Meligethes (Meligethes) cinereoargenteus Audisio, Sabatelli & Jelínek, 2015 Examined material. China, SICHUAN, LUDINg COUNTY, MOXI TOWN, MT. GONggA, HAILUOgOU, 2780 m A.S.L., CA. 29.566667° 102°, 5.v.2017, X. CHEN LgT, 3 ♂, 4 ♀ (NWAU, CAR-MZUR, NMPC). Distribution. SW CHINA (SICHUAN); KNOWN THUS fAR ONLY fROm SICHUAN, ON THE bASIS Of TWO SERIOUSLY DAmAgED mALE SpECImENS COLLECTED NEAR LUDINg (AUDISIO et al. 2015) (FIg. 5b). Host-plants. UNKNOWN; HOWEvER, THE HOST IS LIKELY Rosa Sp. OR A RELATED ROSACEAE gENUS. THIS SpECIES OCCURS IN bUSHY/SHRUbbY AREAS AT HIgH ALTITUDES (2500–2800 m). Taxonomic remarks. DUE TO THE pOOR STATE Of pRESERvATION Of THE TYpE mATERIAL fROm LUDINg, THIS SpECIES, ALTHOUgH bEINg ONLY SUpERfICIALLY SImILAR TO Meligethes (M.) nepalensis EASTON, 1968, fROm NEpAL (IN THE Meligethes nepalensis SpECIES gROUp), WAS mISINTERpRETED bY AUDISIO et al. (2015) AS bELONgINg TO THIS CLADE. BASED ON THE fRESH mATERIAL REpORTED AbOvE (FIg. 1C), THIS TAXON IS DEfINITIvELY A mEmbER Of THE Meligethes auripilis SpECIES gROUp, AND CAN bE NOW TRANSfERRED TO THIS CLADE, AND AppARENTLY RELATED TO M. aurifer (fROm E SHAANXI AND W SHANXI) AND M. aureolineatus (fROm N SICHUAN). THESE THREE TAXA fORm THE HERE ESTAbLISHED M. aurifer SpECIES COmpLEX. Meligethes cinereoargenteus IS WELL-CHARACTERIZED bY ITS DISTINCTIvE mALE gENITALIA, SpECIfICALLY A pECULIARLY SHApED AEDEAgAL ApEX (FIgS. 7I, J IN AUDISIO et al. 2015). THE STRONgLY EXpANDED mALE pROTARSI ALSO DIffERENTIATE THIS SpECIES (FIg. 1C). THE pREvIOUSLY UNKNOWN OvIpOSITOR Of THIS SpECIES IS NOT CONSIDERAbLY DIffERENT IN ITS gENERAL SHApE fROm THAT Of M. aurifer, bUT DOES EXHIbIT A SHALLOWER ApICAL EXCISION Of THE COmbINED gONOCOXAL ApICES (FIg. 2L); RATIO OVPL/GONL = 2.25. FEmALES DIffER fROm mALES mAINLY bY THE mUCH NARROWER pROTARSAL pLATES (RATIO WFTA/LFTA = 0.33 IN fEmALES AND = 0.45 IN mALES), AND bY THE mUCH SHALLOWER ImpRESSION ON THE pOSTERIOR pORTION Of THE mETAvENTRITE. ; Published as part of Liu, Meike, Huang, Min, Cline, Andrew Richard & ...