Oligomerus alternans
LeConte, 1865
death-watch beetle
Oligomerus alternans is a death-watch beetle in the Ptinidae, described by LeConte in 1865. It is known from North America, with confirmed records from Ontario and Québec in Canada. The is rarely encountered, with only five observations documented on iNaturalist. Its taxonomic status is marked as doubtful in some databases due to limited study.
Pronunciation
How to pronounce Oligomerus alternans: /ˌɒlɪˈɡoʊmərəs ˈɔːltərnænz/
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Distribution
North America; specifically recorded from Ontario and Québec, Canada
More Details
Taxonomic note
placement varies between sources: Ptinidae (Wikipedia, iNaturalist) versus Anobiidae (GBIF). This reflects ongoing taxonomic debate regarding the classification of death-watch beetles.
Data scarcity
Only five iNaturalist observations exist for this , indicating it is either genuinely rare, cryptic, or underreported.