Maladera aureola

Maladera aureola (Murayama, 1938)

Figures 29 I–L, 102

Aserica aureola Murayama, 1938: 19; Serica aureola: Murayama 1954: 64.

Maladera aureola: Kim & Lee 1997: 128; Kim & Kim 2003: 92.

Maladera liotibia Nomura, 1974: 104, 110; Ahrens 2002: 84, syn. n.

Additional material examined. 1 ♂ “ Kuatun (2300 m) 27, 40 n. Br. 117,40 ö. L. J. Klapperich 3.5.1938 (Fukien)” (ZFMK), 1 ♂ “ Juxian County, Henan, 21.VI.1960 ” (IZAS), 1 ♂ “ Nanmu Garden, Changshou, Sichuan, 9.VI. 1994, 450m, leg. Zhang Youwei ” (IZAS), 1 ♀ “ Shiping, Fengdu, Sichuan, 3.VI. 1994, 610m, leg. Zhang Youwei ” (IZAS), 1 ♂ “ Jiangya Forestry Farm, Cili, Hunan, 26.VIII.1988 ” (IZAS), 1 ♂ “ Mts. Baiyunshan, Songxian, Henan, 14- 17.VIII.2008, leg. Ren Guodong, Wu Qiqi etc.” (HBUM), 1 ♂ “ Shibanyan Town, Linzhou, Henan, 21-24.VII.2006, leg. Wang Fengyan, Huang Wenjing ” (HBUM), 1 ♂ “ China: Hunan; Mupu Mt. 1600m, Pingjiang VIII-2003, leg. Li et al. ” (ZFMK), 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ “ Kuatun, Fukien China 22.7.46 (Tschung Sen.)” (NMPC), 1 ♂ “ China, Wang-lungkum, Bergebiet d. Lo-fau-zan/ am Ostfluss in Kuangtung 4.-5.12 Mell S.V.” (ZMHB, head missing in specimen), 1 ♂ “ China: Hunan, Jiucai Ling, 25°32’N 111°22’E, 1300m, VII.2006, leg. Viktor & Sveta Siniaev ” (ZFMK), 1 ♂ “ Wen Chuan Shien 30mi NNW Kuanshien VII-22 1933 / Szechwan China DC Graham 4600ft. ” (USNM), 1 ♂, 1 ♀ “ China: S-Hubei Mupushan Tangshan vi.2004 leg. Wen ” (ZFMK), 1 ♂ “ China Tsingtau 1 July 1926 D.C. Graham ” (USNM), 1 ♂ “ Foochow China VI-6-1928 / C.R. Kellogg Collector ” (USNM).

Redescription. Length: 8.1 mm, length of elytra: 6.4 mm, width: 5.3 mm. Body oblong-oval, yellowish brown, dull, labroclypeus shiny, with a few long setae on head, pronotum and elytra.

Labroclypeus wide and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins nearly straight and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles strongly rounded, anterior margin shallowly emarginate, margins moderately reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce an indistinct angle; surface convexly elevated medially, finely, densely punctate, with a few erect, long setae; frontoclypeal suture distinctly incised, evely curved; smooth area anterior to eye convex, twice as wide as long; ocular canthus short and narrow (1/3 of ocular diameter), finely densely punctate, with a terminal seta. Frons dull, with dense, fine punctures, with a few single setae beside eyes and behind frontoclypeal suture. Eyes small, ratio diameter/ interocular width: 0.56. Antenna with ten antennomeres; club with three antennomeres and straight, slightly shorter than remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately transverse, widest at base, lateral margins evenly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles distinctly produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt, slightly rounded at tip; anterior margin straight, with fine marginal line, base without marginal line; surface moderately finely and densely punctate, with minute setae in punctures and a few long semi-erect setae on sides; anterior and lateral margin finely densely setose; hypomeron carinate, not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine, moderately dense punctures, impunctate on midline.

Elytra widest in posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals flat, with fine, sparse punctures and with minute setae in punctures, odd intervals with numerous single long setae; epipleural margin robust, ending at half of elytra, epipleura sparsely setose; apical border of elytra membraneous, with a very fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at ca 100x magnification).

Ventral surface dull, finely and densely punctate, nearly glabrous, metasternal disc sparsely covered with fine, short setae; metacoxa with a few longer setae laterally. Abdominal sternites finely and densely punctate, punctures with minute setae, each sternite with a transverse row of punctures each bearing a fine seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.9. Pygidium strongly convex, dull, coarsely and moderately densely punctate, with narrow smooth midline, with a few long setae on disc and along apical margin.

Legs short and wide, dull; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Anterior margin of metafemur acute, without adjacent serrated line, anterior row of setae completely reduced; posterior ventral margin smooth, moderately widened at ventral apex, dorsal posterior margin smooth, neither serrate, glabrous. Metatibia short and wide, widest at middle, ratio of width/length: 1/2.7, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group at middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, in basal half with a few short and robust single setae; lateral face longitudinally convex, superficially and sparsely punctate, along midline widely smooth, glabrous; ventral margin finely serrate, with five equidistant robust setae; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, shallowly emarginate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally impunctate, glabrous, neither laterally nor dorsally carinate, moderately setose ventrally; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and a smooth subventral longitudinal carina, glabrous; first metatarsomere distinctly shorter than following two tarsomeres combined and slightly longer than dorsal tibial spur. Protibia moderately long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 29 I–K. Habitus: Fig. 29L.

Remarks. The tiny differences in the shape of the parameres within the respective original descriptions of Maladera liotibia Nomura, 1974 and M. aureola Murayama, 1938 correspond to the variation found in M. aureola already noted among Taiwanese specimens. Therefore, we believe these names are synonyms of a single species.

Distribution. See map (Fig. 102) and Table 1.