Phalacrognathus muelleri is a beetle from the Rogachi family, common in rainforests in northeast Australia in Queensland [1] . The only representative of a kind.
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| Phalacrognathus muelleri MacLeay , 1885 |
Content
Synonyms
- Lamprima muelleri (WJ MacLeay 1885)
- Phalacrognathus westwoodi
- Phalacrognathus muelleri v. fuscomicans (HEYNE & TASCHENBERG) ( nomen nudum ).
- Phalacrognathus fuscomicans (KRIESCHE, 1919)
Description
A relatively large bug. The body length of males is 37β70 mm, females - 25β40 mm. Body color is shiny green, with stripes of golden and reddish metallic tint. Pronotum somewhat dull. Head and elytra are especially brilliant. Elytra of males smooth, in females covered with rows of pits. Males with large mandibles, bent up, at the females instead of them are short but strong jaws. The front legs of both sexes are equipped with small spikes.
Subspecies
- Phalacrognathus muelleri muelleri - Australia ( Queensland )
- Phalacrognathus muelleri fuscomicans - island of new guinea
Biology
In nature, beetles spend most of their time on trees, feeding on flowing tree sap or fruits. Most active at dusk. Larvae develop in rotting wood of old, rotten trees affected by white rot [1] . 27 species of trees from 13 families inhabit the wood [1] .
Notes
- β 1 2 3 Wood, GA and Hasenpusch, J. and Storey, RI (1996) The life history of Phalacrognathus Muelleri (Macleay) (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Australian Entomologist, 23 (2). pp. 37-48.