Anoplognathus sp. (genus)

Unidentified Christmas beetle at Tura Beach, NSW

Anoplognathus sp. (genus) at Tura Beach, NSW - 1 Jan 2017 08:03 AM
Anoplognathus sp. (genus) at Tura Beach, NSW - 1 Jan 2017 08:03 AM
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Identification history

Anoplognathus sp. (genus) 4 Oct 2024 HaukeKoch
Anoplognathus porosus 20 Sep 2024 MichaelMulvaney
Anoplognathus porosus 3 Jan 2017 KimPullen
CHRYSOMELIDAE (family) 1 Jan 2017 Panboola

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User's notes

Not sure of species

3 comments

KimPullen wrote:
   7 Jan 2017
Hi Jackie, I went for A. porosus based on the pale wing cases with a longitudinal pattern, the colour of the pronotum, and the slight bulge in the sides of the elytra around the mid-point. But I'd like to check the ID against reliably identified specimens, as A. porosus is quite variable and there may be other spp. on the coast that I'm not familiar with.
HaukeKoch wrote:
   3 Jan 2024
It's very broad, from that and the colouration I would suspect A. olivieri. That species still seems quite common, including around urban areas, along the Australian East Coast in our Christmas Beetle project. Best would be to have a view of the pygidium, which is drawn out and pointy with an apical tuft of setae.
HaukeKoch wrote:
   4 Oct 2024
I've set it back to Anoplognathus sp. as I think it's more likely a female A. olivieri. Ideally, a view of the pygidium is best to distinguish between the two (and A. pallidicollis, which can also look similar). The male clypeus is also much broader in shovel-like in A. olivieri. For comparison, here are some images of A. olivieri and A. porosus from the area (A. porosus is quite variable in terms of the colouration and patterning on the elytra across it's range):

A. olivieri:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=-36.50875819474151&nelng=150.47078690777164&swlat=-37.482709761110456&swlng=149.67427811870914&taxon_id=519430

A. porosus:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=-35.235754037276045&nelng=150.75643143902164&swlat=-37.482709761110456&swlng=149.54244218120914&taxon_id=201879

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