''Gelae donut'' 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), ...

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 ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Leiodidae Leiodidae is a family of beetles with around 3800 described species found worldwide. Members of this family are commonly called round fungus beetles due to the globular shape of many species, although some are more elongated in shape. They are g ...

. It is found in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. Adults are long, and brown and yellow in color. It likely feeds on slime molds and fungi. Like other species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Gelae ''Gelae'' () is a genus of round fungus beetles belonging to the family Leiodidae. The beetles are found in different parts of Central America, Central and North America. They are small and rounded, feeding on slime moulds. They were originally ...

'', it has received media attention due to its scientific name, which is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

on jelly donut.

Taxonomy and etymology

''Gelae donut'' was described with its current name in 2004, on the basis of a male

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

collected at an elevation of on Cerro Carpish in Huanúco,

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The generic name ''Gelae'' is from a shortened form of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''gelatus'', meaning jellied, and is pronounced like the word "jelly". The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

is a combination of letters that is pronounced like the word "donut". Taken together, the scientific name is pronounced "jelly doughnut", a

on jelly donut. ''G. donut'' has received media attention, along with other species in ''

'', due to its humorous scientific name. ''Gelae donut'' is one of eight species in the

''Gelae'', and is a part of a group of four similar species that also includes ''G. rol'', ''G. baen'' and ''G. cognatum''.

Description

''Gelae donut'' is a large species for its genus, with a total body length of . It has a brown head and yellowish-brown clypeus. The head is moderately broad and

dorsally Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...

flattened, with large, protruding eyes. The

prothorax The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ...

is yellow with large medial brown

macules A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this sys ...

. The

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

is brown, being darker at the base. The underside, legs, and antennal club are also brown, while the antenna and palpi are yellow. It is similar in appearance to ''Gelae rol'', ''G. baen'' and ''G. cognatum'', all of which have a large labrum and protuberant eyes, but can be told apart by its large size, the robust median

lobe Lobe may refer to: People with the name * Lobe (surname) Science and healthcare * Lobe (anatomy) * Lobe, a large-scale structure of a radio galaxy * Glacial lobe, a lobe-shaped glacier * Lobation, a characteristic of the nucleus of certain biolo ...

in males, the sharp apical reduction of the undersides, and the sharp apical curve of the dorsum.

Ecology

Like other species in its genus, ''Gelae donut'' is likely to feed on

slime molds Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to a polyphyly, polyphyletic assemblage of unrelated eukaryotic organisms in the Stramenopiles, Rhizaria, Discoba, Amoebozoa and Holomycota clades. Most are near-microscopic; those in the Myx ...

and

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

Distribution and habitat

''Gelae donut'' is found in the highlands of Peru and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. It inhabits cloud forest and montane rainforest at elevations of .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108808185 Leiodidae Beetles described in 2004 Beetles of South America