Museum records show only a single specimen of Rhopalum coriolum in collection – the original female collected a century ago near Sydney, and upon which the species was described (i.e. the holotype). We collected two females last year and another two this season. Once we’ve finished writing the paper, all will be deposited in Australian museums.

The differences between species are subtle, and require close-up photography. Rhopalum variitarse, a species known from Canberra, is very similar … but there are clear differences in fine structure and colour details.

This may be the first male ever collected. This one, and another we collected, will be sent to a museum once we have fully described and photographed them.