Xylotoles costatus

Xylotoles costatus
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Cerambycidae
Subfamily:	Lamiinae
Genus:	Xylotoles
Species:	X. costatus
Binomial name
Xylotoles costatus Pascoe, 1875

Xylotoles costatus, the Pitt Island longhorn beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. Originally thought to be extinct in 1986, it was found again during 1996 on South East Island/Rangatira in the Chatham Islands; the species is now considered a Lazarus taxon.^[1]

Description and identification

Identification of Xylotoles costatus is difficult as it is very similar in appearance to another longhorn beetle found in the Chatham Islands, Xylotoles traversii. Both species are coloured black with a green bronze sheen, however it is likely that X. costatus has more of a bronze sheen than X. traversii. Of the two species X. costatus also has the more pronounced ridges on its wing cases. Generally X. traversii is the smaller beetle of the two, but the size of the two species can overlap. However if a longhorn beetle specimen is found in the Chatham Islands that is greater than 16 mm in length it is likely to be X. costatus.^[2]

References

1. McGuinness, C.A. "Xylotoles costatus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
2. Emberson, R.M. and Marris, J.W.M. (1993). Xylotoles costatus Pitt Island Longhorn: a manual with aids to identification (Report). Lincoln University. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 29 April 2016.

External Links

• Image of the Type specimen from the Natural History Museum, London.