Maladera shaluishanica 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 : 220-221

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

Figures 50 E–H, 114

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China: W-Sichuan [Ganzi Tibet. Aut. Pref., Yaijang Co.], Shalui Shan , 20km W Yaijang 4250m [brook cleft, alp. Meadow ] 30°01N / 100°41E 2.VII.1999 D.W. Wrase / 777 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ “ China: W-Sichuan [Ganzi Tibet. Aut. Pref. , Yaijang Co.], Shalui Shan , 20km W Yaijang 4250m [brook cleft, alp. Meadow ] 30°01N / 100°41E 2.VII.1999 D.W. Wrase ” ( ZFMK) , 30 ♂♂, 18 ♀♀ “ China: Prov. Sichuan Str. Zw. Xinbuqiao u. Kangding westl. V. Gong Gun 3700-3750m Leg. A. Puchner VI.-VII 2007 ” ( ZFMK, CP) , 1 ♂ “ China: W-Sichuan [Ganzi Tibet. Aut. Pref. , Yaijang Co.], Shalui Shan , river valley 6 km WSW Yajiang, 3250m 30°01‘N / 100°57‘E river bank, bank slope 4.VII.1999 D.W. Wrase ” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♀ “ China: W-Sichuan [Ganzi Tibet. Aut. Pref. , Yaijang Co.], Daxue Shan , W Tsheto La Pass 3900-4000m, 18km W Kangding 30°04‘N / 101°47‘E 25.VI.1999, D.W. Wrase ” ( ZFMK) .

Description. Length: 7.7 mm, length of elytra: 4.9 mm, width: 4.4 mm. Body oblong, dark brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface moderately shiny and almost glabrous.

Labroclypeus widely subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and distinctly convergent to weakly rounded anterior angles, lateral margin and ocular canthus producing an indistinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed; anterior margin widely emarginate medially; surface flat and moderately shiny, coarsely and very densely punctate, distance between punctures less than their diameter, punctures partly fused, anteriorly on sides with a few short, erect setae; frontoclypeal suture very feebly incised and medially weakly angled; smooth area in front of eye very short and approximately as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long and wide, finely and densely punctate, with a short terminal seta. Frons with fine and moderately dense punctures, glabrous. Eyes very small, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.39. Antenna yellow, 10-segmented; club with three segments, almost 1.5 times as long as remaining joints combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at middle, lateral margins evenly convex, convergent towards base and apex, anterior angles moderately produced and moderately sharp, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin weakly convex with a distinct marginal line; basal margin without marginal line; surface with moderately dense and fine punctures, with microscopic setae in punctures only; anterior and lateral margins setaceous; hypomeron distinctly carinate at base. Scutellum short, with fine and sparse punctures, glabrous.

Elytra oval, widest at middle, elytral humeri reduced; striae finely impressed and finely densely punctate, intervals weakly convex and sparsely punctate, except minute setae in punctures glabrous; epipleural margin robust, ending at strongly curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura sparsely setose, apical border slightly concave and chitinous, without short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, with large and dense punctures, sparsely and shortly setose, setae partly adpressed; metacoxa glabrous, laterally with fine setae; each abdominal sternite with indistinct transversal row of coarse punctures bearing short setae between fine and moderately dense punctation. Mesosternum between mesocoxae almost half as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.54. Pygidium weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with minute setae only, with numerous long setae beside apical margin.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and moderately densely punctate; metafemur ventrally dull, sharply margined anteriorly, without a submarginal serrated line, posterior margin straight, with a few strong setae medially, ventral posterior margin only weakly widened in apical half and not serrated, dorsal posterior margin not serrated, with short setae. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio width/ length: 1/ 3.2, dorsally at least in posterior two thirds moderately carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group of spines at middle of, apical one at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single fine spines in punctures; lateral face longitudinally convex, with a fine sparse punctures; ventral margin finely serrated, with three fine, equidistant spines; medial face impunctate, apex interiorly near tarsal articulation concave. Tarsomeres dorsally glabrous and impunctate, ventrally with sparse, short robust setae; metatarsomeres dorsally with superficial fine longitudinal punctures or impressions, ventrally with a strongly serrated ridge, without subventral longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere distinctly longer than following joint and one third of its length longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, protarsal claws asymmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw not widened and apically sharply pointed, a little longer than narrow apical tooth.

Aedeagus: Fig. 50 E–G. Habitus: Fig. 50H

Diagnosis. Maladera shaluishanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from M. gansuensis in having reduced elytral humeri, the shiny dorsal surface, and in the shape of aedeagus: the dorsal phallobasal lobe is externally (left side) more strongly convex.

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

Variation. Length: 7.7 – 8.5 mm, length of elytra: 4.9-6.1 mm, width: 4.4 – 4.8 mm. Female: eyes little smaller than in male, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.34; antennal club with three antennomeres, little shorter than remaining antennomeres combined; pygidium weakly convex.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 114 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 50. A–D: Maladera yangi Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. shaluishanica Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); I–L: M. houzhenziensis 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 114. Distribution of the Maladera gansuensis group: Maladera gansuensis (Miyake & Yamaya, 2001), M. hongyuanensis sp. n., M. shaluishanica sp. n..