Maladera fencli 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 : 29-30

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

Figures 4 E–H, 86

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “China-Guangdong, Daqiao env., 1000–1200m, 24°54’N – 113°01’E, 1.– 3.v.2002, Dr. R. Fencl lgt./ 829 Sericini : Asia spec.” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ “ China, Fujian c., 21.–22.VI. Ziyungdongshan, NW slopes 25°46’N 117°20’E, 900–1100m Jaroslav Turna leg., 2007” ( ZFMK) , 8 ♂♂ “ Jiugongshan Tongshan , S-Hubei, 1.V.2004, leg. Wen ” ( ZFMK) , 2 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ “ China-Guangdong, Daqiao env., 1000–1200m, 24°54’N – 113°01’E, 1.–3.v.2002, Dr. R. Fencl lgt.” ( CP, ZFMK) , 1 ♂ “ China: Guangdong prov. Nanling National Nature Reserve Dadongshan, 18.–21.iv.2013 (border of mixed forest, at light) 24°56.0’N, 112°42.9’E, 690 m J. Hájek & J. Růžicka / 1080 Sericini Asia spec.” ( NMPC) .

Description. Length: 10.7 mm, length of elytra: 7.2 mm, width: 5.9 mm. Body oblong-oval, dark reddish brown, antenna yellow, shiny, dorsal face nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus wide and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles strongly rounded, anterior margin moderately emarginate, margins moderately reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce an indistinct angle; surface weakly convex, coarsely, very densely punctate, with a few long setae anteriorly; frontoclypeal suture distinctly incised, weakly curved; smooth area anterior to eye convex, twice as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long and wide (1/3 of ocular diameter), finely densely punctate, with two terminal setae. Frons shiny, with dense and coarse punctures, and moderately dense, erect setae. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.63. Antenna with ten antennomeres; club with three antennomeres and straight, distinctly shorter than remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately transverse, widest at base, lateral margins in basal half straight and weakly convergent anteriorly, convex at middle and in anterior half straight but slightly more convergent, anterior angles distinctly produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin straight, with fine marginal line, base without marginal line; surface densely and coarsely punctate, with minute setae in punctures being as long as puncture diameter, otherwise glabrous; anterior and 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, odd intervals weakly convex, even ones flat, with fine, dense punctures being partly transversely rugous, 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: 1/1.47. Pygidium dull, weakly convex, coarsely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, with numerous long and fine setae beside apical margin.

Legs moderately long and wide, 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, moderately widened at ventral apex, dorsal posterior margin smooth, neither serrate, glabrous. Metatibia moderately long and wide, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/2.6, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group shortly behind middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, in basal half with a few short and robust single setae and a continuous serrated line beside entire dorsal margin; lateral face longitudinally convex, with dense coarse punctures, sparsely setose; ventral margin finely serrate, with five equidistant robust setae; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, distinctly deeply 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. 4 E–G. Habitus: Fig. 4H .

Diagnosis. Maladera fencli Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n is very similar to M. subrugata (Moser) , differing in having the body larger and the left paramere more robust and wider, as well as by the more asymmetric apex of the phallobase.

Variation. Length: 8.6–10.7 mm, length of elytra: 5.9–7.2 mm, width: 5.0– 5.9 mm. Female: eyes little smaller than in male, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.5; antennal club with three antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined; pygidium shiny and finely sparly punctate, weakly convex.

Etymology. The new species is named after one of its collectors, Rudolf Fencl (noun in the genitive singular case).

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 86 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 4. A–D: Maladera subrugata (Moser, 1926) (China: Qinglongqiao); E–H: M. fencli Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, E: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F: parameres, dorsal view; D, H: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 86. Distribution of the subgenus Eumaladera: Maladera fencli sp. n., M. opaciventris (Moser, 1915), M. robustula sp. n., M. subrugata (Moser, 1926), Maladera wipfleri sp. n. (not precisely localized collection site indicated by a “?”).