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I am trying to ID this beetle;

  • Size: not too big - approximately 2 cm (3/4 inch)
  • Where: Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory, Australia;
  • When: Southern hemisphere's spring, early September; the end of the dry season;
  • Time of day: night.

To my untrained eye, it looks like a cockschafer, but from the linked wiki page I understand they are a species confined to Europe. I tried a reverse Google image search and sifted through the site of Parks Australia and related pages, but to no avail.

beetle

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After a hint from @fileunderwater I also think now that it is much more likely that this beetle belongs to the family of the Scarabaeidae which contains some 30.000 species worldwide. Scarabaeidae and Trogidae (what I thought was right before) are part of the same superfamily, the Scarabaeoidea.

The way the antennas are shaped as well as the body shape and the way the legs are ordered looks pretty much like this, even better than for the Trogidae. Have a look at this poster which shows a lot of different varieties (from here):

enter image description here

Some more information and real images can be found here and here.

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    $\begingroup$ Wow thanks Chris. Yes, the shape of the antennae is indeed an outstanding feature and reminded me of a May bug. I'll look into this! $\endgroup$
    – AliceD ♦
    Apr 9, 2017 at 20:47
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    $\begingroup$ I will have a further look tomorrow, when I have my experiment measuring and have idle time in front of the computer. :-) $\endgroup$
    – Chris ♦
    Apr 9, 2017 at 20:48
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    $\begingroup$ Looks like belonging to the Genus: Anoplognathus $\endgroup$
    – Mesentery
    Apr 9, 2017 at 22:19
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    $\begingroup$ What makes you say Trogidae instead of Scarabaeidae (both belong to Scarabaeoidea)? The clubbed antenna with flat lamellae is typical for both families, as are the strong legs with spurs. Also, Trogidae usually have "bumpy" elytra, and there appear relatively smooth. I think it belongs to Scarabaeidae. $\endgroup$
    – fileunderwater
    Apr 10, 2017 at 14:07
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    $\begingroup$ @Chris - You are not really trying to tell me in a lot of scientific words that my beautiful May bug is a cockroach do you ;-) $\endgroup$
    – AliceD ♦
    Apr 11, 2017 at 7:36

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