Exciting sighting!!
Hi everyone,
Thanks to everyone who has joined the project- we've had a huge growth in numbers over the last week.
I'm very excited to share our 'sighting of the week': the absolutely gorgeous Anoplognathus multiseriatus
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1294859-Anoplognathus-multiseriatus
Prior to this project, the last sightings of A. multiseriatus were in the late 1970's. We've now recorded sightings from three separate observers this year. We have consulted with our collaborators at the Australian Museum and confirmed that the identifications are correct. This is exactly the kind of data we hoped to get from the project.
So what does this new sighting mean? We're not sure yet. It may be that A. multiseriatus is relatively common and simply hasn't been formally collected in the last few decades. It's also possible that the species has declined, but is still around in small pockets of natural bushland (all three sightings are from a small geographical area). More data is needed before we can start to make conclusions. Nevertheless, this is hugely exciting and shows the power of community science!
Happy beetle hunting everyone!!
Comments
FYI Tanya this sighting was made at the Cooloola bioblitz. An all-weekend event organised by Cooloola Coastcare.
My sighting from 2020 has also been given this ID. It was not far from where these new sightings are. The issue with the location where I found them, is that it's a small area used as a firebreak and the vegetation is regularly slashed off there, so on the occasions I've returned, there are no plants there to find them on. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67353121
There is another likely observation here from last year on Fraser Island:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101840591
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