Maladera wupingensis 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 : 233-234

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

Figures 53 J–M, 117

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China: Fujian Province; Mt. Liang-shan-ding, Wuping County, July 2- 13, 2009 local collector Ankauf via Li Jingke 2010/ 771 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ “ China: Fujian Province; Mt. Liang-shan-ding, Wuping County, July 2-13, 2009 local collector Ankauf via Li Jingke 2010” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ “[ China] Mt. Dadongshan , Lianxian County, Guangdong, 5.VI.2001, leg. Pan Lijing ” ( LSSYU) , 1 ♂ “ China, Hunan, Jiucai Ling , 25°32’N 111°22’E, 1300m, VII.2006, leg. Viktor & Sveta Siniaev” ( ZFMK) .

Description. Length: 11.4 mm, length of elytra: 8.4 mm, width: 6.9 mm. Body wide, oval, dark brown, legs brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull, labroclypeus, tarsomeres, and tibiae shiny, glabrous.

Labroclypeus moderately wide, trapezoidal, lateral margins slightly convex and convergent, producing with the ocular canthus a nearly straight line, anterior angles moderately rounded, anterior margin distinctly emarginate medially, margins weakly reflexed; surface flat, basal half with dull toment, finely and densely punctate, distance between punctures wider than their diameter, with a few erect setae in slightly larger punctures anteriorly; frontoclypeal suture finely incised, bluntly angled medially; ocular canthus moderately wide and long (equals 1/3 of ocular width), finely and sparsely punctate, with a short terminal seta. Frons with superficial, moderately dense punctures, with a few single setae beside eyes. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with three antennomeres, distinctly longer than remaining antennomeres combined. Eyes small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.47. Mentum convexly elevated and flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum widest at base, lateral margins evenly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin weakly convex, with a fine marginal line that is widely incomplete medially; basal margin without marginal line; surface finely and moderately densely punctate, setae of lateral and anterior margin fine but sparse, punctures with microscopic setae only. Scutellum wide, triangular, punctation as on pronotum.

Elytra widest behind middle, striae distinctly impressed, finely punctate, intervals moderately convex, finely and densely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae; 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, nearly glabrous, only metasternal plate and lateral metacoxa with a few robust setae. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.78. Abdominal sternites finely and moderately densely punctate, each with a row of coarse punctures bearing each a robust seta. Pygidium moderately convex, finely and densely punctate, lateral and apical margins with very short setae.

Legs moderately wide; femora finely and sparsely punctate, with two longitudinal rows of setae. Metafemur shiny, anterior margin acute, without adjacent serrated line, anterior longitudinal row of setae reduced; posterior ventral margin almost straight, weakly widened in apical half, ventrally at apical third and dorsally completely serrated, glabrous. Metatibia long and moderately wide, ratio width/ length: 1/ 3.1, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal one at middle, apical one at four fifths of metatibial length, basally with a few fine and short setae; lateral face weakly longitudinally concave, finely and sparsely punctate, dorsally with a few larger punctures; apex concavely emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres finely densely punctate dorsally, with dense, fine setae ventrally; metatarsomeres ventrally glabrous, with a strongly serrated carina, subventrally with a second, smooth longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere little longer than following two tarsomeres combined, and a quarter of its length longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, with blunt external extension at middle; anterior claws symmetric, interior tarsal claws sharply pointed.

Aedeagus: Fig. 53 J–L. Habitus: Fig. 53M . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Maladera wupingensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from the other two species of this species group in having the parameres shorter and the dorsoapical median emargination of phallobase shallower.

Etymology. The new species is named after its type locality (Wuping) (adjective in nominative singular).

Variation. Length: 11.4–11.8 mm, length of elytra: 8.4–8.9 mm, width: 6.9–7.5 mm.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 117 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 53. A–E: Maladera bikouensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); F–I: M. shiwandashanensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); J–M: M. wupingensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, F, J: aedeagus, left side lateral view; D, H, L: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, C, G, K: parameres, dorsal view; E, I, M: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 117. Distribution of the Maladera liwenzhui group: Maladera bikouensis sp. n., M. liwenzhui sp. n., M. shiwandashanensis sp. n., M. wupingensis sp. n..