| Mecodema aberrans | |
|---|---|
| |
| Dorsal view of specimen | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Carabidae |
| Genus: | Mecodema |
| Species: | M. aberrans |
| Binomial name | |
| Mecodema aberrans (Putzeys, 1868) | |
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 and is one of three species that is a braided-river ecotype. It occurs in Otago and Canterbury.
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.
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.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Mecodema aberrans | |