Serica baishuitaiensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu 2022, new species
Creators: name: Ahrens, Dirk
name: Fabrizi, Silvia
name: Bai, Ming
name: Liu, Wangang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Melolonthidae
Serica
Serica baishuitaiensis

description: Serica baishuitaiensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, new species
Figures 8E–H, 23
Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ China, NW Yunnan prov., Baishuitai, (San Ba terasses) 2600m, 4.- 6.vi.2006, S. Murzin & I. Shokhin / 851 Sericini: Asia spec.” (CP). Paratypes: 13 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ “ China, NW Yunnan prov., Baishuitai, (San Ba terasses) 2600m, 4.-6.vi.2006, S. Murzin & I. Shokhin ” (CP, ZFMK).
Description of the holotype. Length: 7.6 mm, elytral length: 5.5 mm, width: 4.4 mm. Body oblong, dark reddish brown, dull, legs brown, antenna yellow, with numerous short and long setae on dorsal surface.
Labroclypeus moderately wide, trapezoidal, lateral margins straight and moderately convergent, producing a distinct angle with ocular canthus; anterior angles almost blunt, weakly rounded; anterior margin straight, only very weakly concave medially, margins strongly reflexed; surface weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, with numerous long and erect setae; frontoclypeal suture indistinct, curved; ocular canthus moderately short and narrow (1/3 of ocular width), finely and densely punctate, with 1–2 short terminal setae. Frons with dull toment, with coarse, dense punctures and numerous short adpressed and a few long, setae bent posteriorly. Antenna with nine antennomeres, club with three antennomeres, 2.5 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined, distinctly reflexed. Eyes moderately large, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.64. Mentum convexly elevated and flattened anteriorly.
Pronotum widest at base, lateral margins in basal half straight and subparallel, in anterior half convex and convergent anteriorly; anterior angles rectangular and moderately produced, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin strongly convex, marginal line complete; basal margin without marginal line; surface with coarse, dense punctures and numerous short setae bent posteriorly and laterally dense longer yellow setae bent anteriorly. Hypomeron robustly carinate ventrally, carina produced ventrally. Scutellum narrow and long, triangular, with fine dense punctation, with numerous short adjacent setae.
Elytra narrow, widest in posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely punctate, intervals weakly convex, finely and densely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae; with dense, short setae on disc and long erect setae bent partly anteriorly; epipleural margin robust, ending at strongly rounded external apical angle of elytra, sparsely setose; apex of elytra with a fine membraneous rim of short microtrichomes.
Ventral face coarsely and densely punctate, with moderately dense short adpressed setae. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/ 1.46. Abdominal sternites finely and moderately densely punctate, each with a row of coarse punctures bearing each a robust seta, otherwise short adpressed setae in the punctures. Pygidium moderately convex, finely and densely punctate, with dense, long setae.
Legs long and narrow, shiny; femora finely and sparsely punctate, with two longitudinal rows of setae. Metafemur with anterior margin acute, without adjacent serrated line; posterior ventral margin almost straight, weakly widened in apical half, ventrally and dorsally not serrated, sparsely setose. Metatibia moderately long and narrow, widest at apex, ratio width/ length: 1/ 3.8, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal one at middle, apical one at five sixths of metatibial length, basally with a number of robust single setae; lateral face longitudinally convex, coarsely and irregularly punctate, with minute adpressed setae; apex shallowly emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres finely punctate dorsally, with moderately dense, fine setae ventrally; metatarsomeres ventrally with a strongly serrated carina, subventrally with a second, smooth longitudinal carina; first metatarsomere little shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and as long as dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetric, interior tarsal claws sharply pointed.
Aedeagus: Fig. 8E–G. Habitus: Fig. 8H.
Diagnosis. Serica baishuitaiensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, new species differs from Serica guangnanensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, new species by the more densely setose dorsal body surface, the longer antennal club (male), and the shape of parameres, which are evenly curved ventrally (lateral view) rather than being curved dorsally as in S. guangnanensis Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu, new species
Etymology. The name of the new species (adjective in nominative case) is derived from the type locality, Baishuitai.
Variation. Length: 7.6–9.1 mm, elytral length: 5.5–6.9 mm, width: 4.4–5.1 mm. Female: antennal club short, as long as remaining antennomeres combined; pygidium weakly convex; eyes smaller than in male, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.54.
description: Published as part of Ahrens, Dirk, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming & Liu, Wangang, 2022, Taxonomic revision of Serica MacLeay, 1819 (sensu lato) from China and adjacent areas (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Sericini), with updates on Nipponoserica Nomura, 1972, pp. 1-83 in Zootaxa 5186 (1) on pages 37-38, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5186.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7073769