Maladera kubeceki 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 : 144-145

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

Figures 31 A–D, 103

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China, Hainan Isl., 7-8.v.2011 Bawangling Mts. Baotie env. (at light) 19°05.3’N, 109°07.4’E, 415-800m, M. Fikáček, V. Kubeček & L. Li leg./ 847 Sericini : Asia spec.” ( NMPC). Paratype: 1 ♂ “ East of Mts. Bawangling , Changjiang, Hainan, 5-7.VI. 2008, 750m, leg. Ba Yinbin, Lang Juntong” ( HBUM).

Description. Length: 9.5 mm, length of elytra: 6.8 mm, width: 6.0 mm. Body oblong-oval, yellowish brown, dull, labroclypeus shiny, with a few long setae on head, pronotum and elytra.

Labroclypeus wide and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles strongly rounded, anterior margin shallowly emarginate, margins moderately reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce an indistinct angle; surface distinctly elevated along middle, finely, densely punctate, with a few erect, long setae; frontoclypeal suture distinctly incised, bluntly angled medially; smooth area anterior to eye very small and flat, twice as wide as long; ocular canthus short and wide (1/3 of ocular diameter), finely densely punctate, with a terminal seta. Frons dull, with very sparse and superficial punctures, with a few single setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture. Eyes small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.6. Antenna with ten antennomeres; club with three antennomeres and straight, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately transverse, widest at base, lateral margins in basal half nearly straight and little convergent, evenly convex and and strongly convergent in anterior half, anterior angles distinctly produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt, rounded at tip; anterior margin straight, with fine marginal line, base without marginal line; surface moderately finely and densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures and a very few long, semi-erect setae on lateral disc; anterior and lateral margin finely densely setose; hypomeron carinate, not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine, sparse punctures.

Elytra widest in posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals flat, with fine, sparse punctures and with minute setae in punctures, odd intervals with numerous single robust setae; epipleural margin robust, ending at half of elytra, epipleura sparsely setose; apical border of elytra membraneous, with a very fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at ca 100x magnification).

Ventral surface dull, finely and densely punctate, nearly glabrous, metasternal disc sparsely covered with fine, short setae; metacoxa with a few longer setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, punctures with minute setae, 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: 1/2.1. Pygidium strongly convex, dull, coarsely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, with a few long setae along apical margin.

Legs short and wide, dull; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Anterior margin of metafemur acute, without adjacent serrated line, anterior row of setae completely reduced; posterior ventral margin smooth, strongly widened at ventral apex, dorsal posterior margin smooth, neither serrate, glabrous. Metatibia short and wide, widest at middle, ratio of width/length: 1/2.7, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group shortly behind middle, apical group at foiur fiths of metatibial length, in basal half with a few short and robust single setae; lateral face longitudinally convex, superficially and sparsely punctate, along midline widely smooth, glabrous; ventral margin finely serrate, with five equidistant robust setae; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, shallowly emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally impunctate, glabrous, neither laterally nor dorsally carinate, moderately setose ventrally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a smooth subventral longitudinal carina, glabrous; first metatarsomere distinctly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 31 A–C. Habitus: Fig. 31D . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Maladera kubeceki Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu , sp. n. differs from the very similar species M. aureola (Murayama) in that the aedeagus has only one paramere with a basal lobe.

Etymology. The new species is named (noun in genitive singular) in honour of V. Kubeček, one of the collectors of this new species.

Variation. Length: 8.1–9.5 mm, length of elytra: 6.2–6.8 mm, width: 5.4–6.0 mm.

Distribution. See map ( Fig. 103 ) and Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 31. A–D: Maladera kubeceki Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype); E–H: M. juxianensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, sp. n. (holotype). A, E: aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G: aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F: parameres, dorsal view; D, H: habitus. Scale: 0.5 mm. Habitus not to scale.

FIGURE 103. Distribution of the Maladera thomsoni group: Maladera jaintiaensis Ahrens & Fabrizi 2016, M. juxianensis sp. n., M. kubeceki sp. n., M. pseudosenta sp. n., M. senta (Brenske, 1897), M. straminea (Moser, 1915), M. subtruncata (Fairmaire, 1887).