Neoserica pseudovulpes Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu 2014, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ahrens, Dirk
name: Liu, Wangang
name: Fabrizi, Silvia
name: Bai, Ming
name: Yang, Xing-Ke
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Neoserica
Neoserica pseudovulpes

description: Neoserica (s.l.) pseudovulpes Ahrens, Fabrizi & Liu sp. nov.
(Figures 6E–H, 10)
Type material examined
Holotype. ♂ ‘Szechuen China DC Graham /near Mupin July 1929 ’ (USNM). Paratypes: 7 ♂♂ ‘ Szechuen China DC Graham /near Mupin July 1929 ’ (USNM, ZFMK), 1 ♂ ‘ Szechuen China DC Graham /nr Mupin Jul. 1929 12,300 ft. ’ (USNM), 1 ♂ ‘ Szechuen China DC Graham / Muping 4500 ft Jul 24 ‘29’ (USNM), 1 ♂ ‘ Szechuen China DC Graham / Yao Gi nr Muping 3–4 Jul ‘29 7400 ft. ’ (USNM), 1 ♂ ‘ Yaoji, Baoxing, Sichuan, 16.VIII.1995, 1300 m, leg. Yu Peiyu’ (IZAS), 1 ♂ ‘ Fengyongzhai, Baoxing, Sichuan, 1–3.VIII.2004, leg. Yang Xiujian, Hua Huiran’ (HBUM).
Description
Length. 7.8 mm, length of elytra: 5.8 mm, width: 4.4 mm. Body oblong, dark yellowish brown, antenna yellow, dorsal surface dull and nearly glabrous.
Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and moderately convergent to strongly rounded anterior angles, lateral border and ocular canthus producing a distinct blunt angle, margins weakly reflexed, anterior margin distinctly sinuate medially; surface flat and shiny, finely and densely, irregularly punctate, with numerous long erect setae in coarser punctures; frontoclypeal suture feebly incised and medially weakly angled; smooth area in front of eye approximately 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long and slender, impunctate, with a fine terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and sparse punctures, with a few long setae beside eyes. Eyes large, ratio of diameter/interocular width: 0.8. Antenna with 10 antennomeres; club with four antennomeres, nearly 1.2 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum convexly elevated anteriorly.
Pronotum moderately wide, widest a quarter before base, lateral margins evenly curved and weakly narrowed anteriorly and posteriorly, anterior angles moderately produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt and slightly rounded at tip, anterior margin convexly produced medially, marginal line widely missing medially, basal margin without marginal line; surface with moderately dense and fine punctures, with minute setae only; anterior border sparsely setose; hypomeron distinctly carinate at base. Scutellum narrow and long, sharp at apex, with fine and moderately dense punctures and minute setae.
Elytra oblong, widest at posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals weakly convex and not densely punctate, punctures concentrated along striae, penultimate lateral interval with some single, fine setae; epipleural edge robust, ending at strongly curved external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose, apical border membranous, with short microtrichomes.
Ventral surface dull, with large and dense punctures, sparsely and shortly setose, setae partly adpressed; metacoxa glabrous, with fine setae laterally, apical margin convex and external apical angle rounded; each abdominal sternite with a distinct transversal row of coarse punctures each bearing a short seta between fine and moderately dense punctation. Mesosternum between mesocoxae nearly half as wide as mesofemur, with irregularly scattered, fine setae. Ratio of length of metepisternum/ metacoxa: 1/1.48. Pygidium strongly convex, finely and moderately densely punctate, without smooth midline, punctures with sparse, short setae, a few longer setae at apex.
Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and moderately densely punctate; metafemur ventrally dull, anterior margin sharply carinate, without a submarginal serrated line, posterior margin moderately convex, with a few strong setae medially, only weakly widened externally in apical half and not serrated ventrally in distal half, finely serrated dorsally, with dense, short setae. Metatibia slender and long, widest at apex, ratio width/length: 1/3.7, dorsal margin moderately carinate, with two groups of spines, basal group of spines shortly before half of metatibial length, apical one at about three quarters of metatibial length, basally with a few single fine spines; external face longitudinally convex, with moderately coarse, sparse punctures; ventral margin finely serrated, with four fine, equidistant spines; medial face impunctate, apex concavely truncate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally finely punctate, with a few long setae, with sparse, short setae ventrally; metatarsomeres impunctate and glabrous dorsally, with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and glabrous, and with a fine longitudinal carina immediately beside it; first metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia long, bidentate, protarsal claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner protarsal claw bluntly truncate apically.
Aedeagus. Figure 6E–G. Female unknown.
Diagnosis
The new species is in external morphology and shape of aedeagus similar to N. ganhaiziana sp. nov. It differs from N. ganhaiziana in shape of the ventral process of phallobase which is much wider at base extending also over the left side of ventral phallobase and being strongly bent at middle (Figure 6E, G); the left paramere is in N. pseudovulpes sp. nov. longer and more evenly curved.
Etymology
The name of the new species is composed of the latinized Greek prefix pseudo - (false) and vulpes (species name of Serica vulpes Arrow, with reference to its general similarity with this species) (noun in apposition).
Variation
Length. 7.8–9.5 mm, length of elytra: 5.8–7.1 mm, width: 4.4–5.5 mm.
description: Published as part of Ahrens, Dirk, Liu, Wangang, Fabrizi, Silvia, Bai, Ming & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2014, A revision of the species of the Neoserica (sensu lato) vulpes group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini), pp. 1073-1130 in Journal of Natural History 49 (17) on pages 1113-1115, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2014.974707, http://zenodo.org/record/4005857