Mecynorhina


Mecynorhina are beetles from the subfamily Cetoniinae, tribe Goliathini. The genus was created by Frederick William Hope, in 1837.
According to the last work of De Palma & Frantz, the type species of the genus is Scarabaeus polyphemus Fabricius, 1781.
The genus is spread throughout the tropical African region.

Taxonomy

Former classification

Formerly there were three species in the genus Mecynorhina:
Some authors designated ugandensis as a subspecies of torquata.
Mecynorhina oberthuri was long thought to be the rarest species in its genus, however, Jean-Pierre Lequeux discovered that it is common in the forests of Tanzania. This species is now reared by many amateurs.
The most variable species is Mecynorhina ugandensis where rarely two specimens are of the same aspect. Many variations have been illustrated by Allard.

Current classification

Following De Palma & Frantz, the genus is now divided in five subgenera: