Maladera jizuana 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 : 195-196

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

Figures 44 E–H, 111

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “[ China] Yunnan, 2300m, Jizu Mts. 18.-20. Jul. 1995 Bolm lgt./ 837 Sericini Asia spec.” ( CP) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ “N Vietnam (Tonkin) pr. Vinh Phu 1990 Tam Dao 17.-21.v. P. Pacholatko leg./ 346 Sericini Asia spec.” ( CP) , 1 ♂ “[ China] Yunnan, Lincang, Mt. Wulaoshan , 2010-VII-31, N: 23.90648, E: 100.15944, 1807m / LW-1302” ( IZAS) , 1 ♂ “[ China] Mts. Linaoshan, Langping, Tianlin , Guangxi, 28.V.2002, 1400m, leg. Jiang Guofang/ LW-688” ( IZAS) .

Description. Length: 7.5 mm, length of elytra: 5.8 mm, width: 4.6 mm. Body oblong-oval, dark reddish brown, dull, antenna and labroclypeus yellow, labroclypeus shiny, except some single setae on head dorsal surface nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus narrow and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and slightly convergent, anterior angles moderately rounded, anterior margin weakly emarginate medially, margins distinctly reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce a distinct angle; surface flat, finely and densely punctate, with a few larger punctures each bearing an erect seta; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, evenly curved; smooth area anterior to eye weakly convex, twice as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long and narrow (1/4 of ocular diameter), finely and densely punctate, with a terminal seta. Frons dull, behind frontoclypeal suture narrowly shiny, with sparse, fine punctures, with a few long setae beside eyes. Eyes very large, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.84. Antenna missing in holotype. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum transverse, widest shortly before base, lateral margins evenly convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and nearly right-angled, posterior angles strongly rounded; anterior margin convex, with complete robust marginal line, base without marginal line; surface finely and densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; lateral anterior and lateral margin finely setose; hypomeron carinate, not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine, dense punctures.

Elytra widest shortly behind middle, striae distinctly impressed, finely and sparsely punctate, odd intervals slightly convex, even intervals flat, with fine and moderately dense punctures being concentrated along striae on odd intervals, with minute setae in punctures, odd intervals with a very few short setae; epipleural margin robust, ending at strongly curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura sparsely setose; apical border of elytra membraneous, with a rim of microtrichomes (visible at ca 100x magnification).

Ventral surface dull, coarsely and densely punctate, glabrous, metasternal disc sparsely covered with fine, short setae; metacoxa with a few longer setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, glabrous, 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: 1/1.67. Pygidium weakly convex and dull, coarsely and densely punctate, without impunctate midline, glabrous except a few robust setae along apical margin.

Legs moderately long and wide, shiny; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Metafemur with anterior margin acute, without adjacent serrated line, anterior row of setae reduced to a few single setae; posterior margin smooth, weakly widened at apex and smooth ventrally, not serrate dorsally, finely shortly setose. Metatibia moderately long and wide, widest at middle, ratio of width/length: 1/2.9, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group at middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, with a few robust setae basally subparallel to dorsal margin; lateral face longitudinally convex, shiny, sparsely punctate and glabrous; ventral margin finely serrate, with three long and robust setae of which distal one is more distant; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, moderately truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally sparsely and finely punctate, punctures with short setae, moderately setose ventrally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a smooth subventral longitudinal carina, laterally and dorsally carinate; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and distinctly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 44 E–G. Habitus: Fig. 44H . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. In external morphology and the shape of the genitalia, Maladera jizuana Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. is similar to M. sedula Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016 , from India. The new species differs from M. sedula in having the apical phallobase with a fine longitudinal carina in front of the dorsal median emargination that projects into the emargination; additionally, the parameres of the new species are narrower (lateral view).

Etymology. The name (adjective in the nominative singular) of the new species is derived from the occurrence of the species in the Jizu mountains.

Variation. Length: 7.5–8.5 mm, length of elytra: 5.8–6.1 mm, width: 4.4–4.6 mm. Antenna with ten antennomeres; club with three antennomeres and strongly reflexed, 1.8 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 111 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 44. A–D: Maladera sinobiloba Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. jizuana Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–L: M. habashanensis 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 111. Distribution of the Maladera indica group: Maladera bansongchana sp. n., M. habashanensis sp. n., M. huanianensis sp. n., M. jingdongensis sp. n., M. jizuana sp. n., M. kryschanowskii sp. n..