| Three Kings click beetle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Amychus manawatawhi by Joanna Liddiard | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Elateridae |
| Genus: | Amychus |
| Species: | A. manawatawhi |
| Binomial name | |
| Amychus manawatawhi | |
Amychus manawatawhi, commonly known as the Three Kings click beetle, is a large flightless click beetle in the family Elateridae, found only on the Three Kings Islands of New Zealand.
This species was named and described by John Marris and Paul J. Johnson in 2010, based on a type specimen collected in 2006 at Lighthouse Bush on Great Island, Three Kings; the holotype was deposited in the Lincoln University Entomology Research Collection (LUNZ). [2] [3]
The name manawatawhi is taken from the Māori name for Great Island, Manawa Tawhi, which translates as "panting breath", referring to the feat of Te Aopuri chief Rauru swimming to the island from the mainland. [4]
Adult A. manawatawhi can be distinguished from other Amychus species by its lack of small nodules on the back, especially on the head and elytra, compared to A. granulatus and A. candezei . [2] It is the largest of the three Amychus species, ranging from 16 to 24 mm. It has a flattened body shape and small vestigial wings. [2] Click beetles are named for their ability to make an audible click when on their back to jump into the air. [5] However, Amychus do not have the ability to defend themselves in this way. [6]
This species has only been collected from Great Island and South West Island in the Three Kings group. These islands have been isolated from the New Zealand mainland since the late Miocene, and have numerous endemic species; it seems likely that A. manawatawhi evolved on the Three Kings and has always been restricted to those islands. [2]
The adult beetle has been collected at night from logs and the trunks of tree species such as Cordyline kaspar , Kunzea sinclairii and Meryta sinclairi , and by day from pitfall traps, litter samples, and under logs and rocks. Only a single larva has been collected, from South West Island. [2] [7]
A. manawatawhi has been classified as "Naturally Uncommon" by the Department of Conservation. [7] Goats were introduced to Great Island in 1889, but removed in 1946. [1]
The Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands are a group of 13 uninhabited islands about 55 kilometres (34 mi) northwest of Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua, New Zealand, where the South Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea converge. They measure 6.85 km2 (2.64 sq mi) in area. The islands are on a submarine plateau, the Three Kings Bank, and are separated from the New Zealand mainland by an 8 km wide, 200 to 300 m deep submarine trough. Therefore, despite relative proximity to the mainland, the islands are listed with the New Zealand Outlying Islands. The islands are an immediate part of New Zealand, but not part of any region or district, but instead Area Outside Territorial Authority, like all the other outlying islands except the Solander Islands.
The Brothers is a group of small islands in Cook Strait, New Zealand, off the east coast of Arapaoa Island.
Xylotoles costatus, the Pitt Island longhorn beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It is endemic to the Chatham Islands. Once thought to be extinct, it is now known to survive on South East Island/Rangatira; being therefore an example of a so-called "Lazarus taxon".
Anagotus stephenensis, commonly known as the ngaio weevil, is a large flightless weevil that is only found on Stephens Island in New Zealand. The ngaio weevil was discovered in 1916 by A.C. O'Connor on Stephens Island. Thomas Broun described it in 1921 as Phaeophanus oconnori after its collector. The weevils were observed at the time to be 'feeding on tall fescue and the leaves of trees'.
Anagotus fairburni or flax weevil is a large flightless weevil. It feeds on leaves of New Zealand flax species where it produces a characteristic feeding notch. It is found on islands and in alpine areas of New Zealand.
Geodorcus helmsi or Helms's stag beetle is a large, slow-moving, flightless stag beetle in the family Lucanidae. It is endemic to New Zealand.
Turbott's weevil is a weevil that is endemic to New Zealand. It has been found on the Hen and Chicken Islands, the Poor Knights Islands and the Three Kings Islands.
Amychus granulatus, commonly known as the Cook Strait click beetle, is a large flightless click beetle in the family Elateridae.
Cerius otagensis is a species of flightless fungus weevil that is endemic to New Zealand. It has been found in only two locations in the Central Otago region.
Hadramphus spinipennis, commonly called the coxella weevil, is a large, nocturnal, flightless weevil only found on Mangere and Rangatira Islands in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
Geodorcus capito is a large flightless species of stag beetle in the family Lucanidae. It is endemic to the Chatham Islands in New Zealand.
Geodorcus alsobius, or Moehau stag beetle, is a large flightless species of stag beetle in the family Lucanidae. It is found only on Mt Moehau, the highest mountain in the Moehau Range on the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand.
Geodorcus auriculatus is a large flightless stag beetle that is found in the southern part of the Coromandel Peninsula and on Mount Te Aroha in the Kaimai range of New Zealand.
Geodorcus ithaginis, the Mokohinau stag beetle, is a large flightless species of stag beetle in the family Lucanidae. It was described by Thomas Broun in 1893 after being discovered in the Mokohinau Islands by Andreas Stewart Sandager, a lighthouse keeper on the islands. The species survives only on the small unnamed island "Stack H", in a patch of vegetation the size of a living room, and is in extreme danger of extinction.
Geodorcus sororum is a large flightless species of stag beetle in the family Lucanidae. It was discovered in 1973 by Mr. A. Wright on an expedition to Middle Sister Island/Te Awanui, one of The Sisters Islands/Rangitatahi which are part of the Chatham Islands in New Zealand. This holotype specimen is held in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection. It was first described by Beverley Holloway in 2007. The name sororum is translated from Latin to mean "belonging to the sisters".
Holcaspis brevicula, the Eyrewell ground beetle, is a species of carabid beetle native to New Zealand, one of a number of small black flightless beetles in the genus Holcaspis that inhabit the dry eastern lowlands of the South Island. H. brevicula is very rare—only ten specimens have ever been collected—and critically endangered: the species was found only in Eyrewell Forest, a single plantation of exotic pine trees currently being converted into dairy farms.
Creophilus rekohuensis is a beetle of the Staphylinidae family, subfamily Staphylininae. This species occurs only on some small predator-free islands in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, where it lives in seabird burrows. Its name derives from Rekohu, the Moriori name for Chatham Island.
Coptomma marrisi is a species of longhorn beetle only known from Great Island in the Three Kings Islands, New Zealand.
The Lincoln University Entomology Research Collection is a collection of approximately 500,000 insect, spider, and other arthropod specimens housed in Lincoln University, New Zealand. One of New Zealand's largest insect research collections, it is the only one based in a university.
Ampedus is a genus of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are currently 461 recognized species of Ampedus beetles. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, but is found mostly in the Holarctic region, primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. The oldest known fossil from this genus was found in Eocene Baltic amber, estimated to be from 38.0–33.9 million years ago.
