Mecodema dunnorum

Mecodema dunnorum
Dorsal view of Mecodema dunnorum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Carabidae
Genus:	Mecodema
Species:	M. dunnorum
Binomial name
Mecodema dunnorum Seldon & Buckley, 2019

Mecodema dunnorum is a large-bodied ground beetle in the Mecodema genus found in some native forest remnants (e.g., and ) in the Puhoi area, north Auckland, New Zealand.^[1] It is one of six endemic Mecodema species that are found in the Auckland entomological region, as per Crosby et al. 1976.^[2]

This beetle was named after Val Dunn and her late husband Arthur Dunn for there conservation work in the Puhoi-Warkworth areas of north Auckland. Both the bush reserves were covenanted by the Dunn family, so that there were native forest remnants south of the Puhoi River.

Diagnosis[]

Differing from other North Island Mecodema species by the:

1. vertexal groove shallow, more impressed laterally, unpunctured, but large dimples laterally;
2. prothoracic carina broad the entire length, smooth with 14–17 setae along each side;
3. distinctive shape of apical portion of the penis lobe.^[1]

Natural history[]

Further research is required.

References[]

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