''Platerodrilus'' is a genus of
beetles
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 ...
of the family
Lycidae
The Lycidae are a family in the beetle order Coleoptera, members of which are commonly called net-winged beetles. These beetles are cosmopolitan, being found in Nearctic, Palearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical, Oriental, and Australian ecoregions ...
. They commonly appear in the literature under the name ''Duliticola'', which is an obsolete junior synonym. The females retain a larval form as adults (
larviform female
Larviform female is a biological phenomenon occurring in some insect species, where the females in the adult stage of metamorphosis resemble the larvae to various degrees, while the male appears more morphologically adult (as imagoes). The resembl ...
s) and are about 40–80 mm in length. The females and larvae have a flattened, dark body with large scales over the head, resembling
trilobites
Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most successful of all early animals, ...
, hence the informal names trilobite beetle, trilobite larva or Sumatran trilobite larva. Additionally, the females feed on rotting wood, fungi, slime molds, and small organisms, which helps break down decay.
In contrast, the males are much smaller, 8–9 mm, resembling other lycid beetles. The males are likely to feed on nectar for energy to fly and mate.
Species are found in
tropical forest
Tropical forests are forested ecoregions with tropical climates – that is, land areas approximately bounded by the Tropic of Cancer, tropics of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing ...
s of India and South-east Asia.
Although the females resemble the prehistoric trilobite, the trilobite beetle evolved approximately 47 million years ago, 200 million years after trilobites had gone extinct. As only the females have this appearance the search for the species' males remained a mystery until Swedish zoologist
Eric Mjöberg
Eric Georg Mjöberg (6 August 1882 – 8 July 1938) was a Swedish Zoology, zoologist and Ethnography, ethnographer who led the first Swedish scientific expeditions to Australia in the early 1900s, and worked in Indonesia. The plant ''Vaccinium ...
published a research paper describing them in 1925.
Species
* "''P. paradoxus'' group"
**
**
*** =
* "''P. major'' group"
**
**
**
* "''P. sinuatus'' group"
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
* Ungrouped
**
*** =
**
*** =
**
*** =
**
**
**
*** =
*** =
References
External links
*
Video of a trilobite beetle in LaosVideo of a trilobite beetle in Borneo
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18584473
Lycidae
Elateroidea genera
Taxa named by Maurice Pic