| Mecynorhina | |
|---|---|
| Mecynorhina ugandensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Subfamily: | Cetoniinae |
| Genus: | Mecynorhina Hope, 1837 |
| Type species | |
| Scarabaeus polyphemus Hope, 1837 |
|
Mecynorhina (with only one "r") are beetles from the subfamily Cetoniinae, tribe Goliathini. The genus was created by Hope, in 1837.
According to the last work of De Palma & Frantz, the type species of the genus is Scarabaeus polyphemus Fabricius, 1781[1].
The genus is spread throughout the tropical African region.
Formerly there were three species in the genus Mecynorhina:
Some authors designated ugandensis as a subspecies of torquata.
The rarest species was a very long time the Mecynorhina oberthuri, until Jean-Pierre Lequeux finds it in some forests of Tanzania where it is very common. This species is now reared by many amateurs.
The most variable species is Mecynorhina ugandensis where rarely two specimens are of the same aspect. Many variations have been illustrated by Allard[2].
Following De Palma & Frantz (l.c.), the genus is now divided in five subgenus: