarsomeres with slight superficial, longitudinal wrinkles but glabrous dorsally, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and glabrous, and with a fine longitudinal carina immediately beside it; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw bluntly truncate apically.

Aedeagus. Figure 5E–G . Female unknown.

Diagnosis

The new species differs from the similar N. ganhaiziana sp. nov. by the longer ventral process of phallobase.

Etymology

The new species is named with reference to the shape of its aedeagus, with the Latin adjective (in nominative) composed of the prefix bi - (twice) and uncinatus (hookshaped) (Latin adjective in the nominative singular).

Figures

Figure 5. A–D: Neoserica ganhaiziana Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), E–H: N. biuncinata Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), I–L: N. nykli Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype). A, E, I: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G, K: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F, J: parameres, dorsal view; D, H, L: habitus (not to scale). Scale: 0.5 mm.

Figure 11. Distribution of the species of the Neoserica (s.l.) vulpes group: N. baoshana, N. biuncinata, N. dundai, N. ganhaiziana, N. laocaiana, N. leiboensis, N. ningyuanensis, N. rubellula, N. shinkaisiensis, N. sichuanica, N. weishanensis, N. xiaguanensis and N. yangjiapingensis.