Mecodema atuanui was described from a single male specimen collected in pitfall traps on Mount Auckland (Atuanui), Kaipara Region. It is a medium-length ground beetle that is related to Mecodema spiniferum,[1] which is the only large-lengthed ground beetle species found in the Waitākere Ranges, Auckland, rather than the more geographically close species (M. dunnorum) to the east in Puhoi.
| Mecodema atuanui | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Carabidae |
| Genus: | Mecodema |
| Species: | M. atuanui
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mecodema atuanui Seldon & Buckley 2019
| |
Diagnosis edit
Distinguished from other North Island Mecodema species by having:
- a lobate labrum;
- vertexal groove defined by punctures along the entire length;
- elytral intervals 3 and 5 significantly broadened than otherintervals;
- the distinctively narrow width of the apical portion of the penis lobe.[1]
Description edit
Length 24.9 mm, pronotal width 6.7 mm, elytral width 7.9 mm. Colour of entire body matte black, except coxae and legs dark reddish-brown.[1]
Natural History edit
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