Maladera pseudoegregia 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 : 115-116

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

Figures 24 F–I, 98

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China (Yunnan) Nujiang Lisu Aut. Pref., Nu Shan, 7 km NNW Caojian, 2420m, 25°43‘29‘‘N / 99°07‘57‘‘E (second. Pine forest with shrubs, litter, moss shifted) 11.VI.2007 leg. D. Wrase [30]/ 856 Sericini :Asia spec.“ ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♀ “ China (Yunnan) Baoshan Pref., Gaoligong Shan , 29km ESE Tengchong 24°55‘37‘‘N / 98°45‘09‘‘E 2350m (devast. decid. forest with clearings and shrubs, litter, wood, sifted) 1.VI.2007 leg. D. Wrase [15]” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂, 1 ♀ “ Yunnan 1800-2500m 25.10N 100.21E Weishan mt. 22-25/6.92 David Kral leg.” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂, 1 ♀ “ Yunnan, 2000-2800m 25.11N 100.24E Weibaoshan mts. W slope 25-28/6.92 Vit Kuban leg.” ( ZFMK), 1 ♀ “ China: Yunnan [CH07-11A] Baoshan Pref., Gaoligong Shan nr. Xiaoheishan N.R., 35km SE Tengchong, 2110m, 24°50’16’’N, 98°45’43’’E, decid. Forest , fungi sifted, 4.VI.2007 leg. A. Puetz ” (Coll. Puetz), 6 ♂♂, 1 ♀ “ China, W Yunnan prov., mts. 60km E Tengchong, 2300m, 14.-19.v.2006, S. Murzin & I. Shokhin” ( CP), 7 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ “ China, W. Yunnan, env. Baoshan , 2500m, 2.-3.viii.2002, leg. S. Murzin, I. Shokhin ” ( CP), 1 ♂ “ China: Yunnan; 1995; Habashan mts. ; 2500-3800m 27,20N 100,11E; 3.-6.vi.; SE slope; S. Becvar leg.” ( CP), 7 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ “ China, Yunnan prov.; Gaoligongshan mts. ; 90km W of Baoshan; S. Becvar leg.; 26-29.v.1995 / Coll. P. Pacholatko Invt. No. “ ( CP) , 1 ♀ “ Yunnan 2500-3100m 25.58N 100.21E 30/5.-3/6. Jizushan mts. Vit Kuban leg. 1993“ ( CP) , 1 ♀ “ Yunnan 1500-3200m 26.07N 103.14E Dongchuan 28/6-3/7 Vit Kuban leg. 1994“ ( CP) , 1 ♀ “Yunnan 2000m 25.03N 101.55E Vipinglang 8-10/6. Vit Kuban leg. 1993“ ( CP) , 1 ♀ “ China, N. Yunnan, env. Xiaguan, 2400m, 29.vii.2002, leg. S. Murzin, I. Shokhin “ ( CP), 2 ♂♂ “ Yunnan 2000-2500m 25.42N 100.08E Cangshan mts. E slope 21.VI.92 David Kral leg.” ( NMPC), 1 ♀ “ Yunnan 1800-2500m 25.10N 100.21E Weishan mt. 22.-25.6.92 David Kral lgt.” ( NMPC) .

Description. Length: 9.7 mm, length of elytra: 6.9 mm, width: 5.8 mm. Body oblong-oval, dark reddish brown, antenna yellow, dull, elytra and labroclypeus iridescent and shiny, dorsal face nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus wide and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins straight and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately rounded, anterior margin distinctly emarginate, margins weakly reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce an indistinct angle; surface weakly convex, finely, very densely punctate, with a few long setae anteriorly; frontoclypeal suture finely incised, weakly curved; smooth area anterior to eye convex, 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus short and wide (1/4 of ocular diameter), finely densely punctate, with two terminal setae. Frons dull, with sparse and fine punctures, with a few fine setae beside eyes. Eyes small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.56. Antenna with ten antennomeres; club with three antennomeres and straight, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum transverse, widest at base, lateral margins evenly convex and weakly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles distinctly produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin convex, with fine marginal line, base without marginal line; surface finely and densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures being as long as puncture diameter, otherwise glabrous; lateral margin densely setose; hypomeron carinate, not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine, dense punctures.

Elytra widest in posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly convex, with fine, moderately dense punctures, with minute setae in punctures, penultimate lateral interval with a few fine setae; epipleural margin robust, ending at apical external angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose; apical border of elytra membraneous, with a very fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at ca 100x magnification).

Ventral surface dull, coarsely and densely punctate, metasternum including disc densely setose; metacoxa glabrous, with a few longer setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, punctures with minute setae, each sternite with a transverse row of punctures each bearing a fine seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.31. Pygidium dull, weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, with numerous long and short, fine setae in apical half.

Legs moderately long and narrow, shiny; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, coarsely and moderately densely punctate. Anterior margin of metafemur acute, with adjacent continuous serrated line, anterior row of setae complete; posterior ventral margin smooth, weakly widened at ventral apex, dorsal posterior margin smooth, neither serrate, glabrous. Metatibia long and wide, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/3.5, moderately carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group shortly behind middle, apical group at four fifths of metatibial length, in basal half with a few short and fine single setae and a continuous serrated line beside entire dorsal margin until the basal group of spines; lateral face longitudinally convex, with sparse fine punctures in basal half, minutely setose; ventral margin finely serrate, with five equidistant robust setae; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, shallowly emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally impunctate, glabrous, neither laterally nor dorsally carinate, moderately setose ventrally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a smooth subventral longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere distinctly longer than following tarsomere and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 24 F–H. Habitus: Fig. 24I .

Diagnosis. Maladera pseudoegregia Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from the other species of the M. egregia group in having the fused left and right parameres circular in cross section over the apical third.

Etymology. The name of the new species (noun in apposition) is composed of the combined Green prefix pseudo- (false) and the species name “ egregia ”, with reference to the similarity to M. egregia (Arrow, 1946) .

Variation. Length: 9.5–10.1 mm, length of elytra: 6.4–6.9 mm, width: 5.4–6.0 mm. Female: eyes only little smaller than in male, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.54; antennal club with three antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined; pygidium flat, before apical margin strongly convexly bent.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 98 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 24. A–E: Maladera laocaiensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); F–I: M. pseudoegregia Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); J–M: M. gusakovi Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, F, L: aedeagus, left side lateral view; D, H, L: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, G, K: parameres, dorsal view; C: parameres, ventral view; E, I, M: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 98. Distribution of the Maladera egregia group: Maladera pseudoegregia sp. n., M. tiachiensis sp. n., M. tiani sp. n., M. yakouensis sp. n., M. yipinglangensis sp. n..