Mecodema chaiup

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

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 by D.S. Seldon and C.P. Martin (who it is named after). Since then a number of intensive pitfall trap surveys of Mohi Bush have failed to collect further specimens.

Diagnosis

Mecodema 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): zootaxa.4598.1.1. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4598.1.1. ISSN   1175-5334. PMID   31716064. S2CID   164710644.
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. Bibcode:2015NZEnt..38...28S. doi:10.1080/00779962.2014.936105. S2CID   84454022.