Maladera tianzhushanica 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 : 283-284

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

Figures 66 K–N, 124

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China, SW Anhui, 11.-26. V. Tianzhushan env. pitfall traps, 30.75N 116.45E Jaroslav Turna leg., 2004/ 762 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK).

Description. Length: 9.1 mm, length of elytra: 7.2 mm, width: 5.1 mm. Body oblong-oval, dark brown, antenna yellow, labroclypeus weakly shiny, remainder of dorsal surface dull, glabrous.

Labroclypeus narrowly subtrapezoidal, little wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins straight and weakly convergent to moderately rounded anterior angles, lateral margin and ocular canthus producing a distinct angle, margins weakly reflexed; anterior margin distinctly emarginate medially; surface flat, finely densely punctate, with partly transverse wrinkles, 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 a terminal seta. Frons with fine, moderately dense punctures, glabrous except for a few setae beside eyes frontoclypeal suture. Eyes moderately large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.72.Antenna composed of 10 antennomeres, club with 3 antennomeres, strongly reflexed, 2.5 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 produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin convex, marginal line widely interrupted medially; 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 middle, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly elevated, with fine, moderately dense punctures concentrated along striae, 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: 1/1.5. Pygidium nearly flat, 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: 1/3.3, 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 K–M. Habitus: Fig. 66N . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Maladera tianzhushanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from M. uncipenis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. in having a long median ventral process at the apex of phallobase, and the shape of the parameres being narrow, elongate and curved.

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

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 124 ) 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 124. Distribution of the Maladera uncipenis group: Maladera tiammushanica sp. n., M. tianzushanica sp. n., M. uncipenis sp. n., M. xinqiaoensis sp. n..