Mecodema crenicolle

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Mecodema crenicolle
Mecodema crenicolle
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Carabidae
Genus: Mecodema
Species:
M. crenicolle
Binomial name
Mecodema crenicolle
Laporte de Castelnau, 1867[1]
Synonyms
  • Mecodema venator Broun 1880
  • Mecodema variolosum Broun 1903
  • Mecodema attenuatum Broun 1908
  • Mecodema ventriculum Broun 1923 [2]

Mecodema crenicolle is an endemic species of ground beetle from New Zealand.

Taxonomy[]

This species was described by François-Louis Laporte de Castelnau, a french naturalist in 1867. The type specimen is in the Genoa Museum, Italy.[2]

Description[]

Mecodema crenicolle is a medium-large ground beetle with a length of 22–29 mm. As a member of the ducale group of Mecodema species, the pronotum carina is strongly crenulated and outer striae are coarsely punctured with star-shaped asetose punctures. These punctures are irregularly placed and deeper in the outer striae. A distinguishing character of M. crenicolle from its sister species, M. crenaticolle[3] is that the punctures in elytral stria 7 are larger than stria 8 and cannot be distinguished at the base of the elytra.[2]

Habitat and ecology[]

M. crenicolle is a burrowing ground beetle that lives in native forests, pine plantations and pastures. Their elevational distribution ranges from lowland to mountainous forests.[4] Like all Mecodema species, M. crenicolle is flightless and a predator of other invertebrates.[4]

Distribution[]

This species may have both a North Island and South Island distribution. North Island specimens exist, including the type specimen from Auckland and specimens from the Bay of Plenty due to the synonomy of M. variolosum by Britton.[4] However, these could be errors, as it has rarely been collected on the North Island and may therefore may only be found in Marlborough, Nelson and the Brunner District in the South Island.[4][2]

References[]

  1. ^ "NZOR Name Details - Mecodema crenicolle Laporte de Castelnau, 1867". www.nzor.org.nz. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d 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.
  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.
  4. ^ a b c d Larochelle, A.; Larivière, M.-C (2001). "Carabidae (Insecta: Coleoptera): catalogue" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand Series. 43: 53. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
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