Serica (Serica) fengxue Ahrens, Zhao, Pham & Liu, 2024

Ahrens, Dirk, Zhao, Ming-Zhi, Pham, Phu Van & Liu, Wan-Gang, 2024, Taxonomic updates on Pachyserica Brenske, 1898 and Serica MacLeay, 1819 reveal 38 new species and new challenges of Sericini systematics regarding DNA barcodes and genus-level diagnostic key characters (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericinae), Zootaxa 5491 (1), pp. 1-89 : 21-22

Serica (Serica) fengxue Ahrens, Zhao, Pham & Liu , new species

Fig. 7G–L

Type material examined. Holotype ♂ “ China: Yunnan Prov. Lushui Co., Gaoligong Mts., Fengxue Mountain Pass 25°58′21″N, 98°41′01″E, 3150 m Hájek , Hrůzová , Král , Růžička & Sommer lgt. 29.vi.2019 / Asia Sericini spec. 1338” ( NMPC).

Description of holotype. Length: 9.8 mm, length of elytra: 7.2 mm, width: 4.8 mm. Body narrow and oblong, dark brown, antenna yellow, elytra and legs red-brown, elytra with more or less large reddish spots, dorsal surface dull; dorsal surface with fine and dense, short and moderately long, semi-erect setae.

Labroclypeus little wider than long, widest at base, lateral margin weakly convex and moderately convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately rounded, anterior margin widely emarginate medially, margins moderately reflexed; surface flat, shiny, finely and sparsely punctate, without wrinkles, with moderately dense, short, erect setae; frontoclypeal suture distinct, finely incised and weakly curved; smooth area anterior to eye moderately large and convex, about 1.2 times as wide as long; ocular canthus long and narrow triangular (1/3 of ocular diameter), smooth, with short terminal seta. Frons flat, entirely dull; surface with fine and dense punctures, with dense, short and long, erect setae. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.67. Antenna with ten antennomeres; antennomeres five to seven transverse and short; club with three antennomeres, 1.3 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined and weakly reflexed. Mentum elevated, anteriorly flattened. Labrum transverse, short, moderately produced, deeply emarginate medially.

Pronotum moderately wide, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles distinctly produced and almost right-angled, posterior angles blunt, well rounded at tip; anterior margin medially convex and with a complete, but indistinct and fine marginal line; surface densely and finely punctate, with short or long, semierect setae in punctures; anterior and lateral margins with long and sparse setae; hypomeron not carinate. Scutellum slender and long, dull, triangular, finely and densely punctate, with short setae.

Elytra oblong, widest at apical quarter, striae finely impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals moderately convex, with fine, dense punctures, reddish spots completely smooth; intervals with fine, dense, moderately long setae, odd intervals additionally with fine, long, erect setae; epipleural edge fine, ending at moderately curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border chitinous, without membranous rim of fine microtrichomes (magnification 100x).

Ventral surface dull, finely and densely punctate, densely setose, metacoxa with fine, short, adpressed setae; abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, with a transverse row of coarse punctures, each bearing a moderately long, fine seta, otherwise puncture with short setae. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as the slender mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.43. Pygidium strongly convex and dull, finely and densely punctate, smooth midline lacking, with a dense, short and long setae.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, coarsely and not densely punctate between the rows, with robust setae on basal half; metafemur shiny, anterior margin acute, without a continuously serrated line behind anterior margin, ventral posterior margin serrated in apical half and not widened, dorsal posterior margin completely serrated, in basal half with a few long setae which are half as long as width of metafemur. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/5.3; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group at anterior third, apical group at two thirds of metatibial length, basally with a few single, robust setae; lateral face longitudinally concave, impunctate but superficially wrinkled; ventral margin serrated, with two widely separated robust setae; medial face with a shallow longitudinal groove medially, sparsely punctate and glabrous; apex interiorly near tarsal articulation distinctly but bluntly truncate. Tarsomeres ventrally with sparse, minute setae, dorsally impunctate and without wrinkles; metatarsomeres laterally and dorsally carinate, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally, ventrally glabrous; first metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined and twice as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, external margin with a few small teeth in base half; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw normal.

Aedeagus: Fig. 7I–L . Habitus: Fig. 7G–H . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Serica fengxue new species differs from all other known Chinese Serica species, apart from the shape of its elongate, narrow parameres, by the long, elongate body with its dense, dorsal pilosity. The species resembles externally somewhat to the species of the Serica velutina group, however, its hypomeron is not carinate as in most species of Serica (s. str.).

Etymology. The name of this new species (noun in apposition) is derived from its type locality, Fengxue Mountain Pass (Yunnan, China).

Figures

FIGURE 7. A–F: Serica benesi Ahrens, 2005 (Mts. Zhibenshan, Yunlong, Yunnan); G–L: S. fengxue new species (holotype); A, I: aedeagus, left side lateral view; D, L: aedeagus, right side lateral view; C, K: parameres, dorsal view; B, J: aedeagus, dorsal view; E, G: habitus, dorsal view; F, H: habitus, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm. Habitus images not to scale.