The false stag beetles (''Diphyllostoma'') are a group of three species of rare

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

s known only from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Almost nothing is known of their life history beyond that the adults are diurnal and females are flightless;

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e have not been observed. Their length ranges from 5 to 9 mm; bodies are elongate, with a generally dull brown to reddish-brown color. Both body and legs are covered with longish hairs. Originally classed with the

Lucanidae Stag beetles comprise the family Lucanidae. It has about 1,200 species of beetles in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections to nomenclature and a c ...

, ''Diphyllostoma'' have a number of characteristics not shared with any other type of stag beetle, and so in 1972 Holloway proposed a separate family Diphyllostomatidae, which has since been accepted. A possible close relative has been reported from mid-Cretaceous aged

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. Th ...

in Myanmar, dating to around 100 million years ago.

Species

* '' Diphyllostoma fimbriatum'' (

Fall Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemispher ...

, 1901) * '' Diphyllostoma linsleyi''

, 1932 * '' Diphyllostoma nigricolle''

, 1912

Notes

References

* Mary Liz Jameson and Brett C. Ratcliffe, "Diphyllostomatidae", in Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, ''American Beetles'' (

CRC Press The CRC Press, LLC is an American publishing group that specializes in producing technical books. Many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics. Their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information technol ...

, 2001), vol. 2 *

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q137433 Scarabaeiformia