Neoserica (s. l.) zhibenshanica, Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2014

Liu, Wan-Gang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming, Yang, Xing-Ke & Ahrens, Dirk, 2014, A taxonomic revision of the Neoserica (sensu lato) calva group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sericini), ZooKeys 448, pp. 47-81 : 55

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Scarabaeidae

Neoserica (s. l.) zhibenshanica sp. n. Figs 4 A–D, 6

Type material examined.

Holotype: ♂ [China] "Mts. Zhibenshan, Yunlong, Yunnan, 20.VI.1981, 2500m, leg. Zhang Xuezhong" (IZAS).

Description.

Body length: 6.6 mm, length of elytra: 5.0 mm, width: 3.5 mm. Body oblong, dark reddish brown, antennal club yellowish brown, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous, labroclypeus and anterior half of frons shiny.

Labroclypeus subrectangular, little wider than long, widest at base; lateral margins straight and subparallel; anterior angles strongly rounded; anterior margin moderately sinuate medially; margins strongly reflexed; surface flat and moderately shiny, coarsely and very densely punctate, with a few single setae. Frontoclypeal suture distinctly incised, weakly elevated and moderately angled medially. Smooth area anterior to eye approximately 1.5 times as wide as long. Ocular canthus long and moderately narrow, finely and densely punctate, with a terminal seta. Frons on posterior half dull; coarsely and densely punctate; with a few erect setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture, otherwise only with minute setae. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.64. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with four antennomeres and strongly reflexed, 3 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly. Labrum transverse, short, not produced medially, with weak median sinuation.

Pronotum short, widest at base; lateral margins nearly straight and subparallel in basal half, moderately convex and strongly convergent anteriorly; anterior angles weakly produced and blunt, slightly rounded at tip; posterior angles nearly right-angled and moderately rounded at tip; anterior margin with a fine and complete marginal line, weakly convexly produced medially; surface densely and finely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; lateral and anterior border sparsely setose; hypomeron distinctly carinate basally. Scutellum long, triangular, with fine, very dense punctures, glabrous, along midline punctures less dense.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third; striae weakly impressed, finely and moderately densely punctate; even intervals flat, with evenly and moderately dense punctures; odd intervals convex, with sparse, fine punctures concentrated along striae, impunctate medially, with minute setae in punctures. Epipleural edge fine, ending at moderately curved external apical angle of elytra; epipleura densely setose; apical border with a fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at 100 × magnification).

Ventral surface dull, finely and densely punctate. Metasternum except long seta on disc nearly glabrous, sparsely covered with minute setae in punctures. Metacoxa glabrous, with a few single setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctuate, glabrous except minute setae in punctures, with a transverse row of coarse punctures each bearing a robust long seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.24. Pygidium moderately convex and dull, coarsely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, with a few long setae at apex, otherwise glabrous.

Legs slender. Femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Metafemur moderately shiny and sparsely finely punctate; anterior margin acute, behind anterior margin without serrated line; posterior margin in apical half serrated ventrally and moderately widened at apex; posterior margin finely serrated dorsally, glabrous. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/4.2; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with two groups of spines; basal group at middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length; in basal half with a blunt carina beside dorsal margin bearing a few single short and robust setae in robust punctures with serrated margin; external face longitudinally convex, coarsely and moderately densely punctate; ventral margin finely serrated, with three robust equidistant setae; medial face densely and finely punctate, glabrous, apex sharply truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres ventrally with sparse, short setae, not carinate laterally, without punctures dorsally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ventral ridge; metatarsomere I distinctly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and nearly half of its length longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, not widened before basal lateral tooth; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw sharply truncate at apex.

Aedeagus. Fig. 4 A–C.

Female unknown.

Diagnosis.

Neoserica zhibenshanica sp. n. differs from all other species of the Neoserica calva group with smaller eyes by the length of the antennal club being 3 times as long as the remaining antennomeres combined.

Etymology.

The new species is named after its type locality, Mt. Zhibenshan.