Rhopaea

Brown cockchafer Rhopaea magnicornis, from Brisbane Insects.

Belongs within: Melolonthini.

Rhopaea is an Australasian genus of chafers characterised by a dense dorsal covering of semi-erect setae and strongly toothed tarsal claws.

Characters (from Britton 1978): Anterior face of clypeus as deep as labrum, bearing scattered setiferous punctures all over its surface, not limited to a single transverse row; anterior edge of clypeus as seen from above straight or convex in the middle, never broadly bilobed; antenna 10-segmented with a 5- to 8-lamellate club, the lamellae much longer in the male than in the female; head, pronotum, scutellum and elytra clothed with short, fine, semierect setae, sometimes with sparse, long, erect setae in addition; never bearing scales; pronotum without defined or raised anterior and posterior margins; tarsal claws each with a strong tooth in the middle beneath; apices of parameres flanged.

Rhopaea Erichson 1847 HW92
    |--*R. verreauxii Blanchard 1851 HW92
    |--R. assimilis Blackburn 1911 HW92
    |--R. australis (Blackburn 1888) [=Holophylla australis] HW92
    |--R. decipiens Lea 1919 HW92
    |--R. heterodactyla (Germar 1848) [=Melolontha heterodactyla; incl. R. soror Blackburn 1892] HW92
    |--R. hirtuosa Blackburn 1898 HW92
    |--R. laticollis Blackburn 1911 HW92
    |--R. magnicornis Blackburn 1888 HW92
    |--R. nigricollis Lea 1919 HW92
    `--R. pilosa Blackburn 1911 HW92

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

Britton, E. B. 1978. A revision of the Australian chafers (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) vol. 2. Tribe Melolonthini. Australian Journal of Zoology, Supplementary Series 60: 1–150.

[HW92] Houston, W. W. K., & T. A. Weir. 1992. Melolonthinae. In: Houston, W. W. K. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 9. Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea pp. 174–358. AGPS Press: Canberra.