''Cybister chinensis'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

diving beetle The Dytiscidae, from the Ancient Greek word δυτικός (''dystikos''), meaning "able to dive", are the predaceous diving beetles, a Family (biology), family of water beetles. They occur in virtually any freshwater habitat around the world, bu ...

native to

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. It is predatory, feeding on tadpoles, small fish and aquatic insects, and adults are about long.

In culture

This beetle is the focus of the Water Beetle Song (물방개 노래), a traditional Korean children’s song. It reveals this beetle’s shape and movement were the inspiration for

Imjin War The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

naval officer and scientist-shipbuilder Na Dae-yong’s design of his

turtle ship A turtle ship (; ) was a type of warship that was used by the Korean Joseon Navy from the early 15th century up until the 19th century. They were used alongside the panokseon warships in the fight against invading Japanese fleets. The ship's name ...

. He is known to have sighted one spinning around in a reservoir. Set at this pivotal moment, the song is written in his voice as he praises how well the beetle spins and tells it he will build a ship resembling it. He declares that his invention will defeat the marine enemies to come. This way, he foretells the future Imjin War. To this day, Na Dae-yong’s descendants have been passing down the Water Beetle Song orally. It has also been attested from

Naju Naju (; ) is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The capital of South Jeolla Province was located at Naju until it was moved to Gwangju in 1895. The name Jeolla Province actually originates from the first character of Jeonju () and the ...

, his city of origin, along with from Oryun-dong.

References

Dytiscidae Beetles described in 1873 {{Dytiscidae-stub