Rakovicius sagaingensis 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 : 170-173

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.15562242
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/FE0F87AE-FF86-9A38-5CAE-FC4A74403638
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Rakovicius sagaingensis Minkina & Skelley
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Rakovicius sagaingensis Minkina & Skelley , sp. nov.

( Figs. 2A–F View FIGURE 2 , 3C–D, H, J View FIGURE 3 )

Type locality. Myanmar, Sagaing Division, Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park GoogleMaps , 22º19.113'N 94º28.518'E, ca. 350 m a.s.l.

Type material. Holotype, male: Myanmar: “ Sagaing Division | Alaungdaw Katthapa NP | 22º19.113'N 94º28.518'E | 3.–13.v.2003,ca. 350 m, light, | leg. Boukal & Schillhammer (101)” ( NHMW) GoogleMaps . Paratypes (4 specimens): the same as holotype (1 male and 1 female NHMW, 1 male ISEA, 1 female FSCA) GoogleMaps .

Description of the holotype, male. Dorsum ( Fig. 2A View FIGURE 2 ). Length: 3.0 mm; maximum width: 1.65 mm. Chesnut brown; antennae, tarsomeres and mouth parts reddish-brown. Glabrous.

Head ( Fig. 2D View FIGURE 2 ) 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 distinctly but not strongly elevated.

Epipharynx ( Fig. 2E View FIGURE 2 ) 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 in basal part, with five transverse ridges, five tranverse furrows, and a posterior median longitudinal furrow; lateral margins arcuate throughout, with fringe of short, distinctly apically widened macrosetae; anterior angles widely rounded; posterior angles widely rounded. First anterior ridge well developed, somewhat uneven in height. Second to fifth ridges higher, without rows of granules. All furrows have coarse punctation; fifth furrow wide laterally, becoming much narrower medially (in hind angles three times wider than in middle) and with somewhat smaller, well developed punctures.

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

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

Pygidium divided by a transverse carina into upper and lower part; upper part with longitudinal depressed line in the middle, with distinct, dense macrosetation; lower part with uneven, eroded 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 distinctly longer than two basal metatarsomeres combined, basal metatarsomere as long as following two tarsomeres combined. All metatarsomeres combined distinctly shorter than metatibiae. Ventral surface of basal metatarsomeres weakly curved. Claws very short, thin, quite weakly arcuate.

Macropterous.

Venter ( Fig. 2B View FIGURE 2 ). Metaventral plate shiny, with weak microreticulation, very weakly convex, medially distinctly concave, with distinct, deep longitudinal line in the middle; with fine, sparse, irregularly distributed punctation. Abdominal ventrites shiny, with distinct microreticulation; anterior marginal grooves distinctly fluted; with very sparse, fine punctation.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 2F View FIGURE 2 ). Stout, with parameres apically rounded, similar length as phallobase. Parameres distinctly sinuate in dorsal side, and ventrally with distinct sinuation having a membranous filling.

Sexual dimorphism. Females with elytra slightly more robust (a difference of 1–2 %) and slightly less convex metaventral plate, with slightly deeper median concavity.

Variability. Body length from 2.9 to 3.2 mm. Colour of body is more or less chestnut brown.

Etymology. Toponymic; an adjective derived from the name of Sagaing, region of Myanmar, where the new species was collected.

Differential diagnosis. Due to the clypeus distinctly notched before the obtusely rounded, moderately produced genae ( Fig. 2A View FIGURE 2 ), R. sagaingensis Minkina & Skelley , sp. nov. is identified as R. thailandicus Balthasar, 1965 , if the key of Pittino (2006) is used.

Rakovius sagaingensis Minkina & Skelley , sp. nov. can be distinguised from all species of the genus by a combination of characters: clypeus distinctly notched before obtusely rounded, moderately produced genae ( Figs. 2A, 2D View FIGURE 2 ), coarse punctation of pronotum ( Figs. 2A, 2D View FIGURE 2 ), first pronotal ridge well developed ( Fig. 2A View FIGURE 2 ), somewhat uneven in height, fifth furrow of pronotum medially narrower than on sides and with well developed punctation ( Fig. 2A View FIGURE 2 ), elytra relatively short, oblong-ovate, widest in at mid-length ( Fig. 2A View FIGURE 2 ) (fifth pronotal furrow structure and elytral shape in combination are unique), elytral intervals 1–9 weakly costate, and shiny abdominal ventrites with characteristic structure ( Fig. 3H View FIGURE 3 ). Additionally the distribution of R. s againgensis Minkina & Skelley, sp. nov. is unique, being from Myanmar, Sangaing.

Differeneces between R. s againgensis Minkina & Skelley, sp. nov. and R. thailandicus need to be discussed in reference to figures in 1–17 Rakovič et al. (2017). In the new species, the anterior sinuation of the clypeus is slightly deeper ( Fig. 2D View FIGURE 2 ), more robust femora have less dense punctation ( Fig. 2D View FIGURE 2 ), metatibiae appear more robust (compare Figs. 3C–D and 3E–F View FIGURE 3 ) (in R. thailandicus all metatarsomeres combined are more distinctly shorter than metatibiae), elytra are widest at mid-length and are more robust ( Fig. 2A View FIGURE 2 ).