Mecodema godzilla
{{Short description|Species of beetle}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Mecodema godzilla.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Dorsal view of the male specimen (holotype)
| genus = Mecodema
| species = godzilla
| authority = Seldon & Buckley, 2019
}}
Mecodema godzilla is a large-bodied ground beetle endemic to the North Island, New Zealand. It was described from two specimens, which are housed in two different entomological collections, the Auckland Museum and Lincoln University.
Diagnosis
Can be distinguished from other North Island Mecodema species by:
- its size (34–36 mm long and 11.5–13 mm wide);
- elytra truncated by steep apical slope;
- lateral carina broad and reflexed upward the entire length.{{Cite journal|last1=Seldon|first1=D.S.|last2=Buckley|first2=T.R.|date=2019|title=The genus Mecodema Blanchard 1853 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Broscini) from the North Island, New Zealand|url=https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4598.1.1|journal=Zootaxa|language=en|volume=4598|issue=1|pages=zootaxa.4598.1.1|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4598.1.1|pmid=31716064 |s2cid=164710644 |issn=1175-5334}}
Description
Natural history
Found on the scree and tussock slopes of Mt Ruapehu.