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πŸͺ² Beetles

New Zealand Sand Scarab

Pericoptus truncatus

Near Threatened

About

A large flightless scarab beetle endemic to sandy coastal habitats in New Zealand. It is nocturnal and burrows in sand dunes during the day. Once common on beaches, it has become increasingly rare due to habitat modification and introduced predators.

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Did You Know?

This beetle was once so common on beaches that Maori used it as fish bait, but predation by introduced rodents has severely reduced its numbers.