Maladera baishaoensis 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 : 320-322

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

Figures 76 A–D, 129

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “[ China] Guizhou, Kuankuoshui Nature Reserve, Baishao , 2010-VI- 9, 746m/ LW-1128” ( ISAZ) . Paratype: 1 ♂ “[ China] Guizhou, Kuankuoshui Nature Reserve, Baishao , 2010-VI- 9, 746m/ LW-1128” ( ISAZ) .

Description. Length: 8.0 mm, length of elytra: 6.1 mm, width: 4.5 mm. Body oval, reddish brown, dull, antenna yellow, glabrous except for a few short setae on head.

Labroclypeus wide, trapezoidal, lateral margins straight and moderately convergent, producing a blunt angle with ocular canthus; anterior angles moderately rounded; anterior margin weakly emarginate medially, margins weakly reflexed; surface entirely dull, weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, with a few erect setae; frontoclypeal suture indistinct, curved; ocular canthus moderately short and narrow (1/4 of ocular width), finely and densely punctate, with one short terminal seta. Frons with fine, moderately dense punctures and a few single setae beside eyes. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with three antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.65. Mentum convexly elevated and flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum widest at base, lateral margins convex and moderately convergent anteriorly; anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin strongly convex, fine marginal line complete; basal margin without marginal line; surface finely and densely punctate, punctures with microscopic setae only. Hypomeron carinate but not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, punctation as on pronotum.

Elytra narrow, widest in posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely punctate, intervals weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae, with minute setae in punctures, odd intervals with a few single short setae; epipleural margin robust, ending at strongly rounded external apical angle of elytra, sparsely setose; apex of elytra with a fine membraneous rim of short microtrichomes.

Ventral face coarsely and densely punctate, only metasternal plate and lateral metacoxa with a few long or robust setae. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.6. Abdominal sternites finely and moderately densely punctate, each with a row of coarse punctures bearing each a robust seta. Pygidium strongly convex, finely and densely punctate, with numerous long and erect setae.

Legs long and narrow, shiny; femora finely and sparsely punctate, with two longitudinal rows of setae. Metafemur with anterior margin acute, without adjacent serrated line; posterior ventral margin almost straight, weakly widened in apical half and finely serrated, posterior dorsal margin completely serrated, sparsely setose. Metatibia moderately long and wide, ratio width/ length: 1/ 3.2, sharply carinate dorsally, with one remaining groups of spines at four fifths of metatibial length, basally with a few robust and short setae in line; lateral face longitudinally convex, finely and superficially but densly punctate; apex concavely emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres impunctate dorsally, with moderately dense, fine setae ventrally; metatarsomeres ventrally with a strongly serrated carina, subventrally with a second, smooth longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetric, interior tarsal claws sharply pointed.

Aedeagus: Fig. 76 A–C. Habitus: 76D. Female unknown.

Diagnosis. The new species differs from all other Maladera in having a dull labroclypeus, only one single group of metatibial spines, a lateral aedeagal apophysis, and the posterior margin of metafemur serrated.

Etymology. The name of the new species (adjective in the nominative singular case) is derived from its type locality Baishao.

Variation. Length: 8.0– 8.5 mm, length of elytra: 6.1–6.8 mm, width: 4.5–5.4 mm.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 129 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 76. A–D: Maladera baishaoensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. hutiaoensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–L: M. jinggangshanica 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 129. Distribution of Maladera species with uncertain systematic status: Maladera baishaoensis sp. n., M. hutiaoensis sp. n., M. jinggangshanica sp. n., M. lukjanovitschi (Medvedev, 1966), M. luoxiangensis sp. n., M. nabanensis sp. n., M. nanlingensis sp. n..