Anoplognathus aureus explained

Anoplognathus aureus, commonly known as the gold Christmas beetle, is a beetle of the family Scarabaeidae native to northern Australia,^[1] from northeastern Queensland to northern Western Australia. It is prized by collectors.^[2]

English entomologist Charles Owen Waterhouse described the gold Christmas beetle in 1889.^[3] The species name is the Latin adjective aureus "golden". The Reverend Thomas Blackburn described Calloodes frenchi in 1890, from a specimen given to him by Australian entomologist Charles French. Blackburn doubted the genus Calloodes was distinct from Anoplognathus.^[4] Blackburn described Anoplognathus concinnus in 1900, which turned out to be a red-brown colour variant of this species.^[5]

The beetle is a brass-gold,^[3] gold or shiny red-brown colour with red-brown legs. Red-brown beetles have a gold sheen on their mesosternum and abdomen, and behind the head.^[5] The male is 12.5– long, while the female is 14.5– long. The margins of the male's scutellum have a purple tinge. The male's clypeus has a narrowed apex while that of the female has a more rounded shape. The elytra are smooth or have fine grooves along the sides. The pygidium is shallowly convex in profile.^[6]

It is found in north Queensland from Cairns and Mossman south to Innisfail, and has been recorded from Broome in Western Australia.^[7] It is not commonly encountered.^[2]

It has been recorded on Hibiscus tiliaceus, Breynia cernua and Tristemma mauritianum.^[6] There is some evidence it attacks sugarcane crops on the Atherton Tableland.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Species Anoplognathus aureus Waterhouse, 1889 . Australian Biological Resources Study. 17 December 2010. Australian Faunal Directory. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. 16 December 2015. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
2. Book: Hangay, George . Zborowski, Paul . A Guide to the Beetles of Australia. CSIRO Publishing. Collingwood, Victoria. 2010. 99 . 978-0-643-10193-7.
3. Waterhouse. Charles Own. . Descriptions of two new Coleoptera in the British Museum (Buprestidae and Rutelidae). Annals of Natural History. 1889. 3. 16 . 360–61. 10.1080/00222938909460345.
4. Blackburn. Thomas. Notes on Australian Coleoptera, with descriptions of new species. Part VI. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 1890. 15. 147–56 [148].
5. XLI.— Notes on Ruteline Coleoptera and descriptions of a few new species in the British Museum . Arrow. Gilbert J. . Journal of Natural History . 1919 . 4. 24. 379–85 . 10.1080/00222931908673907.
6. Carne. P.B.. A revision of the ruteline genus Anoplognathus Leach (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Australian Journal of Zoology. 1957. 5. 1. 88–143 [127]. 10.1071/zo9570088.
7. Carne. P.B.. Three new species of anoplognathus leach, and new distribution records for poorly known species (coleoptera: scarabaeidea: rutelinae). Austral Entomology. 1981. 20. 4. 289–294. 10.1111/j.1440-6055.1981.tb01049.x. 85151754 .
8. Sallam. N.. D.J.W.. Burgess. G.E.. Lowe. Peck. D.R.. Survey of sugarcane pests and their natural enemies on the Atherton Tableland, far north Queensland. Proc Aust Soc Sugar Cane Technol. 2011. 33. 1–8. 2017-12-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20170812044348/https://www.assct.com.au/media/pdfs/Ag%2016%20Sallam%20et%20al.pdf. 2017-08-12. dead.