Miridiba (Miridiba) quangnamensis P. V. 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 quangnamensis

description: Miridiba (Miridiba) quangnamensis P.V. Pham & Keith, new speciesurn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 8E9A0286-D3C8-4C19-83B2-56A4E09585A9
(Figs 3, 4 g-i)
Type material. Holotype: male (IEBR), Quang Nam Province, Nam Giang District, Cha Vai, Song Thanh, light trap, 28.iv. 2005, 520 m above sea level.
Description of the holotype (male): Body length: 16.3 mm (from anterior margin of clypeus to apex of elytra); body width: 7.7 mm (width across humeri). Color dark reddish brown on head, pronotum, and scutellum; yellowish brown to dark reddish brown on elytra, ventral surface, and legs; moderately shiny; dorsal surface almost glabrous (Fig. 3a).
Head. Surface densely punctate; punctures large; clypeus transverse, with apex moderately bilobed and reflexed, widened at base, length five times greater wide (Fig. 3b). Clypeofrontal suture visible, moderately sinuated. Frontal carina moderately raised, weakly curved backwards, reaching periocular margins (Fig. 3b). Basal area of head with punctures smaller than those on forehead, punctures with short erect setae (Fig. 3b). Antenna with 9 antennomeres, antennal club composed of 3 antennomeres, club longer than length of antennomeres 2–6 combined (2.5/ 1.7 mm). Last segment of maxillary palp elongated, dorsal surface with callus.
Pronotum. Transversal, widest at middle; anterolateral angles moderately protuberant; basolateral angles round; lateral margin smooth; anterior margin completely bordered; basal margin finely flanged and smooth, without pubescence; setiferous punctures smaller than those on clypeus (Fig. 3b).
Scutellum. Triangular, flat; strongly and densely puncate except on side margins; nearly two times wider than long (Fig. 3d).
Elytra. Elytra nearly parallel, slightly widened posteriorly. Punctures dense near the base, less posteriad; base of elytra bearing several long setae. Epipleura end at one fifth posteriorly bearing a row of long setae.
Legs. Protibiae tridentate, teeth equidistant, tip of teeth moderately round; basal tooth small, middle tooth two third as apical teeth; 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, and with a branch reaching the apex of second tooth (Fig. 3e). Profemora, mesofemora, and metafemora moderately covered with hair-like, long setae; metafemora strongly broadened anteriorly, slightly convex. Metatibia with two apical spurs, upper spur moderately longer than lower spur, and reaching one fourth of mesotarsomeres 2 (Fig. 3f). Meso- and metatibiae with strong teeth on external margins and complete carina at apical third.
Ventral surface. Meso- and metasternum with dense fine punctures and yellowish hair (Fig. 3c). Abdomen: second and third visible abdomenal sternites densely covered with punctures, and long setae; those on fourth and fifth sternites sparserly punctate and setiferous, particularly on median parts; sixth sternite covered with longer setae.
Pygidium. Slightly convex, triangular, margin bordered, apical margin moderately reflexed; dorsal surface with punctures identical to those on elytra with long and erect setae (Fig. 3f).
Aedeagus. Curved downwards, symmetrical in lateral view, bird's beak-like, without acicular expansion at base (Figs 4g –i).
Female. Unknown.
Remarks. Miridiba quangnamensis, new species is closely similar to M. hanoiensis Keith, 2006 (Figs 5d–f) but they can be separated by the following characters combined: posterior pronotal margin without pubesence in M. quangnamensis, new species (pubescent in M. hanoienis); clypeo-frontal suture visible in M. quangnamensis, new species (invisible in M. hanoiensis); antenna club longer than length of antennomeres 2–6 combined in M. quangnamensis, new species (Fig. 3d) (almost equal in M. hanoiensis); anterolateral angles moderately protuberant in M. quangnamensis (Fig. 3b) (nearly rectangular in M. hanoiensis – Fig. 5d); median limits between sternites slightly opaque in in M. quangnamensis, new species (invisible in M. hanoiensis), and the shape of parameres (Figs 5e,f; 4g –i). The morphological characters of M. quangnamensis new species do not characterize any morphotype proposed by Gao & Coca-Abia (2021) and Gao et al. (2022), so the new species remains as incertae sedis in the genus Miridiba.
Etymology. This species is named after the locality of the holotype (Quang Nam Province).
Distribution. Vietnam (Quang Nam 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 336-337, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5205.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/7306960