Mecynorhina

Mecynorhina
Mecynorhina ugandensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Scarabaeidae
Subfamily:	Cetoniinae
Genus:	Mecynorhina Hope, 1837
Type species
Scarabaeus polyphemus Hope, 1837

Mecynorhina (with only one "r") are beetles from the subfamily Cetoniinae, tribe Goliathini. The genus was created by Hope, in 1837.

According to the last work of De Palma & Frantz, the type species of the genus is Scarabaeus polyphemus Fabricius, 1781^[1].

The genus is spread throughout the tropical African region.

Species

Formerly there were three species in the genus Mecynorhina:

• Mecynorhina oberthuri (Fairmaire, 1903)
• Mecynorhina torquata (Drury, 1782)
• Mecynorhina ugandensis (Moser, 1907)

Some authors designated ugandensis as a subspecies of torquata.

The rarest species was a very long time the Mecynorhina oberthuri, until Jean-Pierre Lequeux finds it in some forests of Tanzania where it is very common. This species is now reared by many amateurs.

The most variable species is Mecynorhina ugandensis where rarely two specimens are of the same aspect. Many variations have been illustrated by Allard^[2].

New classification

Following De Palma & Frantz (l.c.), the genus is now divided in five subgenus:

• Mecynorhina Hope, 1837
• Mecynorrhinella Marais & Holm, 1992
• Chelorhinella De Palma & Frantz, 2010
• Megalorhina Westwood, 1847
• Amaurodes Westwood, 1844

References

1. ^ De Palma (M.) & Frantz (S.), 2010. Taxonomic revision of Megalorhina Westwood and subgeneric classification of Mecynorhina Hope, Natura Edizioni Scientifiche
2. ^ Allard (V.), 1986. Les Coléoptères du Monde, volume 7, Goliathini 3. Sciences Nat, Venette