Australian Beetles : Morphology, Classification and Keys

The first in a projected three-volume series represents a comprehensive treatment of the beetles of Australia, a relatively under-studied fauna including many unusual and unique lineages found nowhere else on Earth. The biology and morphology for all major beetle lineages is described and illustrated, and the revised identification keys (currently recognized as one of the most valuable keys worldwide) will aid quarantine agents, biologists and students in identifying members of the most species-rich order of animals. A large section on the adult and larval morphology of beetles and a chapter on the fossil record are also included.

Volume 1 updates and expands Lawrence & Britton’s out-of-print Australian Beetles, with improved keys to all beetle families found in Australia, expanded family diagnoses as well as modern classification and additional illustrations. The introduction to beetle morphology and anatomical terms clarifies characters and terminology used in the keys; few other resources for beetle identification include such a detailed morphological background.

John F. Lawrence is one of the world’s preeminent coleopterists. He worked at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology before emigrating to Australia, where he served as a Senior Principal Research Scientist at the Australian National Insect Collection (CSIRO) until 1999. He has published more than 200 research articles and book chapters and was co-editor of a recent volume of Handbook of Zoology, in which he authored or co-authored more than 50 chapters. John is now retired but continues to conduct research on the phylogeny and classification of beetles.

Adam Slipinski is the Senior Principal Research Scientist and curator at the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO. His research concentrates on the phylogeny and higher classification of beetles. He is the author of nearly 200 research publications, a co-editor of Volumes 1 and 2 in the Australian Beetles Series, and co-author of Ladybird Beetles of the Australo-Pacific Region and Volumes 1, 2 and 3 in the Australian Longhorn Beetles Series.