Mecodema chaiup

Mecodema chaiup is a large-bodied ground beetle species found in Mohi Bush Scenic Reserve, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. A single specimen was found beneath a large log in 2008. Since then a number of intensive pitfall trap surveys of Mohi Bush have failed to collect further specimens.

Mecodema chaiup
The only known specimen of M.chaiup, found in 2008.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Carabidae
Genus:
Mecodema
Species:
M. chaiup
Binomial name
Mecodema chaiup
Seldon, 2015

Diagnosis

M. chaiup is distinguished from other North Island Mecodema by:

  1. Narrow elytra (narrower than the pronotum at the widest point)
  2. Distinct asetose punctures in a confused pattern that are irregular in size and shape[1]

Description

Length 31 mm, pronotal width 8.5 mm, elytral width 6.5 mm. Colour of entire body matte black, except for the femur and tibiae which are dark reddish-brown.[2]

Natural History

Flightless and presumably a nocturnal predator of a range of ground invertebrates (e.g., spiders, carabids, worms), as are the other members of the genus.

References
  1. Seldon, David S.; Buckley, Thomas 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.
  2. Seldon, D.S. (2015). "A unique species of Mecodema (Carabidae: Broscini) from the Hawke's Bay region, New Zealand, with implications for North–South Island zoogeography". New Zealand Entomologist. 38 (1): 28–35.


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