Gastroserica contaminata, Ahrens, Dirk & Pacholátko, Petr, 2003

Ahrens, Dirk & Pacholátko, Petr, 2003, New data on the distribution of species of Gastroserica Brenske, 1897, with descriptions of five new taxa from China and Laos (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini), Zootaxa 342, pp. 1-18 : 9-10

Gastroserica contaminata sp. n. ( Figs 10–12 )

Type material: Holotypus: ɗ “Laos­ NE, Hua Phan prov., Ban Saluei, Phu Phan Mt., 20°15'N, 104°02'E, 1500­2000 m, D. Hauck leg. 26.iv.­11.v.2001 ” ( TICB).

Description. Length: 7.3 mm, length of elytra: 5.1 mm, width: 3.9 mm. Body oval, ventral surface, labroclypeus, legs, elytra, and lateral margins as well as a median stripe of pronotum yellow, frons, elytral margins as well as spots on intervals, and pronotal disc dark brown, sometimes with metallic­green shine, abdominal sternites and pygidium black, dorsal surface dull, with moderately dense erect setae mixed with dense and short ones.

Labroclypeus subrectangular and moderately broad, widest at middle, lateral margins almost straight and subparallel, anterior angles moderately rounded, lateral border and ocular canthus produced into a distinct obtuse angle, anterior margin moderately reflexed and not sinuate medially but straight; surface feebly convex medially and moderately shiny, finely and coarsely but densely punctate, with numerous long, erect setae; frontoclypeal suture distinctly impressed and weakly curved; smooth area in front of eye wider than long (1.5/1); ocular canthus moderately long and slender, finely and sparsely punctate, with two terminal setae. Frons with coarse and fine moderately dense punctures and erect setae. Eyes moderately large, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.71. Antenna yellow, 10­segmented; club with four antennomeres equal in length, club a little longer than the remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum long, widest at base, lateral margins in posterior half weakly convergent anteriorly, before posterior angles shallowly sinuate, in anterior third strongly convex and convergent, anterior angles not produced but strongly rounded, almost obsolete, posterior angles almost right­angled and weakly produced outward, anterior margin weakly convex medially, with a distinct and fine marginal line, basal margin without marginal line; surface with moderately dense and fine punctures, glabrous, with minute setae in punctures only; anterior and lateral borders setaceous; basal margin of hypomeron strongly produced ventrally, before base distinctly transversely sulcate. Scutellum long, apex weakly rounded, with fine and dense punctures, medially smooth, minute setae present in the punctures.

Elytra oblong, widest at middle, striae distinctly impressed and finely densely punctate, intervals weakly convex, sutural interval strongly convex and more elevated, with fine and sparse punctures which are almost concentrated along the striae, minutely setose in the punctures, odd intervals with single coarse punctures bearing strong erect setae, interior apical angle of elytra with a strong seta; odd intervals, humeral convexity with dark and long spots, lateral margins and last lateral interval dark; epipleural edge moderately strong, ending at the strongly convex external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setaceous, apical border membraneous, with short microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, with large and dense punctures, with dense, short, adpressed setae; metacoxa partly glabrous, laterally with fine adpressed setae; each abdominal sternite with indistinct transversal row of coarse punctures bearing short strong setae between fine and dense punctation, all sternites finely shortly setose. Mesosternum between mesocoxae almost as wide as mesofemur, with irregularly scattered strong setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 2.0. Pygidium long, apically produced and strongly convex, with fine and dense punctures bearing fine setae and a few robust punctures bearing robust setae, without smooth midline.

Legs moderately slender 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, ventrally weakly widened in apical half and shortly serrate distally, dorsally serrate, with short setae. Metatibia moderately broad and short, at middle convexly widened, ratio width/ length: 1/ 3.5, dorsally sharply edged, with two groups of spines, the basal group at one third, apical one at two third of metatibial length, basally with a few single spines in punctures; lateral face longitudinally convex, with moderately dense and fine punctures, some of them longitudinally impressed; ventral edge serrated, with four strong and long, equally spaced spines, medial face not punctate and smooth, apex interiorly near tarsal articulation bluntly truncate. Tarsomeres dorsally glaborus and finely punctate, ventrally with sparse, short setae; metatarsomeres dorsally with strong longitudinal impressions, ventrally with a strongly serrated ridge, laterally with a strong longitudinal carina, first metatarsomere as long as the following two tarsomeres combined and more than twice as long as the upper tibial spur. Protibia short, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical.

Aedeagus: Figs 10–12 .

Diagnosis. G. contaminata sp. n. has an external morphology which is very similar to that of G. bilyi Ahrens. It may be differentiated from G. b i l y i by shape of aedeagus: parameres very slender and abruptly curved ventrally at apex, phallobase with lateral apophysis, which is evenly slender and sharply pointed and moderately curved ventrally.

Derivatio nominis. From Latin word contaminatus ­ spotted.

Figures

FIGURES 10 – 12: Gastroserica contaminata sp. n. (Holotype: Laos, Hua Phan prov., Ban Saluei, Phu Phan Mt.); 10, 12 ­ Aedeagus lateral view, 11 ­ Parameres dorsal view. Scale: 0.5 mm.