Maladera pingchuanensis 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 : 299-300

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

Figures 70 E–H, 126

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “Ch-S Sichuan, 26-27.VI. Road Xichang-Yanyuan , 1998, pass 15km SW Pingchuan 27.33N, 101.49E, cca 3200m Jaroslav Turna leg./ 819 Sericini Asia spec.” ( CP). Paratypes: 1 ♀ “Ch-S Sichuan, 26-27.VI. Road Xichang-Yanyuan , 1998, pass 15km SW Pingchuan 27.33N, 101.49E, cca 3200m Jaroslav Turna leg.” ( CP), 1 ♂ “Ch-S Sichuan, 28-29.VI. 27.45N, 101.13E, 1998 pass 20km S Muli (Bowa) mixed forest, cca 3500m Jaroslav Turna leg.” ( ZFMK), 1 ♂ “ China S Sichuan 2017 S of Yanyuan, Chuandongzi Massiv, ca. 27:21:04- 34/ 101:30.25-33, 3200m 8-19.6. leg. C. Reuter ” ( ZFMK).

Description. Length: 10.4 mm, length of elytra: 6.6 mm, width: 5.8 mm. Body egg-shaped, dark brown, moderately shiny, nearly glabrous except lateral setae of pronotum and elytra and a few setae on head.

Labroclypeus transverse, trapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, being nearly in straight line with ocular canthus, not incised laterally before labrum; anterior angles moderately convex, anterior margin weakly emarginate medially, margins weakly reflexed; surface weakly convex medially, densely and coarsely punctate, distance between punctures smaller their diameter, punctures often fused with each other, on anterior part intermixed with a few larger punctures bearing each a robust erect seta. Frontoclypeal suture indistinctly 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 densely punctate, with one or two short terminal setae. Frons finely and very densely punctate, with numerous short setae. Eyes very small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.33. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with three antennomeres, half as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated, flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins evenly moderately curved and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced, posterior angles blunt and moderately rounded in tip; anterior margin weakly convex, with complete fine marginal line; surface with coarse but superficial, dense punctures, with minute setae in punctures, anterior and lateral margins with sparse and moderately long setae. Scutellum extremely short, triangular, nearly vanishing under pronotum, punctation not visible.

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 sparsely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae, only with minute setae in punctures; epipleural margin robust and convex, ending at external apical angle; epipleura finely and sparsely setose; apical margin narrowly membraneous, with a fine 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 equal to width: of metafemur. Metacoxa glabrous, laterally with a few robust setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.25. Abdominal sternites shiny, finely densely punctate, with a row of robust punctures each bearing a short seta. Pygidium apically weakly convex, coarsely and densely punctate, with a few short 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/ 3.0; dorsal margin weakly carinate, with two groups of spines, basal one at first quarter, apical one at two thirds of metatibial length, with a few fine robust setae basally; lateral face longitudinally convex, with moderately dense and fine punctures; ventral margin without serrate carina, with three 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 robustly setose ventrally, with a strongly serrated carina, subventrally with a second, smooth longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere distinctly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than 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. 70 E–G. Habitus: Fig. 70H .

Diagnosis. Maladera pingchuanensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. resembles Maladera erlangensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n., differing from the latter in having longer parameres and a moderately shiny body.

Etymology. The name of the new species (adjective in nominative singular) is derived from the type locality, Pingchuan ( China).

Variation. Length: 10.2–11.0 mm, length of elytra: 6.5–6.9 mm, width: 5.8–6.4 mm. Female: eyes only little smaller than in male, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.31; antennal club as long as in male; pygidium moderately convex.

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

Figures

FIGURE 70. A–D: Maladera breviclava Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. pingchuanensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–L: M. yunnanica 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 “?”).