Dematochroma
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| Dematochroma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dematochroma norfolkiana | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Family: | Chrysomelidae |
| Subfamily: | Eumolpinae |
| Tribe: | Eumolpini |
| Genus: | Dematochroma Baly, 1864[1] |
| Type species | |
| Dematochroma picea[2] Baly, 1864 | |
Dematochroma is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae.[3] It is mostly distributed in New Caledonia, though it is also found on Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Timor and Vanuatu.[4][5] Adult beetles (usually less than 1 cm long) are often found at night feeding on leaves,[6] and the larvae eat roots.[7][4]
Recent phylogenetic analyses of Eumolpinae of the south Pacific suggest that Dematochroma is paraphyletic: the type species, the Lord Howe endemic D. picea, is placed in a clade including New Caledonian endemic genera Taophila and Tricholapita, which is sister to another clade including other New Caledonian Eumolpinae genera, the New Caledonian species of Dematochroma as well as the New Zealand endemic Atrichatus. Because of such findings, Gómez-Zurita and collaborators have preferred to transfer several New Caledonian species of Dematochroma to other genera.[8][9] For instance, the genus Thasycles Chapuis, 1874, which was for a long time treated as a synonym of Dematochroma, was reinstated as a valid genus,[8] and a new genus Dematotrichus was established for Dematochroma pilosa and closely related species.[10]