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Photo#1762647
Beetle, dorsal - Melanophila atropurpurea

Beetle, dorsal - Melanophila atropurpurea
Gila National Forest, Catron County, New Mexico, USA
August 16, 2019
Size: 7.6 mm Body Length
Download high resolution image here.

This subject came to a mercury vapor lamp set-up at 33°22'01.3N 108°04'23.4W, 6846 ft elevation, Wall Lake 7.5' quadrangle, about 1.5 miles north of Wall Lake near State Route 61 (Forest Road 150), Gila National Forest, Catron Co., NM. Many other images from this event are posted. I collected representative specimens of most, and can follow up with high resolution images of selected ones if needed. Size is determined from the sheet it's on having 80 by 100 threads per inch.

Followup:
I collected this specimen, and have linked high resolution images sufficient to confirm it as M. atropurpurea, based on the key of Cobos 1986 (1) and the original description of Say 1823 (2). The high resolution ventral view shows one of the pair of infrared receptors that members of this genus use to identify forest fires (3)(4).

Images of this individual: tag all
Beetle, dorsal - Melanophila atropurpurea Beetle, dorsal - Melanophila atropurpurea Beetle, ventral - Melanophila atropurpurea Beetle, ventral close-up of left mesocoxa and infrared receptor - Melanophila atropurpurea Beetle, anterior - Melanophila atropurpurea

Moved
Moved from Melanophila.
See Followup in Remarks above.

Moved
Moved from Metallic Wood-boring Beetles.

Thanks, Norm. I have flagged for high resolution imaging to help resolve species.

Melanophila sp., probably M. atropurpurea
Melanophila sp., probably M. atropurpurea

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