Neoserica berlineri Sreedevi & Ahrens, 2025

Neoserica berlineri Sreedevi & Ahrens View in CoL , sp. nov.

( Figs. 2F–J View FIGURE 2 )

Type locality. INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Ooty, Coonoor , 13°58’ N, 75°34’ E GoogleMaps .

Type material examined. Holotype, ♂: “ INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Ooty, Coonoor , 13°58’N; 75°34’E, 20.v.2020, leg. Berliner /SER29/ICAR-NBAIR/S26” ( NBAIR). GoogleMaps

The specimen bears a red printed label: Neoserica berlineri sp. n., HOLOTYPE, Kolla Sreedevi and Dirk Ahrens, Det. 2025.

Description of the holotype, male. Length: 16.3 mm, length of elytra: 11.2 mm, width: 9.1 mm. Body oblongoval, dark brown, antennal club and legs yellowish brown, anterior labroclypeus shiny, dorsal surface dull, sparsely setose.

Head. Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, distinctly wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins moderately convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles moderately rounded, anterior margin weakly sinuate medially, margins moderately reflexed; surface nearly flat and shiny, basis with dull toment, punctation dense, anteriorly more sparse, behind anterior margin with coarse punctures each bearing a long, erect seta; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, distinctly curved medially; smooth area anterior to eye approximately 1.5 times as wide as long; ocular canthus moderately long (1/3 of ocular diameter) and slender, glabrous, with a fine terminal seta. Frons dull, with fine and dense punctures, beside eyes with two single setae. Eyes small, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.62. Antenna with ten antennomeres, club with six antennomeres, straight, as long as remaining antennomeres combined; antennomeres two to four subequal in length. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately transverse, subtrapezoidal, widest shortly before base, lateral margins evenly convex and strongly convergent anteriorly, anterior angles sharp and distinctly produced, posterior angles blunt; anterior margin nearly straight, marginal line widely interrupted medially; surface densely and finely punctate with minute setae in punctures; setae of anterior and lateral border sparse; hypomeron basally distinctly carinate, carina weakly produced. Scutellum moderately long, triangular, with fine, dense punctures, with only minute setae.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely and moderately densely punctate, intervals weakly convex, with unevenly dense, fine punctures concentrated along striae, intervals with a few fine, white, very short setae, otherwise only with very minute setae in punctures; epipleural edge fine, ending at strongly rounded external apical angle of elytra, epipleura sparsely setose, apical border membranous, with a fine fringe of microtrichomes.

Ventral surface dull, coarsely and densely punctate, metasternum sparsely covered with setae on disc, glabrous on sides; metacoxa glabrous, with a few short setae laterally, posterior margin weakly convex; abdominal sternites finely and unevenly densely punctuate, nearly glabrous, with a transverse row of coarse punctures, each bearing a robust short seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae half as wide as slender mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.75. Pygidium moderately convex and dull, coarsely and densely punctate, with a narrow smooth midline, with a few single setae beside apical margin.

Legs slender; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate between rows; metafemur dull, anterior margin acute, behind anterior margin without serrated line, setae of anterior longitudinal row completely lacking, posterior margin in apical half ventrally smooth and slightly widened, posterior margin dorsally distinctly serrated, on its basal portion with a few short setae. Metatibia wide and short, widest at apex, ratio of width/length: 1/2.7, sharply carinate dorsally, with two groups of spines, basal group just before middle, apical group at three quarters of metatibial length, basally with 1–2 shorter and robust single setae; lateral face longitudinally convex, very finely, superficially and sparsely punctate, subdorsal longitudinal carina on lateral face present on basal half; ventral edge finely serrated, with three robust equidistant setae; medial face smooth, apex moderately concavely sinuate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres ventrally with sparse, short setae, laterally not carinate, dorsally smooth; metatarsomeres lacking in holotype. Protibia long, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of inner claw sharply truncate at apex.

Aedeagus. Figs. 2F–I View FIGURE 2 . Habitus. Fig. 2J View FIGURE 2 . Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Neoserica berlineri sp. nov. is in external habitus and shape of male genitalis similar to Neoserica aulica Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016 . The new species differs by the mesally distinctly widened parameres (lateral view) and by the more strongly pronounced dorsal tubercles of the apical phallobase.

Etymology. The new species is named after the collector of the species, Dr. Berliner (noun in genitive case singular).

Distribution. Known from the type locality only ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ).