Saprinus splendens

Saprinus splendens
Saprinus splendens from Somalia. Museum specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Superfamily:	Histeroidea
Family:	Histeridae
Subfamily:	Histerinae
Genus:	Saprinus
Species:	S. splendens
Binomial name
Saprinus splendens (Paykull, 1811)
Synonyms
Saprinus rasselas Marseul, 1855[1] Hister splendens Paykull, 1811 Hister elegans Paykull, 1811 Saprinus speciosus Erichson, 1834 Hister cyaneus Boisduval, 1835 Saprinus viridicupreus Blanchard, 1853 Saprinus advena Marseul, 1855 Saprinus ovalis Marseul, 1855 Saprinus ater MacLeay, 1864 Saprinus splendens elegans (Paykull, 1811): G. Müller, 1938 [2]

Saprinus splendens is a species of clown beetles belonging to the family Histeridae. ^[3]

Description

These beetles can reach a length of about 3.7–7 millimetres (0.15–0.28 in). Females are longer than males. They are very variable in size, punctation and color. Body is oval, weakly convex and shiny. Pronotum is yellowish-green, while elytra may be shimy dark blue or bottle green or reddish. Elytra show three-four external dorsal striae and a punctation quite variable in density, area and size.^[2]

Distribution

This species is widely distributed. It is present from the Republic of South Africa through tropical Africa, Arabia, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Pakistan, most of the Oriental Region and Japan. ^[2] It has been introduced in Australia from South Africa. It is present in the Northern Territory, Queensland, South and Western Australia. ^[4]

References