Belongs within: Cetoniinae.
Cetonia is a Eurasian genus of metallic-coloured chafers. The rose chafer C. aurata is widespread across the Palaearctic realm with adults feeding on nectar, pollen and flower petals during warmer parts of the year (Bouchard 2014).
Members of the subgenus Cetonia have the median plate of the mesosternum convex and button-shaped, whereas in other subgenera the mesosternum is medially depressed and enlarged anteriorly. Cetonia opaca, in the subgenus Pachnoda, has the mesosternal plate protruding in front of the sloping section of the mesosternum; the mesosternum does not protrude forwards in subgenera Aetheessa and Melanosa (Bedel 1889).
Characters (from Bedel 1889): Pronotum not narrowing from back to front. Elytra sinuously indented at the outer edge. Scutellum ending in obtuse point. Mesosternum in the form of a plate between mid coxae. Anterior tibiae tridentate on outer edge.
<==Cetonia Fabr. 1775B89
|--C. (Cetonia)B14
| |--C. (C.) aeratulaB14
| |--C. (C.) aurata (Linnaeus 1761)B14 (see below for synonymy)
| |--C. (C.) carthamiB14
| |--C. (C.) cypriacaB14
| `--C. (C.) delagrangeiB14
|--C. (Aetheessa)B89
| |--C. (A.) floralis Fabr. 1787 [incl. C. aethiopica, C. inhumata]B89
| `--C. (A.) martini Bedel 1889B89
|--C. (Melanosa)B89
| |--C. (M.) morio Fabr. 1781B89
| `--C. (M.) squamosa Lefebvre 1827 (see below for synonymy)B89
`--C. (Pachnoda Burmeister 1842)B89, BR17 [Pachnodina]
`--C. (P.) opaca Fabr. 1787 [incl. C. cardui Gyll. 1817, C. corvina]B89
Cetonia incertae sedis:
C. advenaM86
C. affinisR26
C. algerica Motschulsky 1849 (n. d.)B89
C. cacicusL02
C. carmelitaL02
C. ciliata [=Protaetia ciliata]G89b
C. cupreolaF89
C. davidiana Blanchard in Fairmaire 1889F89
C. fastuosaR26
C. felina Gory & Percheron 1833CW92
C. hirtaR26
C. laevicostata Fairmaire 1889F89
C. metallicaR26
C. mixtaG89b
C. nitididorsis Fairmaire 1889F89
C. papua [=Lomaptera papua]B35
C. pilosaR26
C. sinensisL02
C. speculiferaB35
C. sticticaR26
C. strigicollis Kraatz 1885G89b
C. taciturnaB35
C. thoracicaG89a
C. ursus [=Melolontha ursus]L02
C. vulpes [=Melolontha vulpes]L02
C. xanthopus Boisduval 1835B35
Cetonia (Cetonia) aurata (Linnaeus 1761)B14 [incl. C. asiatica Gory 1833B89, C. aurata var. funeraria Gory 1833B89, C. aurata var. oertzeni Reitter 1885B89]
Cetonia (Melanosa) squamosa Lefebvre 1827 [incl. C. aupicki Gory 1833, C. squamosa var. barbara Gory 1833, C. squamosa var. divergens Bedel 1889, C. elongata Gory 1833, C. flavispila Motsch. 1849, C. godeti Gory 1833, C. (M.) squamosa var. maura Bedel 1889, C. numisma Newm. 1838, C. refulgens Herbst 1790, C. squamosa var. sibirica Gebl. 1830, C. tenebrionis Gory 1833, C. tincta Germ. 1838, C. squamosa var. trojana Gory 1833]B89
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[B89] Bedel, L. 1889. Coléoptères du nord de l’Afrique. I. Cetoniini.—Glaphyrini. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6e série 9: 85–100.
[B35] Boisduval, J. B. 1835. Voyage de Découvertes de l’Astrolabe. Exécuté par ordre du Roi, pendant les années 1826–1827–1828–1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d’Urville. Faune entomologique de l’océan Pacifique, avec l’illustration des insectes nouveaux recueillis pendant le voyage vol. 2. Coléoptères et autres ordres. J. Tastu: Paris.
[B14] Bouchard, P. (ed.) 2014. The Book of Beetles: A lifesize guide to six hundred of nature’s gems. Ivy Press: Lewes (United Kingdom).
[BR17] Bouchet, P., J.-P. Rocroi, B. Hausdorf, A. Kaim, Y. Kano, A. Nützel, P. Parkhaev, M. Schrödl & E. E. Strong. 2017. Revised classification, nomenclator and typification of gastropod and monoplacophoran families. Malacologia 61 (1–2): 1–526.
[CW92] Cassis, G., & T. A. Weir. 1992. Cetoniinae. In: Houston, W. W. K. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 9. Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea pp. 426–454. AGPS Press: Canberra.
[F89] Fairmaire, L. 1889. Coléoptères de l’intérieur de la Chine. 5e partie. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6e série 9: 5–84.
[G89a] Gestro, R. 1889a. Viaggio ab Assab nel Mar Rosso dei signori G. Doria ed O. Beccari con il R. Avviso “Esploratore” dal 16 Novembre 1879 al 26 Febbraio 1880.—IV. Coleotteri. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2a, 7: 5–72.
[G89b] Gestro, R. 1889b. Sopra alcune cetonie dell’isola Nias e della costa occidentale di Sumatra raccolte dal Dott. Elio Modigliani. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2a, 7: 93–99.
[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.
[M86] Masters, G. 1886. Catalogue of the described Coleoptera of Australia. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (1): 21–126.
[R26] Risso, A. 1826. Histoire naturelle des principales productions de l’Europe méridionale et particulièrement de celles des environs de Nice et des Alpes maritimes vol. 5. F.-G. Levrault: Paris.