''Mecodema aberrans'' is a medium-sized (14.6–19.5 mm length, 5.3–6.5 mm width) ground beetle endemic to the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, New Zealand. This species is within the ''curvidens'' group and is one of three species that is a braided-river ecotype. It occurs in Otago and Canterbury.

Description

The body colour of the species varies from black (dorsal) to brown (ventral), legs may be a red-brown. To reduce the abrasion of the ventral abdomen, ventrites 3–5 are covered in a large number of setae, which is one of the distinguishing features of this species. To further identify ''M. aberrans'' from other ''

Mecodema ''Mecodema'' is a genus of large flightless ground beetle (Carabidae) endemic to New Zealand. The genus is very diverse in comparison to the other three New Zealand genera ('' Diglymma'', '' Oregus'', '' Orthoglymma'') within the subtribe Noth ...

'' species there is a difference in the size of the asetose punctures along elytral striae 9 in comparison to striae 1.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q85784641 aberrans Beetles of New Zealand Beetles described in 1868