Miridiba (Pledina) ngoclinhensis V. P. Pham & Keith 2022, new species
Creators: name: Pham, Phu Van
name: Keith, Denis
name: Pham, Nhi Thi
name: Cao, Nga Quynh Thi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Melolonthidae
Miridiba
Miridiba ngoclinhensis

description: Miridiba (Pledina) ngoclinhensis V.P. Pham & Keith, new speciesurn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: C0C523CD-3037-4172-B152-AAE59BB0B3E9
(Figs 2, 4 d-f)
Type material. Holotype: male (IEBR), Kon Tum Province, Dak Glei District, Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve, light trap, 10.iii.2019, Pham Van Phu leg.
Description of the holotype (male): Body length: 18.0 mm (from anterior margin of clypeus to apex of elytra); body width: 8.4 mm (width across humeri). Color dark reddish brown on head, pronotum; yellowish brown to dark reddish brown on scutellum, elytra, ventral surface, and legs; moderately shiny; dorsal surface glabrous (Fig. 2a).
Head. Surface densely punctate; punctures large; clypeus transverse, with apex moderately bilobed and reflexed, widened at base, nearly five times as long as wide (Fig. 2b). Clypeofrontal suture clearly defined, weakly sinuated (Fig. 2b). Frontal carina distinctly raised, weakly curved backwards, reaching periocular margins. Basal area of head with small punctures, poorly impressed, and sparser than forehead (Fig. 2b). Antenna with 10 antennomeres, antennal club composed of 3 antennomeres, club equal to length of antennomeres 2–6 combined (Fig. 2e). Last segment of maxillary palp elongated, not flattened.
Pronotum. Transversal, widest at basal third; pronotum with anterior margin without concavities at lateral ends, slightly protuberant; basolateral angles round; two fifth anterior of lateral margin crenate, narrow to broad, slightly reflexed, crenate areas with long sparse erect setae; anterior margin completely flanged (Fig. 2b); basal margin smooth; setiferous punctures shallower and smaller than those on head, rarely confluent.
Scutellum. Triangular, flat; punctures slightly smaller than those on pronotum; lateral margins smooth, without punctures; two times wider than long (Fig. 2d).
Elytra. Discal surface densely and finely punctate, sutural costa gradually broadening apically, widest on apical one third. Epipleuron with some short pubescence in basal part.
Legs. Protibiae tridentate, middle tooth closer to basal than to apical one, tip of teeth rounded; basal tooth small, middle tooth two times smaller than apical one; internal apical spur inserted in front of middle tooth, reaching basal one-third of protarsomere 1; dorsal carina of protibia reaching the apex of apical tooth developed, and with a branch reaching the apex of second tooth weakly (Fig. 2g). Profemora, mesofemora, and metafemora moderately covered with hair-like, long setae; metafemora slightly broadened anteriorly and posteriorly, slightly convex. Metatibiae with two apical spur, upper spur slightly longer than lower spur (Fig. 2f).
Ventral surface. Meso- and metasternum with dense fine punctures and yellowish hair (Fig. 2c). Abdomen: first and second segments densenly covered with setiferous punctures, and moderately long setae. From third to anterior half of fifth abdomen with sparse punctures, meanwhile from posterior half of fifth to last abdomen with dense punctures, short and long setae mixed.
Pygidium. Convex, triangular, margin roundly bordered, apical margin thick; punctures on dorsal surface identical to those on elytra; apical margin with moderately long yellowish erect setae (Fig. 2h).
Aedeagus. Parameres with dorsal and ventral branches completely fused in lateral view, and symmetric, apex unfortunately chipped (Figs 2d–f). Aedeagus is similar to those of M. excavata Keith, 2021, M. quasisinensis Keith, 2020, M. sinensis (Hope, 1842), and M. pseudosinensis Keith, 2010 (see figs 2, 3 in Keith 2020a; figs 7, 8 in Keith 2021; figs 2, 3 in Keith 2010; and figs 12A–C in Gao & Coca-Abia 2021).
Female. Unknown.
Remarks. Miridiba ngoclinhensis, new species is closely similar to M. pseudosinensis but both species can be separated by the basal third of lateral margin of pronotum is smooth in M. ngoclinhensis (Fig. 1b), but that is serrate in M. pseudosinensis (Fig. 5a); and the shape of parameres (Figs 4 d-f, 5b,c): the thin area (recessed area) at the anterior half of paramere is membrous and thiner, without inner expansion in dorsal view, slightly curved downward in M. ngoclinhensis. The morphological characters of M. ngoclinhensis, new species characterize the morphotype “ Sinensis ” (Figs 12–14, Gao & Coca-Abia 2021), thus we classify the new species as a member of this morphotype and belonging to the subgenus Pledina.
Etymology. This species is named after the locality of the holotype (Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve).
Distribution. Vietnam (Kon Tum Province).
description: Published as part of Pham, Phu Van, Keith, Denis, Pham, Nhi Thi & Cao, Nga Quynh Thi, 2022, Threenew species ofthe genus MiridibaReitter, 1902 (Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from Vietnam along with a new country record, pp. 331-342 in Zootaxa 5205 (4) on pages 334-336, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5205.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/7306960