Neoserica axelkalliesi Ahrens & Pham, 2021

Ahrens, Dirk & Pham, Phu Van, 2021, Additions to the Neoserica calva group from continental South East Asia (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Sericini), Zootaxa 5032 (3), pp. 357-378 : 359-360

Neoserica axelkalliesi Ahrens & Pham , new species

Fig. 1A–D

Type material. Holotype: ♂ “N-Vietnam Fan Si Pan near Sapa, 1500–1950m 17.–30.VI.1999 A. Kallies leg. / Ser- icini Asia spec. 12” ( ZFMK).

Description of the holotype. Body length: 6.3 mm, length of elytra: 4.1 mm, width: 3.5 mm. Body oblong, dark brown, antennal club yellowish brown, dorsal surface dull and except frons nearly glabrous, labroclypeus and anterior two thirds of frons shiny.

Labroclypeus rectangular, distinctly wider than long; lateral margins subparallel; anterior angles strongly rounded; anterior margin weakly emarginate medially; margins moderately reflexed; surface weakly elevated medially and shiny, finely and densely punctate, with a few single setae anteriorly. Frontoclypeal suture finely incised, not elevated but strongly curved. Smooth area anterior to eye flat, twice as wide as long. Ocular canthus moderately long and narrow (equal to 1/4 of ocular diameter), finely and densely punctate, with a single terminal seta. Frons on anterior two thirds shiny, finely and irregularly densely punctate, with a few long single setae beside eyes, otherwise glabrous; on posterior third dull, finely and densely punctate, with dense, short, erect setae. Eyes large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.91. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with four antennomeres and reflexed, 1.8 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly. Labrum transverse, short, not produced medially, with weak median sinuation.

Pronotum transverse, widest at base; in basal half lateral margins moderately convex and weakly convergent anteriorly, in anterior half margins strongly convex and convergent; anterior angles weakly produced and blunt; posterior angles nearly right-angled and moderately rounded at tip; anterior margin with a very fine marginal line which is medially invisible, weakly convexly produced medially; surface moderately densely and largely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; lateral and anterior border sparsely setose; basal margin without marginal line; hypomeron distinctly carinate basally. Scutellum long, with fine, very dense punctures, and minute setae in punctures.

Elytra oblong, widest at posterior third; striae weakly impressed, finely and moderately densely punctate; intervals weakly convex, with sparse, fine punctures concentrated along striae, impunctate medially, with minute setae in punctures. Epipleural edge fine, ending at moderately curved external apical angle of elytra; epipleura densely setose; apical border with a fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at 100x magnification).

Ventral surface dull, finely and densely punctate. Metasternum except long setae on disc nearly glabrous, sparsely covered with minute setae in punctures. Metacoxa glabrous, with a few single setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctuate, glabrous except minute setae in punctures, with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a robust long seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.46. Pygidium moderately convex and dull, coarsely and densely punctate, without smooth midline, with dense long, and short minute setae in punctures.

Legs moderately slender. Femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Metafemur dull and sparsely finely punctate; anterior margin acute, behind anterior margin without serrated line; posterior margin in apical half serrated ventrally and moderately widened at apex; posterior margin finely serrated dorsally, glabrous. Metatibia slender and short, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/3.0; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with two groups of spines; basal group at middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length; in basal half with a few short robust setae in single robust punctures with serrated margin; external face longitudinally convex, finely and sparsely punctate; ventral margin finely serrated, with three robust setae, with the apical one being more distant; medial face impunctate, glabrous, apex bluntly truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres ventrally with sparse, short setae, not carinate laterally, with fine sparse punctures dorsally; metatarsomere 1 almost twice as long as dorsal metatibial spur and as long as following two tarsomeres combined. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, bluntly widened laterally before basal tooth; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw sharply truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 1A–C . Habitus: Fig. 1D .

Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Neoserica axelkalliesi Ahrens & Pham , new species differs from N. gulinqingensis Liu, Fabrizi, Bai, Yang and Ahrens, 2014 and N. calvoides Liu, Fabrizi, Bai, Yang and Ahrens, 2014 by the right paramere having a narrow and short dorsal lobe.

Etymology. Named after its collector, Axel Kallies (Melbourne).

Figures

FIGURE 1. A–D: Neoserica axelkalliesi Ahrens & Pham, new species (holotype); E–H: N. judsoni Ahrens & Pham, new species (holotype). A, E: Aedeagus, left side lateral view; C, G: Aedeagus, right side lateral view; B, F: Parameres, dorsal view; D, H: Habitus (not to scale). Scale: 0.5 mm.