Mecodema aberrans
Mecodema aberrans is a medium-sized (14.6–19.5 mm length, 5.3–6.5 mm width) ground beetle endemic to the South Island, New Zealand. This species is within the curvidens group[1] and is one of three species that is a braided-river ecotype. It occurs in Otago and Canterbury.[2]
| Mecodema aberrans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dorsal view of specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Carabidae |
| Genus: | Mecodema |
| Species: | M. aberrans |
| Binomial name | |
| Mecodema aberrans (Putzeys, 1868) | |
Description
The body colour of the species varies from black (dorsal) to brown (ventral), legs may be a red-brown. To reduce the abrasion of the ventral abdomen, ventrites 3–5 are covered in a large number of setae, which is one of the distinguishing features of this species. To further identify M. aberrans from other Mecodema species there is a difference in the size of the asetose punctures along elytral striae 9 in comparison to striae 1.[2]
References
- Britton, E.B. (1949). "The Carabidae (Coleoptera) of New Zealand part 3: A revision of the tribe Broscini". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 77: 533–581.
- Seldon, D.S.; Buckley, T.R. (2019). "The genus Mecodema Blanchard 1853 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Broscini) from the North Island, New Zealand". Zootaxa. 4598 (1): 1–148. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4598.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 31716064.
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