Horse-nosed Weevil
Male, posterior
Ellura
Horse-nosed Weevil
Male, ventral
 
                      
Horse-nosed Weevil (Pelororhinus crassus)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Beetles (Coleoptera)
Family: True Weevil (Curculionoidea: Curculionidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Horse-nosed Weevil (Pelororhinus crassus)
This Photo:     Male, Snout

Thank you Boris Büche for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
A medium sized weevil at ~14mm long weight ~0.1gm.
The antennae point back slightly, rather than foreward like many other weevils. Covered in very short coloured scales, with long hairs around the muzzle.
Very long legs and large feet that can hold onto glass, just.
This specimen flew past us straight into a senna bush ~5m in front of us. Beetles fly quite differently to flies. Much slower, quite combersome, with the body hanging.
Shape is very important to weevil identification; much more than colour. Notice the way the pronotum is extended over the head, and the way the head indents (in profile) to make a face and separate muzzle. Broad-nosed weevils have a straight line from the forehead to the tip of the snout.
This is probably male because of the less humped back.
The face is diagnostic and leads to this species. The body colours & patterns are a bit variable.

Copyright © 2019-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 13-Sep-2019
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.