Maladera baii 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 : 280-282

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

Figures 66 A–E, 121

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China, E Fujian, 1.-2. V. Shiniushan, 1350m 25°38’N 118°30’E Jaroslav Turna leg., 2008/ 807 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK) . Paratype: 1 ♀ “ China, E Fujian, 1.-2. V. Shiniushan, 1350m 25°38’N 118°30’E Jaroslav Turna leg., 2008” ( ZFMK) .

Description. Length: 9.4 mm, length of elytra: 7.3 mm, width: 5.4 mm. Body oblong-oval, dark brown, antenna yellow, labroclypeus weakly shiny, dorsal surface dull, except a few long setae on elytra glabrous.

Labroclypeus subrectangular, wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins straight and very weakly convergent, anterior angles moderately rounded, lateral margin and ocular canthus producing a distinct angle, margins weakly reflexed; anterior margin moderately emarginate medially; surface flat, finely densely punctate, with a few long, erect setae anteriorly; frontoclypeal suture weakly impressed and angled medially; smooth area in front of eye approximately 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus long and narrow, finely punctate, with one or two terminal setae. Frons with fine, moderately dense punctures, glabrous except for a few setae beside eyes frontoclypeal suture. Eyes small, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.56. Antenna composed of 10 antennomeres, club with 3 antennomeres, reflexed, 1.8 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum anteriorly elevated and flattened.

Pronotum trapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins in basal half nearly straight and subparallel, anteriorly weakly convex and convergent towards anterior angles; anterior angles moderately produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin convex, marginal line complete; surface finely and moderately densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; anterior and lateral margins sparsely setose; hypomeron carinate. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine and dense punctures each bearing a minute seta, base at middle impunctate.

Elytra oblong, widest at posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly elevated, with fine, moderately dense punctures concentrated along striae, odd intervals with a few single long erect setae, otherwise punctures with minute setae; epipleural margin robust, ending at strongly rounded external apical angle of elytra, epipleura sparsely setose, apical border membraneous, with a fine rim of very short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, metasternum and metacoxa with large and dense punctures, sparsely setose; metacoxa glabrous except for a several long setae laterally. Abdominal sternites, in addition to generally distributed fine and moderately dense punctures, each with a distinct transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a short and robust seta, punctures with microscopic setae, penultimate sternite apically with a shiny smooth short chitinous border. Mesosternum between mesocoxae narrower than mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.3. Pygidium weakly convex, dull, with fine, moderately dense punctures and a few long setae on apical half.

Legs moderately wide and long; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and moderately densely punctate; metafemur dull, anterior margin acute, lacking an adjacent serrated line, posterior ventral margin straight, not widened in apical half, entirely serrate, dorsal margin also serrate, finely setose. Metatibia moderately wide and long, widest at apex, ratio width/length: 1/3.2, dorsally sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal one shortly before middle, apical one at four fifths of metatibial length, in basal half with a few punctures, and short spines; lateral face longitudinally convex, with moderately dense and fine longitudinally impressed punctures; ventral margin serrate, with two widely distant spines; medial face finely sparsely punctate, apex interiorly near tarsal articulation shallowly concave. Tarsomeres dorsally with dense elongate punctures, ventrally with sparse, short setae; metatarsomeres ventrally glabrous, with a strongly serrated ridge and a smooth subventral longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomere combined and distinctly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate. All claws symmetrical, feebly curved and long, with normally developed basal tooth.

Aedeagus: Fig. 66 A–D. Habitus: Fig. 66E .

Diagnosis. Maladera baii Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from M. tianzhushanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. in having smaller eyes, a shorter antennal club and the parameres longer, the later are both abruptly bent ventrally, rather than gently curved as in M. tianzhushanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. From all other species of the M. uncipenis group, the species differs in having the base of metafemur bluntly widened.

Etymology. The name of the new species is dedicated to Dr. Ming Bai, who greatly supported this study (noun in the genitive singular case).

Variation. Length: 9.4–10.3 mm, length of elytra: 7.3–7.5 mm, width: 5.4–5.8 mm. Female: Antennal club short, little shorter than remaining antennomeres combined; eyes only little smaller than in male, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.55.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 121 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 66. A–E: Maladera baii Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); F–J: M. emeifengensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); K–N: M. tianzhushanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, F, K: aedeagus, left side lateral view; D, I, M: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, C, G, H, L: parameres, dorsal view; E, J, N: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 121. Distribution of the Maladera uncipenis group: Maladera baii sp. n., M. bawanglingana sp. n., M. beidouensis sp. n., M. chinensis (Moser, 1915), M. dadongshanica sp. n., M. dayaoshanica sp. n., M. emeifengensis sp. n., M. excisilabrata sp. n..