Heterochelus murinus

Heterochelus murinus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Scarabaeiformia
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus: Heterochelus
Species:
H. murinus
Binomial name
Heterochelus murinus
Synonyms
  • Heterochelus castaneipennis Blanchard, 1850

Heterochelus murinus 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 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in). They are similar to Heterochelus gonager. They are also black with red legs, and the shape of the elytra and hind legs is similar, but instead of being flavescent or yellow, the scales covering the pronotum, scutellum, elytra, propygidium, and sides of abdomen are greyish white or slightly flavescent. The scales on the elytra are very small, very elongate, somewhat in the shape of a squamose hair, and the whole pygidium, which is very strongly convex in the centre, is glabrous and shining black.[3]

References

  1. ^ BioLib
  2. ^ Schoolmeesters, P. (2025). "Heterochelus murinus 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 9, 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 9, 2026. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.