Tetraserica paraspinicrus Ahrens, Pacholátko & Pham, 2025

Tetraserica paraspinicrus Ahrens, Pacholátko & Pham View in CoL , sp. nov.

Fig. 6F–K View FIGURE

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂ “ Laos, 21°09’N, 101°19’E, Louangnamtha pr. Namtha-Muang Sing, 5–31.v.1997, 900–1200 m Vit. Kubáň leg. / 1384 Sericini Asia spec.” ( ZFMK) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: 4 ♂♂ “ LAOS north, 5–11.V.1997, 20 km NW Louang Namtha, N 21°09.2, E 101°18.7, alt. 900± 100 m, E. Jendek & O. Šauša leg.” ( ZFMK) , 7 ♂♂ “ Laos, 21°09’N, 101°19’E, Louangnamtha pr. Namtha-Muang Sing , 5–31.v.1997, 900–1200 m Vit. Kubáň leg.” ( ZFMK) GoogleMaps , 2 ♂♂ “ LAOS north, 5–11.V.1997, 20 km NW Louang Namtha, N 21°09.2, E 101°18.7, alt. 900± 100m, M. Strba & R. Hergovits leg.” ( ZFMK) , 1 ♂ “ Laos 1963 Umgeb. Pak Lay / CF” ( CF) , 1 ♂ “X-DA4778 labcode: VD098, LAOS, Stupa GH, 5 km W Muang Sing , 750 m, 21.1482N 101.1711E, 9.v.–2.vi.2011, M. Murzin, O. Shulga leg. Tetraserica spLA_V57 / X-DA4778” ( ZFMK) GoogleMaps , 1 ♂ “X-DA4793 labcode: VD099, LAOS, Stupa GH, 5 km W Muang Sing , 750 m, 21.1482N 101.1711E, 9.v.–2.vi.2011, M. Murzin, O. Shulga leg. Tetraserica 132 / sp LA_V57/ sp-LA-V57 / X-DA4793” ( ZFMK) GoogleMaps , 1 ♂ “ Laos, 21°09’N, 101°19’E, Louangnamtha pr. Namtha-Muang Sing, 5.–31.v.1997, 900–1200 m Vit. Kubáň leg / coll. P. Pacholátko /LS 55” ( ZFMK) GoogleMaps , 1 ♂ “ LAOS north, 5.–11.V.1997, 20 km NW Louang Namtha , N 21°09.2, E 101°18.7, alt. 900± 100 m, E. Jendek & O. Šauša leg. / Coll. Pacholátko / 183 Sericini Asia spec.”( ZFMK) .

Description of holotype. Length: 8.2 mm; length of elytra: 6.2 mm; maximum width: 5.2 mm. Dorsal surface dark brown and glabrous, frons and pronotum with weak greenish shine, labroclypeus, ventral surface and legs reddish brown, antenna yellow.

Labroclypeus subtrapezoidal, wider than long, widest at base, lateral margins moderately convex and convergent to strongly rounded anterior angles, anterior margin weakly emarginate medially, margins moderately reflexed; surface weakly convex, moderately shiny, finely and densely punctate, glabrous; frontoclypeal suture indistinctly incised, flat and weakly curved medially; ocular canthus short and triangular, impunctate, with a single terminal seta. Smooth area anterior to eye twice as wide as long. Frons dull, with sparse, fine punctures, with two single erect setae beside each eye. Antenna yellowish, with ten antennomeres; club composed of four antennomeres in male, straight, 1.1 times as long as remaining antennomeres combined. Eyes moderately small, ratio of diameter/ interocular width: 0.69. Mentum elevated and slightly flattened anteriorly.

Pronotum moderately wide and convex, widest shortly before base, lateral margins evenly convex, strongly narrowed anteriorly towards sharp and slightly produced anterior angles, posterior angles convex. Anterior margin of pronotum slightly convex, with fine, complete marginal line. Surface finely and densely punctate, except minute setae glabrous, lateral and lateral anterior margins sparsely setose. Hypomeron not carinate. Scutellum triangular, finely and densely punctate.

Elytra oblong, widest in posterior third, striae distinctly impressed, finely and moderately densely punctate, intervals flat, with fine and almost evenly dense punctures weakly concentrated along striae, with very minute setae in punctures; epipleural edge robust, ending at convex external apical angle of elytra, epipleura densely setose; apical border with a narrow fringe of microtrichomes (100x).

Ventral surface dull, finely and densely punctate, metasternum sparsely covered with fine, short, or very minute setae; metacoxa glabrous, with a few single setae laterally; abdominal sternites finely and densely punctuate, with a transverse row of coarse punctures, each bearing a robust seta. Mesosternum between mesocoxae as wide as mesofemur. Ratio of length of metepisternum/metacoxa: 1/1.62. Pygidium strongly convex in apical half and dull, densely punctate, without smooth midline, almost glabrous, with a few long setae at apex.

Legs wide; femora finely and sparsely punctate; metafemur wide and moderately shiny, anterior margin acute, ventral posterior margin smooth and only weakly widened in apical half, with a sharp, sharply pointed tooth at basal third, which is a quarter as long as maximum width of metafemur, dorsal posterior margin smooth and glabrous. Metatibia moderately short and wide, widest at middle; ratio width/length: 1/2.9; basal group of dorsal spines of metatibia at first third, apical one at two thirds of metatibial length; distal margin not truncated, terminal spines of normal length. Tarsomeres dorsally smooth, with fine, dense setae ventrally on distal half, neither laterally nor dorsally carinate; metatarsomeres with a strongly serrated ridge ventrally and glabrous; first metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined, a quarter of its length longer than dorsal tibial spine. Protibia short, bidentate; anterior claws symmetrical, basal tooth of both claws bluntly truncate at apex.

Aedeagus: Fig. 6H–K View FIGURE . Habitus: Fig. 6F, G View FIGURE . Female unknown.

Variation. Length: 7.5–8.5 mm; length of elytra: 6.1–6.5 mm; maximum width: 4.9–5.8 mm.

Diagnosis. This new species differs from the similar T. pseudospinicrus Ahrens, Pacholátko & Pham , sp. nov. by the longer ventral lobe of the left paramere, its dorsal lobe is mesally strongly widened and the teethed dorsal margin is ending abruptly at middle by a deep concave emargination of the dorsal margin; the dorsal lobe of the right paramere is simple (not divided in two smaller lobes) and distinctly larger than in T. spinicrus and T. pseudospinicrus Ahrens, Pacholátko & Pham , sp. nov., being almost half as long as the ventral lobe.

Etymology. The name of the new species is derived from the combined Greek prefix para- (close by) and the species name spinicrus, with reference to its similarity to T. spinicrus .

Remark. This new species includes most of the northern and western Laos specimens previously referred to T. spinicrus (Frey) ( Fabrizi et al. 2019) . The latter species is actually known only from its type locality in southern Laos. The status of only one specimen from western Laos ( 1 ♂ “Haut Mekong Vien Poukha 3.V.1918 R.V. de Salvazza” (NHMUK)), cited by Fabrizi et al. (2019) as T. spinicrus , remains uncertain, since we could not reexamine it for this study.