Wedge-shaped Beetle
Dorsal
Murray Mallee Region
Christmas Beetle
Male, dorsal
 
                      
Wedge-shaped Beetle (Macrosiagon sp)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Beetles (Coleoptera)
Family: Wedge-shaped Beetle (Ripiphoridae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Wedge-shaped Beetle (Macrosiagon sp)
This Photo:     Antennae

Thank you Mark Hura for identifying and (Fornax313) for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found in the Murray Mallee SA and possibly elsewhere
Mark said "Most likely female Macrosiagon"
We commented that these could easily be mistaken for Pintail Beetles.
Mark responded "They are similar to the Mordellidae but in general the Ripiphoridae often (not always) have flabellate antennae (reduced in the females), while the Mordellidae have much simpler antennae (usually filiform or serrate at most). The most obvious difference is in the hind coxae, which is expanded in the Mordellidae, and much more slender in the Ripiphoridae, but this is difficult to see in most photos unless underside shots are taken."

Copyright © 2020-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 13-Mar-2020
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.