Hadramphus tuberculatus
Hadramphus tuberculatus | |
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Species: | H. tuberculatus
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Binomial name | |
Hadramphus tuberculatus (Pascoe, 1877)
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Hadramphus tuberculatus (known as the Canterbury knobbed weevil, Spaniard weevil or Banks Peninsula speargrass weevil) is a rare weevil endemic to the Christchurch area in the South Island of New Zealand. It was thought to be extinct from 1922 to 2004.
Description
H. tuberculatus is a flightless weevil with a knobbed back. It reaches a length of 11.7–16.3 millimetres (0.46–0.64 in) and a width of 6.5–8.3 mm (0.26–0.33 in). It has a dark brown body with greyish-brown scales.
Taxonomy
This species was first described by Francis Pascoe in 1877 using specimens collected in Canterbury and supplied by Charles Marcus Wakefield.[2]
Status
It was apparently common over the Canterbury Plains in the 1870s. The causes for its disappearance were possibly the removing of the speargrass, its host plant, by farmers and the arrival of rats in that region which had eaten the beetles. It was last seen in 1922 until it was rediscovered in late 2004 by research students of the University of Canterbury at Burkes Pass near Lake Tekapo, South Canterbury, New Zealand.[3][4] It is now listed as nationally endangered in the red list of New Zealand and as critically endangered in IUCN Red List 2014.[1] A detailed ecological study conducted by researchers at Lincoln University in 2009–2011 estimated the population size at Burkes Pass to be only 138 individuals in 2009 which gradually decreased each year to 76 in 2011.[5]
Gallery of images
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Hadramphus tuberculatus with pollen from Aciphylla aurea flower on rostrum
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Hadramphus tuberculatus recaptured during mark recapture study at Burkes Pass Scenic Reserve
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Captive rearing study of Hadramphus tuberculatus on a young Aciphylla aurea in an enclosure at Lincoln University
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Hadramphus tuberculatus on Aciphylla aurea plant.
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Hadramphus tuberculatus illustrated by Des Helmore.
References
- ^ a b Chinn, W. (2014). "Hadramphus tuberculatus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014. IUCN: e.T39307A21424332. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T39307A21424332.en. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- ^ Pascoe, Francis P. (1877). "Descriptions of new Genera and Species of New Zealand Coleoptera. — Part IV". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 4. 19: 142. ISSN 0374-5481 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- ^ Beston, Anne (May 25, 2005). "'Extinct' bug found alive and well in high-country reserve". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
- ^ Young, L. M.; Marris, J. W. M.; Pawson, S. M. (2008). "Back from extinction: Rediscovery of the Canterbury knobbled weevil Hadramphus tuberculatus(Pascoe 1877) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), with a review of its historical distribution". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 35 (4): 323. doi:10.1080/03014220809510129.
- ^ Fountain, E. D.; Wiseman, B. H.; Cruickshank, R. H.; Paterson, A. M. (2013). "The ecology and conservation of Hadramphus tuberculatus (Pascoe 1877) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Molytinae)" (PDF). Journal of Insect Conservation. 17 (4): 737. doi:10.1007/s10841-013-9557-9.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikispecies-logo.svg/34px-Wikispecies-logo.svg.png)
- Description and Image, PDF
- Image of a Museum specimen, PDF
- Past distribution of large weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the South Island, New Zealand, based on Holocene fossil remains
- Discovery brings weevil back from the brink
- Knobbled weevil discussed on Radio New Zealand's Critter of the Week, 23 October 2015