Serica (Serica) gongtonggouensis 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 : 23-24

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

Fig. 8G–K

Type material examined. Holotype ♂ [ China] “ Guizhou, Kuankuoshui, Gongtonggou , 2010-VI-9 / LW-1236” ( ZFMK) . Paratypes: 1 ♂ [ China] “ Guizhou, Kuankuoshui, Gongtonggou , 2010-VI-5 / LW-1078” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ [ China] “ Guizhou, Kuankuoshui, Gongtonggou , 2010-VI-5 / LW-1338” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ [ China] “ Guizhou, Zunyi, Kuankuoshui Nature Reserve, Linyezhan , 2010-VI-5, N:28.22, E:107.15, 1408m / LW-1126” ( ZFMK) .

Description of holotype. Length: 9.4 mm, length of elytra: 7.4 mm, width: 5.4 mm. Body oblong, dark brown, head even darker, legs reddish brown, antenna yellow, elytra with more or less large dark spots, punctures on elytra lighter, dorsal surface dull; elytra with sparse, short, adpressed white setae, except in dense and long pilosity of frons otherwise glabrous.

Labroclypeus wider than long, widest at base, lateral margin moderately convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles convex, anterior margin widely and shallowly emarginate medially, margins weakly reflexed; surface flat, shiny, finely and densely punctate, with a few erect setae behind anterior margin; frontoclypeal suture distinct, slightly elevated, and weakly curved; smooth area anterior to eye as wide as long; ocular canthus long and narrow (1/3 of ocular diameter), smooth, without short terminal seta. Frons flat, entirely dull; surface with fine and moderately dense punctures, with a few fine, long setae on disc and beside eyes. Eyes small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.54. Antenna with nine antennomeres; antennomeres five and six transverse and short; club with three antennomeres, twice as long as remaining antennomeres combined and strongly reflexed. Mentum elevated and anteriorly flattened. Labrum transverse, short, moderately produced, deeply emarginate medially.

Pronotum transverse, wider than elytral humerus, almost twice as wide as long, widest at base, lateral margins moderately convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles weakly produced and right-angled, posterior angles strongly convex; anterior margin medially weakly convex, anterior marginal line robust and complete; surface densely and finely punctate, midline narrowly impunctate, disc with several shallow impressions and with a few fine, white, adpressed, short setae, otherwise only with minute setae in punctures or glabrous; anterior and lateral margins almost glabrous; hypomeron not carinate. Scutellum slender and long, dull, triangular, finely and densely punctate, with minute white setae in punctures, base and midline widely impunctate.

Elytra oblong, widest at apical third, striae weakly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals flat, with fine, moderately dense punctures, dark spots completely smooth; intervals with sparse, short, adpressed, white, 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, metasternum partly densely setose, metacoxa glabrous, with a few long setae only laterally; abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, with a transverse row of coarse punctures, each bearing a short, robust seta, otherwise finely densely setose. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as the slender mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.34. Pygidium moderately convex and dull, finely and densely punctate, smooth midline lacking, with sparse, long and short setae in apical half.

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: 1/4.1; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group shortly before middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single, robust setae; lateral face longitudinally concave, impunctate but densely 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 but with dense, fine 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 long, bidentate, external margin almost smooth; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws small and lobiform.

Aedeagus: Fig. 8I–K . Habitus: Fig. 8G–H . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Serica gongtonggouensis new species differs from S. liyitengi new species by the longer, reflexed antennal club and the strongly rounded posterior angles of the pronotum; additionally, the mesal margin of the right paramere is widened towards apex in S. gongtonggouensis new species, while it is narrowed in S. liyitengi ; the left paramere in the latter species, possesses a small basal lobe; finally, the ventral phallobase has in S. gongtonggouensis new species a convex lamina on the right side, which is absent in S. liyitengi .

Etymology. The name of this new species (noun in apposition) is derived from its type locality, Gongtonggou (Guizhou, China).

Variation. Length: 8.8–9.4 mm, length of elytra: 7.3–7.4 mm, width: 5.1–5.4 mm.

Figures

FIGURE 8. A–F: Serica liyitengi new species (holotype); G–L: S. gongtonggouensis 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.