Maladera thandigudiensis Sreedevi & Ahrens, 2025

Maladera thandigudiensis Sreedevi & Ahrens View in CoL , sp. nov.

( Figs. 1K–O View FIGURE 1 )

Type locality. INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Dindigul, Thandigudi, Regional Coffee Research Station , 10°18’N; 77°38’E.

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Dindigul, Thandigudi, Horticultural Research Station ( HRS), 10°18’N; 77°38’E, 26.vi.2015, leg. Mahendra R /SER09/ICAR-NBAIR/S21” ( NBAIR) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: 1 ♂ “ INDIA: Kerala, Thrissur , 10°52’N; 76°21’E, 10.01.2014, leg. Suja /SER17/ICAR-NBAIR/S22” ( NBAIR) GoogleMaps ; 1 ♂ “ Kerala, Wayanad, Kalpetta, Madakkimala , 11°55’N; 76°04’E, 13.iv.2021, leg. Judith /SER21/ICAR-NBAIR/S23” ( NBAIR) GoogleMaps .

The specimens bear a red printed label: Maladera thandigudiensis sp. n., HOLOTYPE or PARATYPE, Kolla Sreedevi and Dirk Ahrens, Det. 2025.

Description ( Holotype, male). Body. Length: 9.1 mm, length of elytra: 6.4 mm, width: 5.8 mm. Body oval, dorsal and ventral face dark brown, antenna yellowish, dull, partly with iridescent shine, labroclypeus shiny, except a few setae on head dorsal surface nearly glabrous.

Head. Labroclypeus wide and subtrapezoidal, widest at base, lateral margins weakly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles strongly rounded, anterior margin weakly emarginate medially, margins weakly reflexed; lateral margin and ocular canthus produce an indistinct angle; surface convex medially, coarsely and densely punctate, with a few erect setae anteriorly; frontoclypeal suture distinctly incised, angled medially; smooth area anterior to eye flat, twice as wide as long; ocular canthus short and broad (1/4 of ocular diameter), finely densely punctate, with a terminal seta. Frons dull, with moderately dense, fine punctures, with a few setae beside eyes. Eyes small, ratio diameter/interocular width: 0.58. Antenna with ten antennomeres; club with three antennomeres and as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum transverse, widest at base, lateral margins evenly convex and convergent anteriorly, anterior angles produced and sharp, posterior angles blunt, distinctly rounded at tip; anterior margin nearly straight, with complete fine marginal line, base without marginal line; surface moderately densely and finely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; anterior and lateral margin finely sparsely setose; hypomeron carinate, not produced ventrally. Scutellum wide, triangular, with fine, moderately dense punctures.

Elytra widest at posterior third, striae finely impressed, finely and densely punctate, intervals convex, with fine, evenly moderately dense punctures and with minute setae in punctures, punctures on odd intervals concentrated along striae; epipleural edge robust, ending at convex external apical angle of elytra, epipleura setose; apical border of elytra narrowly membraneous, with a very fine rim of microtrichomes (visible at ca 100x magnification).

Ventral surface dull, coarsely and moderately densely punctate, 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: 1/1.71. Pygidium weakly convex, dull, coarsely and densely punctate, without midline, with a few longer setae beside apical margin.

Legs short and wide, shiny; femora with two longitudinal rows of setae, finely and sparsely punctate. Anterior margin of metafemur acute, with a continuous adjacent serrated line, anterior row of setae complete; posterior ventral margin smooth, strongly widened at ventral apex, dorsal posterior edge smooth, neither serrate, finely shortly setose. Metatibia very short and wide, widest at middle, ratio of width/length: 1/2.4, sharply carinate dorsally, with fine setae along a serrated line basally subparallel to dorsal margin; lateral face longitudinally convex, shiny, only on base and on sides finely punctate, with minute setae in punctures; ventral margin finely serrate, with four equidistant robust setae; medial face smooth and glabrous; apex finely serrate, moderately concavely sinuate interiorly near tarsal articulation. Tarsomeres dorsally impunctate, glabrous, neither laterally nor dorsally carinate, moderately setose ventrally; metatarsomeres ventrally glabrous, with a sharp ventral and a subventral carina; 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. Figs. 1K–N View FIGURE 1 . Habitus. Fig. 1O View FIGURE 1 . Female unknown.

Differential diagnosis. Maladera thandigudiensis sp. nov. closely resembles Maladera theresae Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016 but can be distinguished by the distinct shape of the parameres ( Figs. 1K–N View FIGURE 1 ): the left paramere is simple and narrow, almost as long as the right one, without branch-like lateral extension.

Etymology. The new species is named after the type locality Thandigudi (adjective in the nominative singular).

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