| Dinacoma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dinacoma caseyi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Superfamily: | Scarabaeoidea |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Subfamily: | Melolonthinae |
| Tribe: | Melolonthini |
| Genus: | Dinacoma Casey, 1889 |
| Species | |
see text | |
Dinacoma is a small genus of beetles in the scarab family (Scarabaeidae).
In 2006, entomologists indicated that there were two apparently new species or subspecies of Dinacoma, collected respectively from near the city of Hemet, California, and in the northwest portion of Joshua Tree National Park, California, at Covington Flats. [1] As of 2022, these specimens of Dinacoma have not been formally described in the scientific literature, but expert evaluation places them in the Dinacoma marginata species group. [2] La Rue (2006 , p. 2) stated that Dinacoma caseyi is the most morphologically divergent and distinct species in the genus. The new specimens collected from the Hemet area are paler than Casey's June beetle specimens and possess morphologically different genitalia. [2] Furthermore, the Little San Bernardino Mountains geographically isolate the new Dinacoma Joshua Tree population from all other known Dinacoma species.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation", the ESA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973. The Supreme Court of the United States described it as "the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation". The purposes of the ESA are two-fold: to prevent extinction and to recover species to the point where the law's protections are not needed. It therefore "protect[s] species and the ecosystems upon which they depend" through different mechanisms. For example, section 4 requires the agencies overseeing the Act to designate imperiled species as threatened or endangered. Section 9 prohibits unlawful 'take,' of such species, which means to "harass, harm, hunt..." Section 7 directs federal agencies to use their authorities to help conserve listed species. The Act also serves as the enacting legislation to carry out the provisions outlined in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
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Heterelmis stephani was a rare species of aquatic beetle known by the common name Stephan's riffle beetle. It was endemic to Arizona in the United States, where it occurred in the Santa Rita Mountains before being declared presumed extinct. It was brown in color with small black dots on its wings.
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This article incorporates public domain material from Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the Casey’s June Beetle (Dinacoma caseyi) as Endangered With Critical Habitat (PDF). United States Fish and Wildlife Service.