Heterochelus arthriticus

Heterochelus arthriticus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Scarabaeiformia
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus: Heterochelus
Species:
H. arthriticus
Binomial name
Heterochelus arthriticus
(Fabricius, 1781)
Synonyms
  • Melolontha arthritica Fabricius, 1781
  • Melolontha abbreviata Fabricius, 1781

Heterochelus arthriticus is a species of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae.[1] It is found in South Africa (Western Cape).[2][3]

Description

Adults reach a length of about 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in). Males are black, with the elytra fuscous brown. The scutellum is sparsely covered with greyish-white scales which narrowly edge the propygidium and the segments of the abdomen. The pygidium is without any scales. The head and pronotum are clothed with a dense, moderately short, black pubescence. The elytra are clothed with a dense appressed dark pubescence. Females are black, with the elytra light testaceous. The pubescence on the pronotum is longer and lighter, the scales are more like squamose hairs on the propygidium and the abdominal segments. The pygidium is without scales and is pubescent.[3]

References

  1. ^ BioLib
  2. ^ Schoolmeesters, P. (2025). "Heterochelus arthriticus at Catalogue of Life". World Scarabaeidae Database (version 2025-10-07). In O. Bánki, Y. Roskov, M. Döring, G. Ower, D. R. Hernández Robles, C. A. Plata Corredor, T. Stjernegaard Jeppesen, A. Örn, T. Pape, D. Hobern, S. Garnett, H. Little, R. E. DeWalt, J. Miller, T. Orrell, & R. Aalbu, Catalogue of Life (2026-01-16). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Catalogue of Life Foundation. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  3. ^ a b Péringuey, L. (1902). "Descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa (Lucanidae and Scarabaeidae), Sub-families: Rutelinae, Hopliinae". Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society. 12: 561–920. Retrieved March 11, 2026. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.