Taxonomy

Within Cheirotonus parryi’s range there are two other species of Cheirotonus which look very similar and can often be difficult to identify:

• Cheirotonus macleayi in India
• Cheirotonus gestroi in Laos, Thailand and Burma

At first glance, all three species look identical apart from the marbling on the elytra being slightly different. But on closer inspection, the forelegs of the males are all very different:

• C. parryi compared with C. macleayi - though the median spines are a similar length, the length of the terminal spine in C. macleayi (A) is considerably shorter
• C. parryi compared with C. gestroi - the median spine is considerably shorter in C. gestroi (B) compared with its terminal spine

C gestroi and C. macleayi do not occur together at all.The females can be identified by looking at the pygidium - the tip of the abdomen - as the hair structures differ:

• C. parryi has a tuft of hair right at the tip
• C. gestroi and C. macleayi have a sparse covering of hair along the base of the pygdium