Cromwell chafer beetle
| Prodontria lewisi | |
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| Species: | P. lewisi
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| Binomial name | |
| Prodontria lewisi Broun, 1904
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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
- ^ 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.
- ^ World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. Prodontria lewisi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 August 2007.
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