Selaserica athukoralai, Ranasinghe & Eberle & Benjamin & Ahrens, 2020

Ranasinghe, Sasanka, Eberle, Jonas, Benjamin, Suresh P. & Ahrens, Dirk, 2020, New species of Sericini from Sri Lanka (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 621, pp. 1-20 : 4-6

Selaserica athukoralai sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:87E36B15-0700-4B33-B079-C12DE755E4E8

Figs 3 A–D, 5A, 6A

Diagnosis

Selaserica athukoralai sp. nov. is in shape of aedeagus very similar to Selaserica pusilla Arrow, 1916 and S. splendifica (Brenske, 1898) . The new species differs from both latter taxa by the different shape of parameres as well as by the long lateral process on the right apex of the phallobase.

Etymology

The new species is named after Mr. N.P. Athukorala (NIFS) who supported our expedition in many ways (species name, noun in the genitive case).

Type material

Holotype

SRI LANKA • ♂; “ X-SR0175 , Sri Lanka , Matale District , Riverston, Thelgamu oya bangalow, 7.53635607N, 80.77234267E, 509m, Black light, 15- II- 2019, Eberle & Ranasinghe ”; ZFMK.

Description

MEASUREMENTS. Length: 7.0 mm, length of elytra: 5.2 mm, width: 4.5 mm.

HABITUS AND COLORATION. Oval, reddish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface shiny and glabrous.

HEAD. Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, distinctly wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins convex and strongly convergent to blunt anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing an indistinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anteriorly distinctly sinuate medially; surface nearly flat, shiny, finely and densely punctate, distance between punctures subequal to their diameter, with a few fine setae anteriorly; frontoclypeal suture feebly impressed and weakly angled medially; smooth area in front of eye approximately twice as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long and narrow, sparsely punctate, with a single short terminal seta. Frons shiny, with fine, moderately dense punctures, in posterior half impunctate, surface glabrous except for a few setae beside eyes. Eyes moderately large, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.73. Antenna yellowish, with ten antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, 1.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and anteriorly flattened.

PRONOTUM. Moderately wide, widest at posterior third, lateral margins convex and evenly narrowed to the anterior and posterior angles, anterior angles moderately produced and sharp, posterior angle strongly rounded; anterior marginal line narrowly incomplete medially, anterior margin moderately produced medially; surface densely and coarsely punctate, with microscopic setae in the punctures and two long erect setae on each side; anterior and lateral borders sparsely setose, basal margin without marginal line; hypomeron ventrobasally carinate, weakly produced ventrally, on the carina with fine setae. Scutellum small, triangular, dull, with fine and sparse punctures, each bearing a single very minute seta.

ELYTRA. Oblong, widest in posterior third, striae indistinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals almost flat, with fine, sparse punctures concentrated along the striae, punctures with minute setae, odd intervals with some erect long setae; epipleural edge fine, ending at the convex external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border broadly membranous.

VENTRAL SURFACE. Dull, thorax and metacoxa with large and dense punctures, sparsely finely setose, metacoxa glabrous except for numerous short setae laterally; each abdominal sternite with generally distributed fine and dense punctures, each with a moderately long setae, with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a long seta, penultimate sternite apically with a shiny smooth but very short chitinous border. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.1. Pygidium weakly convex, shiny, finely and densely punctate, with a narrow, smooth midline, beside apical border with some long setae.

LEGS. Moderately broad; femur shiny, with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate; metafemur almost impunctate, its anterior edge acute, with a very fine, closely adjacent serrated line, anterior longitudinal row of setae not reduced; posterior ventral margin almost straight, weakly widened in apical half, nor ventrally nor dorsally serrated, glabrous. Metatibia moderately broad and long, widest behind middle, dorsal and ventral margins in posterior two thirds subparallel, ratio width/ length: 1/ 3.1, dorsally longitudinally convex, with two groups of spines, basal one at middle, apical one at four fifths of metatibial length, basally beside dorsal margin with a long serrated line, which ends shortly before the middle of metatibia, adjacent to it some single punctures each bearing a single spine; lateral face longitudinally convex, impunctate and glabrous; ventral margin with three fine spines equidistant from each other, medial face smooth, apex interiorly near tarsal articulation shallowly concave, nearly truncate. Tarsomeres impunctate dorsally, ventrally with dense, fine setae; metatarsomeres ventrally with a strongly serrated ridge, beside which is no strong longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere little shorter than the two following tarsomeres combined and twice as long as the dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, tridentate. All claws symmetrical, feebly curved and long, with normally developed basal tooth.

AEDEAGUS. Fig. 3A – C.

HABITUS. Fig. 3D .

Female

Unknown.

Distribution

See Fig. 5A .

Figures

Fig. 3. A–D. Selaserica athukoralai sp. nov. (holotype) E–I. Neoserica dharmapriyai sp. nov. (holotype). A, E. Aedeagus, left side lateral view. C, H. Aedeagus, right side lateral view. B, F–G. Parameres, dorsal view. D, I. Habitus (not to scale). Scales: 0.5 mm.

Fig. 5. Distribution of the new species. A. Selaserica athukoralai sp. nov. B. Neoserica dharmapriyai sp. nov. C. Maladera galdaththana sp. nov. D. M. cervicornis sp. nov.