The Australeuma mauriesi group

(Order Chordeumatida, family Metopidiotrichidae)

There are at least two species in this group, namely Australeuma mauriesi Shear & Mesibov, 1997 and A. golovatchi Shear & Mesibov, 1997. All forms have a striking colour pattern and paranota deflected downwards at roughly 45° from the horizontal. Species can only be positively identified by dissection and close examination of the male gonopods (click here for more on gonopods).

Australeuma in this group seem to be more abundant in wet forest at intermediate elevations (ca. 600-1000 m). First known collections are golovatchi in 1987 and mauriesi in 1983.

Localities for A. mauriesi (red), A. golovatchi (blue) and unidentified specimens in this group (gray). Scale bar = 100 km.
For an interactive map with more up-to-date localities, go to the mapper page.

More information:
 
Taxonomy - Shear & Mesibov (1997)
Distribution, conservation and general - Mesibov (1998a)