Prodontria lewisi

Prodontria lewisi
Conservation status

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus: Prodontria
Species: P. lewisi
Binomial name
Prodontria lewisi
Broun, 1904

Prodontria lewisi (common name Cromwell chafer beetle) is a species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae. It is endemic to New Zealand.

Description

This large beetle has pale reddish-brown elytra which are strongly convex and feature deep lines passing along their length. Females are longer and wider than males, but males have longer tibiae.

Habitat

The habitat of the beetle is the Cromwell sandy loam dune system.

The only known location is an 81 hectare reserve, between Bannockburn and Cromwell, New Zealand. The reserve was created in 1983 and, at the time, was the only reserve in the world created solely for an invertebrate. The introduced hedgehog preys on the beetle.[1]

In 1996 it was declared critically endangered on the IUCN Red list.[2]

See also

References

  1. Taylor, Rowan (1997). The State of New Zealand’s Environment, 1997. Wellington, N.Z.: Ministry for the Environment. ISBN 0-478-09000-5. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  2. World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. Prodontria lewisi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 August 2007.
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