Macrotoma palmata (Fabricius, 1793)

Macrotoma palmata (Fabricius, 1793) View in CoL – tribe Macrotomini

Fig. 12 View Fig C-D

ETYMOLOGY

Which bears a hand print.

SIZE

Previous records: 25–73 mm; Kuzikus specimen (n=1): 55 mm.

PERIOD OF ADULT ACTIVITY

Present nearly all over the year.

MATERIAL EXAMINED

NAMIBIA • 1 ♀; Kuzikus Lodge ; 23°14’15”S 18°23’25”E; 22 Jan.–13 Feb. 2019; attracted to light; D. Schimrosczyk leg.; “Kuzikus Collection no 278”; MIZ GoogleMaps .

DISTRIBUTION

Species largely widespread, reported from about 30 countries in the African continent and in the Arabian Peninsula.

NOTE

From the 17 species composing the genus Macrotoma Audinet-Serville, 1832 , only two, M. natala Thomson, 1861 and M. palmata , are reported from Namibia.

Discussion

With 31 species of Cerambycidae recorded during this study, the Kuzikus Wildlife Reserve alone is home to almost 11% of Namibia’s longhorn beetle fauna. The biodiversity recorded for this group of beetles underlines the reserve’s importance in the arid Kalahari region. This is certainly not the final number of Cerambycidae species inhabiting the Kuzikus Wildlife Reserve, as each new season results in the discovery of species that have not been recorded from this area.

Furthermore, observations show that Cerambycidae are closely associated with Acacia mellifera (Vahl) Benth and A. hebeclada DC. , the predominant species in bush encroachment. Bush encroachment is a fundamental problem in arid savannah rangeland worldwide and still challenges ecologists to find grazing management solutions ( REINHARD et al., 2019, REINHARD et al., 2022). Since Cerambycidae species are considered as a very heterogenous family of beetles associated with woody plants, they may serve as ecological bioindicators enabling ecologists to study environmental changes and assess biodiversity in more detail on the woody plant level. Complete species lists are the basis for ongoing studies of species diversity, macroecology and conservation of Kuzikus Wildlife Reserve.