Rakovicius neimongolensis Minkina & Skelley, 2025

Minkina, Łukasz & Skelley, Paul, 2025, Two new species of the genus Rakovicius Pittino, 2006 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae), Zootaxa 5637 (1), pp. 167-174 : 168-170

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5637.1.8
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8D266103-5EE7-4083-8D61-2052382963AB
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15562238
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/FE0F87AE-FF84-9A3D-5CAE-FF1F77C03054
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Rakovicius neimongolensis Minkina & Skelley
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Rakovicius neimongolensis Minkina & Skelley , sp. nov.

( Figs. 1A–E View FIGURE 1 , 3A–B, G, I View FIGURE 3 )

Type locality. China, Nei Mongol, Canjig Ka Co., 20 km SW Ganjig, Daquin Shan , 180 m a. s. l.

Type material. Holotype, female: “ China: Nei Mongol, 24.vii.1998 | Ganjig Ka Co., ca. 180m | 20km SW Ganjig, Daqing Shan NP | Schönmann, Ji, Wang ( CWBS 330 )” ( NHMW).

Description of the holotype, female. Dorsum ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ). Length: 2.3 mm; maximum width: 1.55 mm. Dark brownish; antennae, tarsomeres and mouth parts brown. Glabrous.

Head ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ) distinctly convex, weakly shiny, granulate, with two pairs of posterior oblique ridges, clypeus with anterior margin distinctly rounded on each side of distinct median emargination, distinctly notched before genae; genae obtusely rounded with few long macrosetae. Clypeus with median protuberance distinct, but not strongly elevated.

Epipharynx ( Fig. 1E View FIGURE 1 ) transverse, with sides widely rounded, anterior margin almost straight, tormae well sclerotised, quite long, epitorma almost quadrate; helus with group of quite irregularly spaced sensilla and two longitudinal rows of long macrotrichia anteriorly; corypha and zygum absent; chaetoparia with row of dense spines; prophobae with short row of spines.

Pronotum convex, distinctly transverse, approximately as wide as base of elytra, widest posteriorly, with five transverse ridges, five tranverse furrows,and posterior median longitudinal furrow; lateral margins arcuate throughout, with fringe of short, distinct, apically widened macrosetae; anterior angles widely rounded; posterior angles widely rounded. First anterior ridge well developed, with relatively regularly distributed granules, on lower lateral sides becoming interrupted as compressed row of granules. Second to fourth ridges higher, without rows of granules. Fifth ridge has intermediate characters between first and other ridges.All furrows have very coarse punctation (even in comparison to other known species of the genus Rakovicius ); fifth furrow very wide laterally, becoming very narrow medially (in hind angles four times wider than in the middle) and eroded, lacking punctures.

Scutellum small, triangular, elongate, matt, with distinct microreticulation, without punctation.

Elytra quite elongate with small, quite distinct humeral denticles, broader posteriorly, widest behind half the length; with ten intervals and ten striae; intervals 1–9 distinctly costate, tenth interval weakly convex; striae with long, oval punctures nearly touch each other, distinctly indenting margins of intervals.

Pygidium divided by a transverse carina into upper and lower parts; upper part with longitudinal depressed line in the middle, with distinct, dense macrosetation; lower part with somewhat uneven and smooth surface, with two very long macrosetae.

Legs. All femora quite shiny, with weak microreticulation, punctation simple, very fine and sparse. Profemora distinctly bordered anteriorly and posteriorly. Meso- and metafemora anteriorly and posteriorly lacking border. Protibiae distinctly tridentate laterally, proximally not serrulate, with dorsal side smooth; apical spur lanceolate, rounded on apex. Metatibial superior apical spur weakly longer than two basal metatarsomeres combined; basal metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined.All metatarsomeres combined somewhat shorter than metatibiae. Ventral surface of basal metatarsomeres distinctly curved. Claws very short, thin, quite weakly arcuate.

Macropterous.

Venter ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ). Metaventral plate shiny, with scattered microreticulation, very weakly convex, medially distinctly concave, with distinct, deep longitudinal line in the middle; with fine, sparse, irregularly distributed punctation. Abdominal ventrites weakly shiny, with distinct microreticulation; anterior marginal grooves very widely, distinctly fluted; with distinct, very sparse, fine punctation and irregularly spaced, variably sized granules.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology. Toponymic; an adjective derived from the name of Nei Mongol, region of China, where the new species was collected.

Differential diagnosis. Due to the clypeus distinctly notched before the obtusely rounded, moderately produced genae ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ), R. neimongolensis Minkina & Skelley , sp. nov. is identified as R. thailandicus Balthasar, 1965 , if the key of Pittino (2006) is used.

Rakovicius neimongolensis Minkina & Skelley , sp. nov. can be distinguished from all so far known species of the genus by a combination of characters: clypeus distinctly notched before obtusely rounded, moderately produced genae ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ), very coarse punctation of pronotum ( Figs. 1A, 1D View FIGURE 1 ) (only R. kyotoensis seems to have similar punctation—compare figure 1 in the description), first pronotal ridge well developed, with relatively regularly distributed granules ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ) (only R. takashii seems to have similar structure—compare figure 2 in the description), fifth furrow of pronotum medially much narrower than on sides and with eroded punctation ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ) (no other similar species), elytra quite elongate, widest behind half the length ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ), elytral intervals 1–9 distinctly costate, and weakly shiny abdominal ventrites with characteristic structure ( Fig. 3G View FIGURE 3 ). Additionally, the distribution of R. neimongolensis Minkina & Skelley , sp. nov. is unique, being from China, Nei Mongol.

Differences between R. neimongolensis Minkina & Skelley , sp. nov. and R. thailandicus need to be discussed in reference to figures 1–17 in Rakovič et al. (2017). In the new species, the anterior sinuation of the clypeus is slightly deeper, pronotum with lateral fringe of macrosetae are shorter and wider, the fifth pronotal furrow is much narrower medially with eroded punctation ( Fig. 3I View FIGURE 3 ) (punctation in R. thailandicus is slightly smaller, but well developed), elytral intervals 1–9 are distinctly costate (in R. thailandicus these intervals are lower—weakly costate), tenth elytral interval is weakly convex (in R. thailandicus tenth interval is almost flat), metatibiae appear more robust (compare Figs. 3A–B and 3E–F View FIGURE 3 ) (in R. thailandicus metatibial superior apical spur is distinctly longer than two basal metatarsomeres combined; and all metatarsomeres combined are more distinctly shorter than metatibiae); and the abdominal ventrites are less shiny, having a more distinct anterior marginal furrow with denser punctation ( Fig. 3G View FIGURE 3 ).