This species of flat beetle was first recorded from the Three Kings Islands in 1986. It was described in 2001 and named Platisus zelandicus. It may once have lived on the New Zealand mainland and become extinct during the ice ages – surviving only on the warmer Three Kings. Little is known about the beetle’s biology, but it seems likely that the adults and larvae are predators.
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Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand
Reference:
In0519Mrt
Photograph by John Marris
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