Maladera pseudoconsularis 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 : 201

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

Figures 46 A–D, 112

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “[ China] Cangyuan , Yunnan, 19.V. 1980, 790m, leg. Shang Jinwen / LW- 081” ( IZAS).

Description. Length: 8.0 mm, length of elytra: 5.9 mm, width: 4.5 mm. Body oblong-oval, dorsal face dark brown, widely dull, ventral face reddish brown, antenna yellow, labroclypeus moderately shiny, except some single setae on head dorsal surface nearly glabrous.

Labroclypeus narrow and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and distinctly narrowed anteriorly, anterior angles strongly rounded, anterior margin weakly emarginate medially, margins moderately 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, 2.5 times 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, anterior quarter shiny, with moderately dense, fine punctures, behind frontoclypeal suture and beside eyes with a few long setae in large sparse punctures. Eyes large, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.8. Antenna missing in holotype. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum transverse, widest in posterior third, lateral margins evenly convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles distinctly produced and sharp, 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 finely impressed, finely and sparsely punctate, intervals weakly convex, with fine and dense punctures concentrated along striae, with minute setae in punctures, odd intervals with a very few single, 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: 1/1.79. 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: 1/3.2, 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 missing in holotype. Protibia moderately long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 46 A–C. Habitus: Fig. 46D . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Maladera pseudoconsularis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from the other species of the M. indica group in having the dorsoapical emargination of phallobase weakly concave and not covered by a wide and long dorsal process; additionally, the parameres have the basal lobe shorter than the parameres.

Etymology. The name (adjective in the nominative singular) of the new species is derived from the combined Greek prefix pseudo, (similar) and the species name consularis, with reference to the similarity to that species.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 112 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 46. A–D: Maladera pseudoconsularis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. huanianensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–M: M. jingdongensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, E, I: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G, L: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F, J: parameres, dorsal view; K: parameres, ventral view; D, H, M: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 112. Distribution of the Maladera indica group: Maladera lushuiensis sp. n., M. pallida (Burmeister, 1855), M. peregoi sp. n., M. pseudoconsularis sp. n., M. sinobiloba sp. n., M. yongrenensis sp. n..