Neoserica (s.l.) jiulongensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu

Ahrens, Dirk, Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2014, A taxonomic review of the Neoserica (sensu lato) septemlamellata group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), ZooKeys 402, pp. 67-102 : 88-90

Neoserica (s.l.) jiulongensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu sp. n. Figs 4 E–H, 6

Type material examined.

Holotype ♂ "Jiulong, Sichuan, 26.VI.1979, leg. Collecting Group" (IZAS).

Description.

Length: 9.4 mm, length of elytra: 6.9 mm, width: 5.0 mm. Body oblong, reddish brown, antennal club yellowish brown, dorsal surface moderately shiny, nearly glabrous except a few long setae on head.

Labroclypeus trapezoidal, distinctly wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately rounded, anteriorly weakly sinuate medially, margins moderately reflexed; surface slightly convex and shiny, basis without dull tomentum, punctation dense, small punctures mixed with coarse ones each bearing a long erect seta; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, not elevated and distinctly angled medially; smooth area anterior to eye approximately 2.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long (length = 1/3 of ocular diameter) and wide, with a few minute punctures and one or two long terminal setae. Frons shiny, with fine, dense punctures, beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture with long erect setae, on disc only a few slightly shorter setae. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.61. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with seven antennomeres, moderately reflexed, twice as long as remaining antennomeres combined; antennomere 4 subequal to half length of club, antennomere 3 half as long as pedicellus. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum subrectangular, widest shortly before base, lateral margins evenly convex and moderately convergent anteriorly, slightly narrowed basally, anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced, posterior angles blunt, slightly rounded at tip; anterior margin moderately convexly produced medially, marginal line incomplete medially; surface densely and coarsely punctate, only with minute setae; setae of anterior and lateral border fine and sparse; hypomeron distinctly carinate basally, carina not produced. Scutellum narrow and long, dull, with coarse, dense punctures and minute setae.

Elytra oblong, widest shortly behind middle, striae weakly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae, with only very minute setae, penultimate lateral intervals with single, long setae, otherwise glabrous; epipleural edge wide, ending at widely rounded apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border narrowly membranous, with a fine fringe of microtrichomes (visible at 100 ×).

Ventral surface dull, coarsely and densely punctate, metasternum moderately setose; metacoxa glabrous, with a few long setae laterally, posterior margin straight; abdominal sternites finely and densely punctuate, minutely setose, with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a robust, long seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.35. Pygidium strongly convex apically and shiny, finely and very densely punctate, with a narrow smooth midline, with a few long erect setae along apical margin.

Legs moderately slender and not very long; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate, nearly glabrous; metafemur dull, anterior margin acute, immediately behind anterior edge with a continuously serrated line, punctures and setae of anterior longitudinal row complete, posterior margin in apical half ventrally smooth and not widened, posterior margin smooth dorsally, not serrated, with dense, short setae. Metatibia moderately slender and long, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/3.4; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with three groups of spines, basal group shortly before middle, median one shortly behind middle, and apical group at 4/5 of metatibial length, basally with a few robust but single setae; beside dorsal margin with a continuously serrated line being subparallel with dorsal margin 4/5 of metatibial length; lateral face longitudinally convex, finely and sparsely punctate, with sparse fine setae, without convex subdorsal longitudinal carina on lateral face; ventral margin finely serrated, with four robust equidistant setae; medial face smooth, apex indistinctly sinuate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres with dense, short setae ventrally, not carinate laterally, smooth dorsally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ventral ridge and a sharp subventral carina immediately beside it, first metatarsomere distinctly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia short, tridentate, basal tooth blunt; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw sharply truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 4 E–G. Female unknown.

Diagnosis.

The new species shares with Neoserica plurilamellata sp. n. a ventroapically produced phallobasis. It can be easily distinguished by the evenly narrowed posterior lateral margins of pronotum (being not deeply concavely sinuate as in Neoserica plurilamellata sp. n.) and the left paramere, which is apically abruptly widened.

Etymology.

The new species is named after its type locality, Jiulong.