Neoserica (s.l.) vulpes ( Arrow 1946 ) Ahrens & Liu & Fabrizi & Bai & Yang, 2014

Ahrens, Dirk, Liu, Wangang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2014, A revision of the species of the Neoserica (sensu lato) vulpes group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini), Journal of Natural History 49 (17), pp. 1073-1130 : 1076-1087

Neoserica (s.l.) vulpes ( Arrow 1946) comb. nov.

( Figures 1A–D , 10 )

Serica vulpes Arrow, 1946: 11 .

Type material examined

Syntypes. 1 ♂ ‘N.E. Burma Kambaiti 2000 m 12-17/6.34 Malaise / Typus / Serica vulpes n. sp. Arrow /3188 E91/ Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet Stockholm Loan no 569/94’ ( NHRS) , 1 ♂ ‘N. E. Burma Kambaiti 2000 m 15/5.1934 Malaise / Serica vulpes Arrow co-type/N. E. Burma R. Malaise B. M. 1945-71 ’ ( BMNH) , 1 ♂ ‘N. E. Burma Kambaiti 2000 m 12-17/6.1934 Malaise / Serica vulpes n. sp. Arrow’ ( BMNH) .

Additional material examined

1 ♂ ‘ Myanmar (Burma) Provinz Kachin State; 3 km NW Three River Junction (Thone chaung sone) N 26°22 ′ 14,9 ″ E 098°41 ′ 04,2 ″ 3.X.2010 (H = 2450 m; LF) leg. Michael Langer, S. Naumann & S. Loeffler’ ( ZFMK) .

Redescription of syntype 1

Length. 8.8 mm, length of elytra: 6.4 mm, width: 4.6 mm. Body oblong, light reddish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull, nearly glabrous except a few long erect setae on elytra.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent to strongly convex anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface weakly convex medially and shiny, finely and very densely irregularly punctate, distance between punctures less than their diameter, punctures partly fused, with a few long erect setae; frontoclypeal suture very feebly incised and medially weakly angled; smooth area in front of eye short and approximately twice as wide as long; ocular canthus long and slender, impunctate, with a short single terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and moderately dense punctures, with a few long setae in larger punctures on disc and beside eyes. Eyes large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.78. Antenna composed of 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, nearly 1.5 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined, slightly reflexed. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum narrow, widest shortly before base, lateral margins nearly straight and subparallel, in anterior quarter weakly curved and narrowed anteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and moderately acute, posterior angles blunt and not rounded at tip, anterior margin convexly produced medially, broad marginal line widely interrupted medially, basal margin without marginal line; surface with moderately dense and fine punctures, with minute setae only; anterior and lateral borders setose; hypomeron distinctly carinate at base. Scutellum narrow and long, sharp at apex, with fine and dense punctures, on apex smooth, punctures with minute setae.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals convex and not densely punctate with punctures concentrated along striae, odd intervals with a few single, fine, erect setae; epipleural edge robust, ending at strongly curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border membranous, with short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, with large and dense punctures, sparsely and shortly setose, setae partly adpressed, metacoxa glabrous, with fine setae laterally, its apical margin weakly convex, posterior lateral angle blunt; each abdominal sternite with indistinct transversal row of coarse punctures each bearing a short seta between fine and moderately dense punctation. Mesosternum between mesocoxae nearly half as wide as mesofemur, with irregularly scattered, fine setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/1.45. Pygidium moderately and evenly convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with short setae, a few longer setae beside apical margin.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and moderately densely punctate; metafemur ventrally dull, anterior margin sharply carinate, without a submarginal serrated line, posterior margin straight, with a few strong setae medially, only weakly widened externally in apical half and not serrated ventrally in distal half, finely serrated dorsally, with dense, short setae. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio width/length: 1/4.0, dorsal margin sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group of spines shortly before half of metatibial length, apical one at about three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single fine spines; external face longitudinally convex, with a moderately fine, sparse punctures; ventral margin finely serrated, with four fine, equidistant spines; medial face impunctate, apex concavely truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres partly finely punctate dorsally, with a few long setae, with sparse, short setae ventrally; metatarsomeres impunctate and glabrous dorsally, without longitudinal impressions, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a fine longitudinal carina immediately beside it; first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and a quarter of its length longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw bluntly truncate apically.

Aedeagus. Figure 1A–C . Female unknown.

Figures

Figure 1. A–D: Neoserica vulpes (Arrow) (syntype 1), E–H: N. yangjiapingensis Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (holotype), I–L: N. ruzickai Ahrens, Liu & Fabrizi sp. nov. (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 (not to scale). Scale: 0.5 mm.

Figure 10. Distribution of the species of the Neoserica (s.l.) vulpes group: N. baishuiensis, N. heishuiana, N. kereni, N. lateriuncinata, N. luzhouana, N. nykli, N. parausta, N. pseudovulpes, N. ruzickai, N. usta, N. vulpes and N. kunmingensis.