Clown Beetle
S6, Sculpture
Ellura
Clown Beetle
S4, Wing Edges
 
                      
Clown Beetle (Saprinus sp)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Beetles (Coleoptera)
Family: Clown Beetle (Histeridae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Clown Beetle (Saprinus sp)
This Photo:     🔍S6, Clown Colours🔎

Thank you Mark Hura for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Quite small @ 4.5 to 7mm, with large mandibles, for it's size, and wide legs clearly used for digging.
Very metallic blue/green back/elytra and metallic yellow/gold shield/pronotum.
Club like antennae. Notice the body is covered in scores & pits almost sculptured; these are the same on all speciemens so conclude they are not damage marks.
The dirt on specimen four (S4) highlights the edge of the elytra quite well.

Copyright © 2019-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 15-May-2019
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.