Moronoserica squamulatoides Ahrens, Lukic

Ahrens, Dirk, Liu, Wangang, Lukic, Daniel & Bai, Ming, 2023, A taxonomic review of Microserica Brenske, 1894 from continental Asia (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Sericini), Zootaxa 5241 (1), pp. 1-115 : 63-64

Moronoserica squamulatoides Ahrens, Lukic & Liu, new species

Figs. 20. A–E , 31

Type material examined. Holotype: Ô “ Thai 28/4-6./5.91 Umphang river 1000 m 16°07’N 88°00’E David Kral lgt. / 1161 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 4 ÔÔ, 3 ♀♀ “ Thai 28/4-6./5.91 Umphang river 1000 m 16°07’N 88°00’E David Kral lgt.” ( ZFMK) .

Description of the holotype. Length: 8.4 mm, length of elytra: 5.4 mm, width: 5.0 mm. Body oval, brown, scutellum lighter brown; frons and pronotum with greenish shine, dorsal surface dull, labroclypeus simply shiny; dorsal surface except center of elytral intervals almost evenly and densely covered with fine, white setae.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal and moderately short, widest at base, lateral margins convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles broadly rounded, lateral border and ocular canthus produce an indistinct obtuse angle, anterior and lateral margins moderately reflexed, anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface flat and shiny, finely and very densely punctate, a few larger punctures mixed with generally small ones, with numerous long, erect setae; frontoclypeal suture distinct and weakly elevated, weakly curved; smooth area in front of eye 2.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus short and triangular (1/3 of ocular diameter), sparsely finely punctate, with a short single terminal seta. Frons with fine and dense punctures, with minute white setae in punctures, beside eyes with a few long erect setae. Eyes small, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.53. Antenna yellow, with ten antennomeres; club with four antennomeres subequal in length, club as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum weakly convexly elevated anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins distinctly evenly curved and convergent anteriorly; anterior angles distinctly produced and acute, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin convexly produced medially, with a distinct and fine marginal line; basal margin without marginal line; surface with dense and fine punctures, with adpressed white minute setae in punctures; anterior and lateral borders sparsely setose; hypomeron carinate, its basal margin not produced ventrally. Scutellum narrow and short, with fine and dense punctures along lateral margins, otherwise at middle widely impunctate, minute setae present in punctures.

Elytra short oval, widest at middle, striae distinctly impressed and finely densely punctate; intervals strongly convex and densely finely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae, center of intervals impunctate, with fine white setae in punctures, with a few long, yellow setae on odd intervals; interior apical angle of elytron with a robust seta; before apex with an indistinct, dark, glabrous spot; epipleural edge robust but convex, ending at strongly convex external apical angle of elytra; epipleura densely setose, apical border broadly membraneous, with a rim of short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, with fine and dense punctures, with dense short setae, setae adpressed; metacoxa minutely setose, laterally with robust adpressed setae; each abdominal sternite with indistinct transversal row of coarse and dense punctures, sternite bearing short strong setae between fine and dense punctation, all sternites bearing minute white setae. Mesosternum between mesocoxae almost as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/1.5. Pygidium strongly convex, with fine and dense punctures bearing fine, white setae, with a few longer yellowish setae, without smooth midline.

Legs moderately slender; femora on ventral surface dull, finely and moderately densely punctate, glabrous, with two longitudinal rows of setae; anterior edge of metafemur acute, with a robust adjacent continuously serrated line, posterior margin weakly convex and glabrous, ventrally weakly widened in apical half but not serrate, posterior margin dorsally not serrate. Metatibia moderately wide and long, dorsal and ventral margin almost subparallel, ratio width/length: 1/3.3, dorsally longitudinally convex, with two groups of spines, the basal group shortly before middle, apical one at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single spines; lateral face longitudinally convex, with dense and moderately coarse punctures, along the middle of lateral face narrowly impunctate, punctures with minute to short setae, before the basal group of spines with a continuously serrated line; ventral margin sharp and serrated, with five strong and long, equidistant spines; medial face impunctate and smooth, apex interiorly (near tarsal articulation) distinctly truncate. Tarsomeres dorsally glabrous and impunctate, ventrally with a very few sparse, short setae; metatarsomeres ventrally with a single strongly serrated carina, a subventral carina lacking, first metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined and one third of its length longer than dorsal metatibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical.

Aedeagus: Fig. 20A–D . Habitus: Fig. 20E .

Diagnosis. Moronoserica squamulatoides Ahrens, Lukic & Liu, new species differs from Mor. squamulata ( Moser, 1915) new combination by fine white setae covering the elytral intervals instead of scales, and by the narrower and longer right paramere (lateral view).

Etymology. The name of the new species (noun in nominative singular case) is derived from the combined words, “ squamulatus ” (with scales) and the Greek suffix “- oides ”, with reference to the similarity to Mor. squamulata .

Variation. Length: 8.3–8.4 mm, length of elytra: 5.3–5.4 mm, width: 4.9–5.0 mm. Female: Antennal club composed of three antennomeres, little shorter than the remaining antennomeres combined.

Figures

FIGURE 20.A–E: Moronoserica squamulatoidesAhrens, Lukic & Liu, new species (holotype); F–J: Mor. banmethout Ahrens, Lukic & Liu, new species (holotype); K–O: Mor. renong Ahrens, Lukic & Liu, new species (holotype). A, F, K: Aedeagus, left side lateral view; D, I, N: Aedeagus, right side lateral view; C, H, M: Parameres, dorsal view; B, G, L: Phallobase, dorsal view; E, J, O: Habitus (not to scale). Scale: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 31. Distribution of the genus MoronosericaAhrens, Lukic & Liu, new genus.The unlocalized records of Moronoserica helferi (Bohacz & Ahrens, 2020) and Mor. tenasserimensis (Bohacz & Ahrens, 2020) from Myanmar are not shown here.