Megasoma is a genus of rhinoceros beetles. Commonly known as the elephant beetles, Megasoma species are found from the southern half of North America to most of South America.[1]
Megasoma are generally large in size (as indicated by the name, which is "large body" in Greek). As a group, the genus contains some of the largest beetle species known. However, there are small species of this genus as well. The largest can be up to 135 mm, while small ones like Megasoma punctulatum can be around 20 mm.
Many Megasoma species (Megasoma elephas, Megasoma thersites, Megasoma gyas, Megasoma cedrosa, Megasoma anubis, Megasoma occidentale, Megasoma joergenseni, Megasoma vogti) have thin microscopic hairs (setae) covering nearly their entire bodies, giving the appearance of being pale or orange.
Males of most species have large horns that they use to wrestle with other males. Females do not have horns.
Dietedit
Larvae feed on tree or shrub roots. Adults usually drink tree sap or suck juice from fruit.
Behavior and habitatedit
Adult Megasoma are nocturnal and are attracted to lights, and are often seen resting in trees.
^M. Prandi, P. Grossi, F. Vaz-de-Mello (2020) Revision of the Megasoma (Megasoma) gyas (Jablonsky in Herbst, 1785) species group (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae). ZooKeys 999:109-145. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.999.53130
^Hielkema, Auke J., Hielkema, Meindert A. (2019): An annotated checklist of the Scarabaeoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera) of the Guianas. Insecta Mundi 732 (732): 1-306, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3678492
Kirby, W. 1825. A description of such genera and species of insects, as alluded to in the "Introduction to Entomology" of Messrs. Kirby and Spence, as appear not to have been before sufficiently noticed or described. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, 14: 563–572. Internet Archive [original description: p. 566]
Schoolmeesters P. 2017. Scarabs: World Scarabaeidae Database (version Jul 2016). In: Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds. 2017. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 30 January 2017. Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/col. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-8858. Reference page.
2019 winter Bekuwa No.70 Megasoma group
Data related to Megasoma at Wikispecies
Media related to Megasoma at Wikimedia Commons
This Dynastinae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
megasoma, genus, rhinoceros, beetles, commonly, known, elephant, beetles, species, found, from, southern, half, north, america, most, south, america, elephas, elephant, beetlescientific, classificationdomain, eukaryotakingdom, animaliaphylum, arthropodaclass, . Megasoma is a genus of rhinoceros beetles Commonly known as the elephant beetles Megasoma species are found from the southern half of North America to most of South America 1 MegasomaMegasoma elephas the elephant beetleScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ArthropodaClass InsectaOrder ColeopteraFamily ScarabaeidaeSubfamily DynastinaeTribe DynastiniGenus MegasomaKirby 1825Type speciesMegasoma actaeon Linnaeus 1758 SynonymsMegalosoma Burmeister 1847 Megasominus Casey 1915 Lycophontes Bruch 1910 Contents 1 Appearance 2 Diet 3 Behavior and habitat 4 Species list 5 See also 6 ReferencesAppearance editMegasoma are generally large in size as indicated by the name which is large body in Greek As a group the genus contains some of the largest beetle species known However there are small species of this genus as well The largest can be up to 135 mm while small ones like Megasoma punctulatum can be around 20 mm Many Megasoma species Megasoma elephas Megasoma thersites Megasoma gyas Megasoma cedrosa Megasoma anubis Megasoma occidentale Megasoma joergenseni Megasoma vogti have thin microscopic hairs setae covering nearly their entire bodies giving the appearance of being pale or orange Males of most species have large horns that they use to wrestle with other males Females do not have horns Diet editLarvae feed on tree or shrub roots Adults usually drink tree sap or suck juice from fruit Behavior and habitat editAdult Megasoma are nocturnal and are attracted to lights and are often seen resting in trees Species list editMegasoma actaeon Linnaeus 1758 Megasoma anubis Chevrolat 1836 Megasoma bollei Dechambre 2006 Megasoma cedrosa Hardy 1972 Megasoma elephas Fabricius 1775 Megasoma gyas Herbst 1785 Megasoma hermes Prandi 2016 Megasoma hyperion Prandi Grossi amp Vaz de Mello 2020 Megasoma joergenseni Bruch 1910 Megasoma lecontei Hardy 1972 Megasoma mars Reiche 1852 Megasoma nogueirai Moron 2005 Megasoma occidentale Bolivar Pieltain Jimenez asua amp Martinez 1963 Megasoma pachecoi Cartwright 1963 Megasoma punctulatum Cartwright 1952 Megasoma rex Prandi 2018 considered a likely synonym of M actaeon see 2 Megasoma sleeperi Hardy 1972 Megasoma svobodaorum Krajcik 2009 Megasoma thersites LeConte 1861 Megasoma typhon Olivier 1789 Megasoma vazdemelloi Prandi 2018 Megasoma vogti Cartwright 1963See also editList of largest insectsReferences edit M Prandi P Grossi F Vaz de Mello 2020 Revision of the Megasoma Megasoma gyas Jablonsky in Herbst 1785 species group Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Dynastinae ZooKeys 999 109 145 DOI 10 3897 zookeys 999 53130 Hielkema Auke J Hielkema Meindert A 2019 An annotated checklist of the Scarabaeoidea Insecta Coleoptera of the Guianas Insecta Mundi 732 732 1 306 DOI http doi org 10 5281 zenodo 3678492 Kirby W 1825 A description of such genera and species of insects as alluded to in the Introduction to Entomology of Messrs Kirby and Spence as appear not to have been before sufficiently noticed or described Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 14 563 572 Internet Archive original description p 566 Schoolmeesters P 2017 Scarabs World Scarabaeidae Database version Jul 2016 In Roskov Y Abucay L Orrell T Nicolson D Bailly N Kirk P Bourgoin T DeWalt R E Decock W De Wever A Nieukerken E van Zarucchi J Penev L eds 2017 Species 2000 amp ITIS Catalogue of Life 30 January 2017 Digital resource at www catalogueoflife org col Species 2000 Naturalis Leiden the Netherlands ISSN 2405 8858 Reference page 2019 winter Bekuwa No 70 Megasoma group nbsp Data related to Megasoma at Wikispecies nbsp Media related to Megasoma at Wikimedia Commons This Dynastinae article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Megasoma amp oldid 1109417912, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
