Serica (Serica) guangxiensis 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 : 14-15

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

Fig. 4A–G

Type material examined. Holotype ♂ [ China] “ Mts. Maoershan , Guangxi, 18.VIII.1992, leg. Yang Chunqing / Asia Sericini 1326 spec.” ( CAU) . Paratypes: 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀ [ China] “ Mts. Maoershan , Guangxi, 18.VIII.1992, leg. Yang Chunqing ” ( CAU) , 3 ♂♂ [ China] “ Mts. Maoershan , Guangxi, 14.VII.1985, 1900m, leg. Liao Subai ” ( IZAS) , 1 ♂ [ China] “ Mts. Maoershan , Guangxi, 14.VII.1985, 1900m, leg. Liao Subai / LW-071” ( IZAS) .

Description of holotype. Length: 8.0 mm, length of elytra: 6.0 mm, width: 4.5 mm. Body oblong, dark reddish brown, antenna yellow, legs reddish brown, on elytra and disc of pronotum with indistinct, more or less large, darker spots, dorsal surface dull; pronotum and elytra with sparse, moderately long, adpressed white setae, except on head and lateral margins of pronotum and elytra otherwise glabrous.

Labroclypeus as wide as long, widest at base, lateral margin weakly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles sharp, anterior margin distinctly and widely emarginate medially, anterior margin strongly reflexed; surface flat, shiny, finely and densely punctate, with superficial transverse wrinkles and a few long, erect setae behind anterior margin; frontoclypeal suture finely incised and bent; smooth area anterior to eye moderately large and convex, about 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus long and slender (1/4 of ocular diameter), smooth, without short terminal seta. Frons flat, entirely dull; surface with fine and sparse punctures, with a few long, erect setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture, partly punctures with minute setae. Eyes very large, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.98. Antenna with ten antennomeres; antennomeres three to seven transverse and short; club with three antennomeres, 3 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined and reflexed. Mentum elevated, anteriorly flattened. Labrum transverse, short, moderately produced, moderately emarginate medially.

Pronotum transverse, twice as wide as long, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and weakly convergent anteriorly, in anterior third more strongly convex and strongly convergent, anterior angles weakly produced and strongly rounded, posterior angles blunt, rounded at tip; anterior margin medially convex and with a complete, broad, distinct marginal line; surface densely and finely punctate, with a few very fine, white setae on lateral disc, otherwise only with minute setae in punctures; anterior and lateral margins with long and moderately dense setae; hypomeron not carinate at base. Scutellum slender and long, dull, triangular, finely and densely punctate.

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, fine, 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 not densely punctate, moderately 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 seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as the slender mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.48. Pygidium strongly convex and dull, finely and densely punctate, smooth midline lacking, with moderately dense 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: 1/4.8; dorsal margin sharply carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group at basal 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 very widely separated short but 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, very 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 little less than twice as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, external margin with a few small teeth in base half; anterior claws asymmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw small and lobiform, basal tooth of external claw evenly narrowed towards apex and sharply pointed.

Aedeagus: Fig. 4A–E . Habitus: Fig. 4F–G .

Diagnosis. Serica guangxiensis new species differs from S. minshanica Ahrens, 2005 by the shorter right paramere which is lacking in the new species the basolateral spiniform process and whose lateral tooth is situated at the middle of the paramere; the left paramere is shorter and suboval.

Etymology. The name of this new species (noun in apposition) is derived from its occurrence in Guangxi province ( China).

Variation. Length: 8.0– 8.8 mm, length of elytra: 6.0– 6.9 mm, width: 4.5–5.0 mm. Female: Slightly larger in body size; antennal club short, as long as remaining antennomeres combined; eyes smaller, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.68.

Figures

FIGURE 4. A–F: Serica guangxiensis new species (holotype); H–M: S. christophreuteri new species (holotype); A, J: aedeagus, left side lateral view; E, M: aedeagus, right side lateral view; C, D, L: parameres, dorsal view; B, K: aedeagus, dorsal view; F, H: habitus, dorsal view; G, I: habitus, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm. Habitus images not to scale.