https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5410.2.8 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9391A7EB-6E8F-45E2-9014-1BCE36CE7C76 280 Accepted by A. Bezděk: 3 Jan. 2024; published: 13 Feb. 2024 Article ZOOTAXA ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Zootaxa 5410 (2): 280–288 https://www.mapress.com/zt/ Copyright © 2024 Magnolia Press A new Haplidia Hope, 1837 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from the coast of south-western Turkey MARCO ULIANA 1 & Doğan Erhan Ersoy 2 1 Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia Giancarlo Ligabue, S. Croce 1730, 30135 Venezia, Italy � marco.uliana.1@gmail.com, � marco.uliana@fmcvenezia.it; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7180-6659 2 Gazi University Faculty of Sciences Department of Biology, 06500, Ankara, Türkiye � deersoy@gazi.edu.tr, � entomol.erhanersoy@gmail.com; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9486-5379 Abstract A new species of Haplidia is described from the coastal area of Antalya, south western Turkey. Based on the peculiar morphology of paramera Haplidia fausta, new species, belongs to Baraud’s group 3, and is well distinct from all other species belonging to the same group for several traits of both external morphology and paramera. The only locality of observation is an area with sandy soil, covered by loose grassy vegetation and sparse bushes and pines stands at a few hundred meters from the shoreline. Key words: Rhizotrogini, Anatolia, taxonomy, new species, beach, sand, coastal fauna Introduction The west-Palearctic rhizotrogine genus Haplidia hope, 1837, also spelled Aplidia (see Montreuil et al. 2020), has its major diversity in Turkey, where 27 out of the 51 known species and subspecies are currently recorded (Bezděk 2016). In the last taxonomic revision, Baraud (1988) split the genus into five informal species groups, identified by a progressive number and based exclusively on the morphology of male genitalia. The species belonging to “group 3”, all endemic to southern Turkey, are characterized by parameres deeply bifid, their apex produced into two long and thin branches, whose shape is species specific. This very distinctive condition finds no similarity among other members of the genus and allows an easy diagnosis of this group of species. A single male specimen of Haplidia, recently sampled by authors in south-western Turkey, is clearly belonging to this group, but revealed markedly different from the few known species based both on external and aedeagic morphology. This specimen is recognized as belonging to an unknown species, here described as Haplidia fausta Uliana & Ersoy, new species, and compared to the other members of the group. Materials and methods Photos were taken with a Pentax K-1D camera and Rodenstock Rodagon 2.8/50mm lens mounted on a bellow extendable up to 290 mm. All-in-focus images were produced collecting stack of photos with the semi-automatic system MJKZZ QOOL Rail 250, processed with CombineZP software, and enhanced with Photoshop CS6 software. Type specimens of related species were not directly examined, since Baraud (1988, 1990) provided sufficiently good drawings of their parameres, which resulted well matching the reference specimens available to us and clearly different from the new species presented. The described condition of pronotal punctation and setation, that are among diagnostic characters, is also matching our specimens. Examined specimens are preserved at the Zoological Museum of Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey (ZMGU) and in the private collection Marco Uliana, Codevigo, Italy (MUCI).