Maladera erlangshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, 2021

Fabrizi, Silvia, Liu, Wan-Gang, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2021, A monograph of the genus Maladera Mulsant & Rey, 1871 of China (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Sericini), Zootaxa 4922 (1), pp. 1-400 : 293-294

Maladera erlangshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n.

Figures 69 A–D, 126

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ CH,C-Sichuan( Luding ) Erlang Shan Mt. R.,W-slope29:51:24N/102:15:54E/ ~ 2859m mixed forest/ meadow, 19.VII.2000 K. & B. Brezina, M. Brychcin, M. Haeckel / 584 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♀ “ CH, C-Sichuan (Luding) Erlang Shan Mt. R., W-slope 29:51:24N/102:15:54E/ ~ 2859m mixed forest/ meadow, 19.VII.2000 K. & B. Brezina, M. Brychcin, M. Haeckel ” ( ZFMK) , 2 ♂♂ “ China W-Sichuan (Ganzi Tibet Aut. Pref. , Luding Co.) W Erlang Shan Pass , 2600m 7km SSE Luding 29°51N / 102°15E 20.- 29.VI.1999 D.W. Wrase ” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ “ China S. Sichuan Erlang Shan 3200m 7.2000 lgt. M. Hackel ” ( ZFMK) , 2 ♂♂ “ China: W-Sichuan Ya’an Prefecture , Tianquan Co., W Erlang Shan Pass 2780m, 22.VI.1999 29.51.27N, 102.15.47E leg. A. Pütz ” ( CAPE) , 2 ♂♂ “ China, Prov. Sichuan Str. zw. Luding u. Ya’an , Erlang Shan Pass Westseite, 2800m, Leg. A. Puchner VI.-VII.2007 Ankauf Sch̹le” ( ZFMK) .

Description. Length: 10.8 mm, length of elytra: 7.4 mm, width: 6.6 mm. Body egg-shaped, dark reddish brown, dorsal surface dull, labroclypeus, tibiae and tarsi shiny, nearly glabrous except lateral setae of pronotum and elytra and a few setae on head.

Labroclypeus transversal, trapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins straight and strongly convergent anteriorly, being in straight line with ocular canthus, not incised laterally before labrum; anterior angles moderately convex, anterior margin straight, margins weakly reflexed; surface weakly convex medially, densely, rugosely and very coarsely punctate, distance between punctures smaller their diameter, punctures partly fused with each other and intermixed with numerous very large punctures bearing each a robust erect seta. Frontoclypeal suture finely incised, weakly bent medially; smooth area in front of eyes as wide as long; ocular canthus very short and wide (1/3 of ocular diameter), finely and sparsely punctate, with a short terminal seta. Frons finely and sparsely punctate, with numerous larger punctures bearing each an erect seta. Eyes very small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.3. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with three antennomeres, 0.6 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated, flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at basal quarter, lateral margins evenly moderately curved and convergent anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced, posterior angles moderately rounded; anterior margin nearly straight, fine marginal line widely lacking medially; surface with fine, sparse to moderately dense punctures, with minute setae in punctures, anterior and lateral margins with sparse and moderately long setae. Scutellum very short, triangular, punctation as in pronotum.

Elytra convex, widest at middle, humeri small, external apical angles strongly rounded, apex slightly truncate; striae finely impressed, finely and densely punctate; intervals weakly convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, penultimate lateral interval with a few single short setae, otherwise only with minute setae in punctures; epipleural margin robust and convex, ending slightly before external apical angle; epipleura finely and sparsely setose; apical margin chitinous, without a rim of microtrichomes.

Ventral face coarsely and densely punctate, moderately densely setose; mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Metasternum short, distance between meso-and metacoxae smaller than width: of metafemur. Metacoxa glabrous, laterally with a few robust setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.56. Abdominal sternites dull, finely densely punctate, with a row of robust punctures each bearing a short seta. Pygidium apically moderately convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures, with a few robust setae at apex.

Legs long and moderately wide, shiny; femora finely and sparsely punctate, with two longitudinal rows of setae. Metafemur with acute anterior margin, without adjacent serrated line; posterior ventral margin almost straight, weakly widened in apical half, neither ventrally nor dorsally serrated but smooth, glabrous. Metatibia long and moderately wide, widest at apex, ratio width/ length: 1/ 3.48; dorsal margin longitudinally convex, with two groups of spines, basal one shortly before the middle, apical one at three quarters of metatibial length, with a few fine robust setae basally; lateral face longitudinally convex, with sparse and fine punctures; ventral margin without serrate carina, with four strong equidistant spines; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex interiorly near tarsal articulation shallowly and concavely emarginate. Tarsi in cross section circular, without lateral carina, impunctate dorsally, ventrally finely setose; metatarsomeres glabrous ventrally, with a strongly serrated carina, subventrally with a second, smooth longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere distinctly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate. All claws symmetrical, feebly curved and long, with normally developed basal tooth. Wings are reduced in length.

Aedeagus: Fig. 69 A–C. Habitus: Fig. 69D .

Diagnosis. Maladera erlangshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. resembles somewhat the species of the subgenus Omaladera ; however, it differs strongly in the shape of the aedeagus and the convex, egg-shaped body, as well as the metatibia not carinate dorsally, but longitudinally convex.

Etymology. The new species is named after its occurrence in the Erlang Shan (adjective in the nominative singular).

Variation. Length: 9.4–11.5 mm, length of elytra: 6.8–7.4 mm, width: 6.1–6.6 mm. Female: eyes and antennal club as large as in male; pygidium strongly convex.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 126 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 69. A–D: Maladera erlangshanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. aptera Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–L: M. queinneci Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (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. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 126. Distribution of the Maladera erlangshanica group: Maladera aptera sp. n., M. breviclava sp. n., M. erlangshanica sp. n., M. pingchuanensis sp. n., M. queinneci sp. n., M. yunnanica sp. n. (not precisely localized collection site indicated by a “?”).