Gastroserica damingshanica Liu & Ahrens

Liu, Wan-Gang, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2014, An update to the taxonomy of the genus Gastroserica Brenske (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), ZooKeys 426, pp. 87-110 : 101-103

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Scarabaeidae

Gastroserica damingshanica Liu & Ahrens sp. n. Figs 3 A–D, 4

Type material examined.

Holotype. ♂ "Guangxi, Damingshan, 20.V.2011, 1230m, 23°30'N, 108°26'E, leg. Zhang Youwei" (IZAS).

Description.

Body length: 6.7 mm, length of elytra: 4.7 mm, width: 3.8 mm. Body oval, pronotum and ventral surface yellowish brown, frons and two spots on disc of pronotum darker, elytra reddish brown, lateral intervals darker, abdomen dark brown to grey. Dorsal surface moderately shiny, with sparse setae (Fig. 3D).

Labroclypeus subelliptical, widest at middle, lateral margins strongly convex and convergent toward base, anterior angles broadly rounded, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct obtuse angle, anterior margin weakly reflexed and straight, surface moderately convex medially and moderately shiny, coarsely and densely punctuate; frontoclypeal suture weakly impressed and moderately curved, smooth area anterior to eye almost 1.3 times as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long and narrow, finely and densely punctate, without terminal seta. Frons with a few coarse and fine punctures, with a few short setae behind frontoclypeal suture and on posterior portion. Eyes moderately large, ratio of diameter / interocular width: 0.65. Antenna with ten antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum rectangular, widest at base, lateral margins nearly evenly convergent anteriorly, slightly concavely sinuate before posterior angles, anterior angles strongly rounded, not produced, nearly obsolete, posterior angles blunt, anterior margin straight, with a distinct, fine marginal line, basal margin moderately curved, without marginal line; surface with dense and fine punctures and with minute, adpressed setae; anterior border sparsely setose, setae of lateral margin lacking; hypomeron carinate, basal margin of hypomeron moderately produced ventrally. Scutellum subtriangular, apex weakly rounded, with fine and dense punctures, smooth medially, with minute setae.

Elytra oblong, widest at middle, striae distinctly impressed and finely densely punctate; intervals convex, with fine and sparse punctures concentrated along striae, minutely setose in punctures, odd intervals with larger, single punctures whose setae are abraded, however, lateral intervals with a few setae remaining; epipleural edge moderately strong, ending at strongly rounded external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border chitinous, without short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface with large, dense punctures and dense, short adpressed setae. Metacoxa setose, with several strong adpressed setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, with fine, short setae, each sternite with indistinct transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a short robust seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur, with numerous strong setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum / metacoxa: 1 / 1.93. Pygidium long, apically produced and strongly convex, with fine, dense punctures and fine setae interspersed with a few robust punctures each bearing a robust seta, without smooth midline.

Legs moderately strong and shiny; femora finely densely punctate and setose, with two longitudinal rows of setae; anterior edge of metafemur acute lacking an adjacent serrated line, posterior margin weakly convex, with a few fine setae medially, weakly widened in apical half ventrally but not serrate, serrate dorsally, with short setae. Metatibia moderately broad, convexly widened at middle, ratio width / length: 1 / 3, dorsally sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group at one third, apical one at two thirds of metatibial length, with a few single spines in punctures basally; lateral face longitudinally convex, with moderately dense and fine, minutely setose punctures, some of them longitudinally impressed, ventral edge serrate; medial face impunctate and smooth, apex interiorly near tarsal articulation sharply truncate. Tarsomeres missing on holotype.

Aedeagus.

Fig. 3 A–C.

Diagnosis.

The new species is most closely related to Gastroserica nikodymi Ahrens, 2000, in external appearance and genital morphology. It differs significantly in the shape of the right lateral process of phallobase, which is sharply pointed apically; the parameres are quite different: the left one is longer and evenly curved ventrally, the right one is lacking a basal lobe.

Etymology.

The new species is named after the type locality, Damingshan Mountains.