Serica callosericoides Zhao & Ahrens 2023, new species
Creators: name: Zhao, Ming-Zhi
name: Ahrens, Dirk
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Serica
Serica callosericoides

description: Serica (s. l.) callosericoides Zhao & Ahrens, new species
(Figs 8B, 9B)
Type material examined. Holotype. ♂ (SCAU), “ CHINA: Guangdong, Shaoguan, Nanling N. R. nr. Shikengkong, N 24°55′40″, E 112°59′2″, 1660 m, 30.V–4.VI.2022 (at light), lgt. Ye XH, Zhan BX & Ma YS”. Paratypes. 2♂♂, 1♀ (SCAU), “ CHINA: Guangdong, Shaoguan, Nanling N. R. nr. Shikengkong, N 24°55′40″, E 112°59′2″, 1660 m, 30.V–4.VI.2022 (at light), lgt. Ye XH, Zhan BX & Ma YS”; 1♂ (CZMZ), “ CHINA: Guangdong, Shaoguan, Ruyuan Co., Nanling N. R., N 24°55′32″, E 113°1′19″, 1027 m, 26–28.V.2022 (at light), lgt. Ming-Zhi Zhao et al. ”; 1♂ (CZMZ), “ CHINA: GUANGDONG, Nanling Nature Reserve, 960 – 1189 m, 22–26.V.2021, Yun-Shu Ma leg.”; 2♂♂ (CZMZ, SCAU), “ CHINA: Fujian, Wuyishan, Mt. Xianfengling, 1040 m, 16.V.2023 at light, Yu-Long Zhang leg.”; 1♂ (HBUM), “[China] Huangxizhou, Mts. Wuyishan, Fujian, 27.Ⅴ.2004, leg. Cai-Xia Yuan, Jing Li // LW-143”.
Description of the holotype. General. Body elongated ovoid, moderately convex, body color dark brown, including mesofemur and metacoxa with greenish toment, pronotum and elytra with some darker patterns and slight coppery luster; labroclypeus dark green, legs reddish brown, palpi and antennae yellowish brown, shiny. Setae yellow, scale-like setae on pronotum and elytra pale.
Head. Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, distinctly wider than long, widest at base, ratio of maximum length/ width: 1/ 1.56; lateral margins nearly straight and moderately convergent anteriad, anterior angle rounded, anterior margin widely and distinctly emarginate; margins moderately reflexed; surface flat, with dense and coarse punctures, some punctures on anterior half each bearing a moderately long and erect seta; frontoclypeal suture finely incised, curved medially; smooth area anterior to eye large and flat, approximately 1.4 times as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long and slender (1/3 of ocular diameter), with a minute puncture bearing an moderately long terminal seta. Frons completely dull and flat, with moderately dense and fine punctures, some punctures on disc and margins each bearing a moderately long and backwards-directed seta. Eyes large, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.61. Antenna with nine antennomeres; antennomeres 5 slightly wider than long, antennomere 6 transverse and short; club with three antennomeres, 1.3 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined and straight. Mentum strongly and transversely elevated anteriorly. Labrum strongly produced, widely and deeply concave medially.
Pronotum subtrapezoidal, widest before base; lateral margins evenly reflexed and strongly convergent anteriad; anterior angle moderately produced and rounded at tip, posterior angle obsolete; hypomeron not carinate at base; anterior margin with a fine marginal line; surface with moderately dense and coarse punctures, most of the punctures each bearing a backward and short erect seta, disc and side posteriorly with lanceolate setae, a longitudinal and impunctate area on posterior half and an elongated and sparsely punctate area at each side glabrous, anterior and lateral margins with sparse and long erect setae.
Scutellum large, triangular, apex somewhat rounded; small basomedial area dull and impunctate, encircling moderately dense and small punctures and sparse and short recumbent setae, lateral and apical portions also impunctate.
Elytra elongated, widest at apical quarter. Striae distinctly impressed, strial punctures dense and fine; intervals weakly convex, with dense and small punctures, dark spots impunctate, sparsely bearing some large lanceolate setae, base between humerus and scutellum with aggregation of small and lanceolate setae, a single semi-erect long setae situated near base. Epipleura ending at moderately curved external apical angle of elytron, with a row of moderately dense, moderately long to long and erect setae, apex with a moderately long erect seta, apical margin with a very fine membranous rim composed of microtrichomes.
Ventral thoracic surface and metacoxae with moderately dense and small punctures, most of punctures each bearing a short seta, setae on hypomeron erect, otherwise recumbent, disc of meso- and metasternum with denser punctures and longer setae, metasternum posteromedially with a sparsely punctate and glabrous area. Mesosternum between mesocoxae slightly narrower than mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.22.
Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites with sparse and fine punctures, each ventrite with a transverse row of short, spiniform and recumbent setae, medially with some short and semi-erect setae, ultimate ventrite medially with a tuft of moderately long setae and laterally with sparse short setae. Ultimate ventrite medially nearly twice as long as penultimate one. Single abdominal ventrites strongly convex in lateral view. Pygidium moderately convex, with impunctate and convex midline, posterior margin moderately reflexed; surface with sparse and small punctures each bearing a long erect seta, setae shorter laterally.
Femora. Profemur dull at dorsal third, with a row of moderately long setae near anterior margin. Mesofemur dull, two longitudinal rows of moderately dense punctures each bearing a short to moderately long seta. Metafemur shiny, two longitudinal rows of moderately dense punctures each bearing a short seta, with irregularly distributed setae between the rows; anterior margin sharply carinate, ventral posterior margin finely serrate at apical third, dorsal posterior margin completely serrate, a row of short to long setae situated between the latter two margins.
Tibiae. Protibia moderately long, bidentate, tibial teeth protruding and acute at apices, external margin moderately serrate and slightly convex mesally. Metatibia slender, widest shortly before apex, ratio of width/ length: 1/ 4.35; dorsal margin sharply carinate; lateral face longitudinally wrinkled, dorsally with three groups of spiniform setae touching dorsal carina, basal group at one sixth, mesial group at two fifths, distal group at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with several smaller setae; ventral margin serrate except for base, with three spiniform setae of which the distal two are widely separated, basally with several short setae; medial face impunctate; apex interiorly serrate, near tarsal articulation nearly truncate.
Tarsi. Protarsomeres short, pro- and mesotarsomeres with moderately dense and minute setae ventrally. Meso- and metatarsomeres serrate ventrally. Metatarsomeres carinate dorsally and laterally, with another weaker carina between dorsal and lateral carinae, first metatarsomere slightly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and twice as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protarsal claws asymmetric, basal tooth of the inner claw distinctly wider, anterior apical angle rounded, posterior apical angle sharply pointed, with an acute, additional basal tooth, basal tooth of outer claw normally developed.
Male genitalia. Fig. 9B.
Variation. Male. Highly similar to holotype in all external and genital features. Female. Antennal club slightly shorter than remaining antennomeres combined; eyes smaller than in male, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.53; protarsal claws symmetric, with both teeth of both claws sharply pointed.
Measurements. Length: 8.4–8.7 mm in males (holotype 8.4 mm), 9.5 mm in female; length of elytra: 6.4–6.5 mm in males (holotype 6.2 mm), 6.9 mm in female; width: 4.5–5.0 mm in males (holotype 4.5 mm), 4.9 mm in female.
Diagnosis. Serica callosericoides Zhao & Ahrens, new species has strongly curved and branched parameres (lateral view) which is similar to those of Calloserica Brenske, 1894 or Serica (Taiwanoserica) species. This distinguishes the new species easily from other Serica (sensu lato) species. From all these three groups, the new species differs by the hypomeron which is not carinate at base, while from Calloserica the new species differs by the antennal club composed of three antennomeres.
Etymology. The species name is derived from the combination of genus name Calloserica and the Greek suffix “ -oides ”, indicating the resemblance between the new species and Calloserica species.
description: Published as part of Zhao, Ming-Zhi & Ahrens, Dirk, 2023, New species of the tribe Sericini Kirby, 1837 from China, with further updates on their taxonomy and distribution (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericinae), pp. 181-220 in Zootaxa 5361 (2) on pages 204-205, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5361.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/10150449