''Mecyclothorax molokaiae'' is a species of
ground beetle in the subfamily
Psydrinae.
It was described by Sharp in 1903.
[
]
Distribution
Occurs on the island of Molokai
Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...
of the Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
at elevations ranging from 900 to 1380 m. This species has been found in the tree fern '' Cibotium'' and in the myrtle plant ''Metrosideros
''Metrosideros'' is a genus of approximately 60 trees, shrubs, and vines mostly found in the Pacific region in the family Myrtaceae. Most of the tree forms are small, but some are exceptionally large, the New Zealand species in particular. The n ...
''.
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1903 by the English entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
David Sharp (1840–1922), and its valid status was confirmed in a revision carried out in 2007 by the American coleopterologist
Coleopterology (from Coleoptera and Greek , ''-logia'') is the scientific study of beetles, a branch of entomology. Practitioners are termed coleopterists and form groups of amateurs and professionals for business and pleasure. Among these is Th ...
James K. Liebherr of Cornell University.[Sharp D. 1903. Coleoptera, Caraboidea. In Sharp D. (ed.). Fauna Hawaiiensis 3. University Press, Cambridge: pp. 175-292.]
References
molokaiae
Beetles described in 1903
{{Psydrinae-stub