Maladera beibengensis 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 : 237-238

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

Figures 54 I–L, 118

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “[ China] Xizang, Motuo, Beibeng , 2011-VII- 9, 800m/ LW-1158” ( ISAZ).

Description. Length: 8.9 mm, length of elytra: 6.9 mm, width: 5.1 mm. Body oval, dark brown, antenna yellow, except shiny anterior head and tibiae surface dull, except a few small setae on head and elytra glabrous.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, little wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent to moderately rounded anterior angles, lateral margin and ocular canthus producing a blunt angle, margins moderately reflexed, anteriorly shallowly emarginate medially; surface fat, finely and densely punctate, glabrous; frontoclypeal suture feebly impressed and moderately angled medially; smooth area in front of eye approximately twice as wide as long; ocular canthus short and wide, finely punctate, with one terminal seta. Frons in posterior two thirds dull, with fine, moderately dense punctures, with two long setae beside eyes. Eyes moderately small, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.58. Antenna with 10 antennomeres; club with three antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum anteriorly elevated and flattened.

Pronotum subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins convex and evenly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin weakly convex, marginal line widely interrupted medially; surface finely and densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; anterior and lateral margins sparsely setose; hypomeron carinate but not produced. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine and moderately dense punctures each bearing a single minute seta, impunctate along middle.

Elytra oval, widest at middle, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals almost flat, with fine, moderately dense punctures, punctures with minute setae, otherwise glabrous; epipleural margin robust, ending at strongly rounded external apical angle of elytra, epipleura sparsely setose, apical border membraneous, with a fine rim of microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, metasternum with large and dense punctures, densely setose, metacoxa with minute setae in large punctures, with several long setae laterally. Abdominal sternites in addition to fine and moderately dense punctures each with a distinct transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a short and robust seta, otherwise punctures each with a microscopic seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.38. Pygidium weakly convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with microscopic setae, with a few short and long setae along apical margin.

Legs short and moderately wide; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Metafemur dull, anterior margin acute, lacking an adjacent serrated line, anterior row of setae reduced, posterior ventral margin straight, weakly widened in apical half and not serrate, dorsal posterior margin not serrated, finely setose. Metatibia moderately wide and long, widest at apex, ratio width/length: 1/2.9, dorsally sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal one at one third, apical one at two thirds of metatibial length, without serrated line basally; lateral face longitudinally convex, nearly impunctate; ventral margin finely serrate, with four equidistant spines; medial face impunctate; apex interiorly near tarsal articulation shallowly concave. Tarsomeres impunctate dorsally, ventrally with sparse, short setae; metatarsomeres ventrally with a strongly serrated ridge, beside with subventral longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate. All claws symmetrical, feebly curved and long, with normally developed basal tooth.

Aedeagus: Fig. 54 I–K. Habitus: Fig. 54L . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Maladera beibengensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from M. jiangi Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. in having shorter parameres and the right paramere (dorsal view) bearing a strong external apical tooth.

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

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 118 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 54. A–D: Maladera bawanglingensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. jiangi Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–L: M. beibengensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, E, I: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G, K: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F, J: parameres, dorsal view; D, H, L: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 118. Distribution of the Maladera ferruginea group: Maladera bawanglingensis sp. n., M. beibengensis sp. n., M. bubengensis sp. n., M. jiangi sp. n., M. pui sp. n..