The Taveuni beetle (''Xixuthrus terribilis'') is known from the island of

Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated east of Vanua ...

in the

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

, and is one of the largest living insect species, with specimens around 14 cm long, excluding legs, antennae, or

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

s. It is closely related to the

giant Fijian long-horned beetle The giant Fijian long-horned beetle (''Xixuthrus '') is native to the island of Viti Levu in Fiji, and is one of the largest living insect species, with specimens around 15 cm long, excluding legs, antennae, or jaws. It is closely related t ...

. These beetles have powerful jaws, and should be handled with care when alive. This species has been mistakenly classified under the name ''Xixuthrus heyrovskyi'' since 1945, when it was unwittingly redescribed, and this name still appears in much of the scientific literature.
YANEGA D., D. OLSON D., SHUTE S., KOMIYA Z., 2004 - The ''Xixuthrus'' species of Fiji (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae)

Bibliography

External links

''Xixuthrus terribilis'' pictures
Prioninae Insects of Fiji Taveuni Beetles described in 1877 {{Prioninae-stub