Mecynorhina
Encyclopedia
Mecynorhina 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.
The genus is spread throughout the tropical African region.
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
.
According to the last work of De Palma & Frantz, the type species of the genus is Scarabaeus polyphemus Fabricius, 1781.
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 ugandensisMecynorhina ugandensisMecynorhina ugandensis is a beetle from the subfamily Cetoniinae, tribe Goliathini, it was described by Josef Moser in 1907.- Classification :...
(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
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
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
Vincent Allard
Vincent Allard was a Belgian entomologist.Born at Braine l'Alleud, south Brussels, Vincent Allard received his medical studies in France where he obtained several degrees from the University of Paris and Institut Pasteur in 1947 and 1948.In 1949 he was in the United States where he studied fungal...
.
New classification
Following De Palma & Frantz (l.c.), the genus is now divided in five subgenus:- MecynorhinaMecynorhinaMecynorhina 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.The genus is spread throughout the tropical African region.-...
Hope, 1837 - Mecynorrhinella Marais & Holm, 1992
- Chelorhinella De Palma & Frantz, 2010
- Megalorhina Westwood, 1847
- Amaurodes Westwood, 1844