Mecodema dux

Mecodema dux is a medium-bodied New Zealand endemic ground beetle that is found in the Ruahine Ranges, Taupo, Rangitikei and southwestern Hawke's Bay entomological regions.[1][2]

Mecodema dux
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Carabidae
Genus: Mecodema
Species:
M. dux
Binomial name
Mecodema dux
Britton, 1949

Diagnosis

Distinguished from other North Island Mecodema species by:

  1. the overall pronotal shape being ovate;
  2. numerous punctures between pronotal foveae;
  3. elytral striae 1–4 with obsolescent punctures, striae 5–8 with punctures more impressed;
  4. the distinctive shape of the apical portion of the penis lobe.[3]

Description

Length 19–24 mm, pronotal width 5–6 mm, elytral width 6–7.1 mm. Colour of entire body dark reddish-brown to matte black, coxae and legs reddish-brown.[3]

Natural History

A flightless and nocturnal predator of a variety of invertebrates on the forest floor.

Further research is required.

References
  1. Britton, E.B. (1949). "The Carabidae (Coleoptera) of New Zealand Part III - A revision of the tribe Broscini". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 77 (4): 533–581.
  2. Crosby, T.K.; Dugdale, J.S.; Watt, J.C. (1976). "Recording specimen localities in New Zealand: An arbitrary system of areas and codes defined". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 3 (1): 69. doi:10.1080/03014223.1976.9517903. ISSN 0301-4223.
  3. 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.
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