''Sikhotealinia'' is a genus of

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 ...

containing a single species, ''Sikhotealinia zhiltzovae'', which is the only living representative of the family

Jurodidae Jurodidae is a family of beetles that was originally described for the extinct genus '' Jurodes'', known from the Middle-Late Jurassic of Asia. In 1996, a living species, '' Sikhotealinia zhiltzovae,'' was discovered in the Sikhote-Alin mountain ...

, with the only other extant fossils of the family having been uncovered in

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykal'ye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal at the south side of the eastern Si ...

. It was discovered in 1996 along the environs of the

Sikhote-Alin The Sikhote-Alin (, , , ) is a mountain range in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Russia, extending about to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of Vladivostok. The highest summits are Tordoki Yani at above sea level, Ko Mountain () ...

mountain range in

Outer Manchuria Outer Manchuria, sometimes called Russian Manchuria, refers to a region in Northeast Asia that is now part of the Russian Far East but historically formed part of Manchuria (until the mid-19th century). While Manchuria now more normatively refer ...

within

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

region. This "

living fossil A living fossil is a Deprecation, deprecated term for an extant taxon that phenotypically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of or ...

" is unique in having three

ocelli A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...

on its forehead, a condition otherwise unknown in the entire order

Coleoptera 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 ...

, whether extinct or living - though it is common in other orders, and generally considered a

groundplan Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...

character for

neoptera Neoptera (Ancient Greek ''néos'' ("new") + ''pterón'' ("wing")) is a classification group that includes most orders of the winged insects, specifically those that can flex their wings over their abdomens. This is in contrast with the more basa ...

n insects. ''Sikhotealinia'' and its extinct relative ''Jurodes'' are considered as a sister group to all other archostematan beetles. Its uncovering within the Sikhote-Alin has been a rare discovery within the Jurodidae family, which has been commonly called "most mysterious representatives of beetles." However, nothing else has yet been currently established with regards to the original area of distribution, the habitat, the biology and the immature stages of this species.

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Illustration

Photos {{Taxonbar, from=Q18116001 Archostemata Monotypic Archostemata genera Beetles of Asia Insects of Russia Fauna of the Russian Far East Beetles described in 1996

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Further reading

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