| Actaeon beetle | |
|---|---|
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| Male of Megasoma actaeon | |
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| Female of Megasoma actaeon | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Genus: | Megasoma |
| Species: | M. actaeon |
| Binomial name | |
| Megasoma actaeon | |
| Synonyms | |
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Actaeon beetle (Megasoma actaeon) is a rhinoceros beetle of the family Scarabaeidae.
The species name actaeon derives from the name Actaeon of a famous Theban hero, son of the priestly herdsman Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, trained by the centaur Chiron.
Actaeon beetle is one of the largest of all beetles, measuring up to 7 centimetres (2.8 in) across, with a body length of about 5–12 centimetres (2.0–4.7 in). The males can grow to be 13+1⁄2 cm (5.3 in) long by 4 cm (1.6 in) thick . [3]
The dorsal surfaces are glabrous (bald), matte or shiny black. The legs are powerful, with large tarsal claws. Males have appendages resembling horns on the pronotum and on the head. The two parallel horns on the pronotum are short, acute and forward pointing, while a much longer horn with a small tooth is present on the head. In the females the pronotum and the elytra are rugose and the horns are missing. [1]
Females lay eggs into soil at eclosion and eggs develop in about 9 months. Larval development and pupation takes in total almost 3 years. Larvae at the 3rd instar can reach the weight of 200 grams, the highest weight among insects. Life expectancy of adults in captivity reaches about 100–150 days. The heaviest Actaeon ever recorded was found in the northern regions of South America weighed 228 grams (8.0 ounces) in 2009 nearly equivalent to a female rat. This not only makes it the heaviest beetle but the heaviest insect of any kind. [4]
This species can be found in South America, particularly in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. [1]
The Hercules beetle is a species of rhinoceros beetle native to the rainforests of southern Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles. It is the longest extant species of beetle in the world, and is also one of the largest flying insects in the world.
The pale-throated sloth, occasionally known as the ai, is a species of three-toed sloth that inhabits tropical rainforests in northern South America.
Dynastinae or rhinoceros beetles are a subfamily of the scarab beetle family (Scarabaeidae). Other common names – some for particular groups of rhinoceros beetles – include Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles or horn beetles. Over 1,500 species and 225 genera of rhinoceros beetles are known.
The giant burrowing cockroach is also known as the rhinoceros cockroach, and Queensland giant cockroach. These cockroaches are native to Australia and mostly found in tropical and subtropical parts of Queensland. They are the world's heaviest species of cockroach and can weigh up to 30-35 grams and measure up to 7.5-8 cm (3.1 in) in length. It is a member of the family Blaberidae, which contains hundreds of species. It is part of the blaberid subfamily Geoscapheinae. It is prominent in the wild and can also be sold and kept as a pet.
The Goliath beetles are any of the six species in the genus Goliathus. Goliath beetles are among the largest insects on Earth, if measured in terms of size, bulk and weight. They are members of subfamily Cetoniinae, within the family Scarabaeidae. Goliath beetles can be found in many of Africa's tropical forests, where they feed primarily on tree sap and fruit. Little appears to be known of the larval cycle in the wild, but in captivity, Goliathus beetles have been successfully reared from egg to adult using protein-rich foods such as commercial cat and dog food. Goliath beetles measure from 60–110 millimetres (2.4–4.3 in) for males and 50–80 millimetres (2.0–3.1 in) for females, as adults, and can reach weights of up to 80–100 grams (2.8–3.5 oz) in the larval stage, though the adults are only about half this weight. The females range from a dark chestnut brown to silky white, but the males are normally brown/white/black or black/white.
Macrodontia cervicornis, also known as the sabertooth longhorn beetle, is one of the largest beetles, if one allows for the enormous mandibles of the males, from which it derives both of the names in its binomen: Macrodontia means "long tooth", and cervicornis means "deer antler". Measurements of insect length normally exclude legs, jaws, or horns, but if jaws are included, the longest known specimen of M. cervicornis is 17.7 cm; the longest known specimen of Dynastes hercules, a beetle species with enormous horns, is 17.5 cm, and the longest known beetle excluding either jaws or horns is Titanus giganteus, at 16.7 cm.
The largest body part is either the largest given body part across all living and extinct organisms or the largest example of a body part within an existing species. The largest animals on the planet are not the only ones to have large body parts, with some smaller animals actually having one particularly enlarged area of the body.
The elephant beetle is a member of the family Scarabaeidae and the subfamily Dynastinae. Elephant beetles are Neotropical rhinoceros beetles.
Goliathus regius, the Royal Goliath beetle, is a species of beetles of the family Scarabaeidae.
Heteropteryx is a monotypic genus of stick insects containing Heteropteryx dilatata as the only described species. and gives its name to the family of the Heteropterygidae. Their only species may be known as jungle nymph, Malaysian stick insect, Malaysian wood nymph, Malayan jungle nymph, or Malayan wood nymph and because of their size it is commonly kept in zoological institutions and private terrariums of insect lovers. It originates from the Malay Archipelago and is nocturnal.
Xylotrupes gideon, the brown rhinoceros beetle, is a species of large scarab beetle belonging to the subfamily Dynastinae.
Dynastes satanas, the Satanas beetle, is a species of beetle belonging to the family Scarabaeidae. The name is sometimes misspelled as "satanus".
Megasoma is a genus of rhinoceros beetles. Commonly known as the elephant beetles, Megasoma species are found from the southern half of North America to most of South America.
The largest animal currently alive is the blue whale. The maximum recorded weight was 190 tonnes for a specimen measuring 27.6 metres (91 ft), whereas longer ones, up to 33 metres (108 ft), have been recorded but not weighed. It is estimated that this individual could have a mass of 250 tonnes or more. The longest non-colonial animal is the lion's mane jellyfish.
The Moellenkampi beetle, is one of four large species of rhinoceros beetles from Southeast Asia belonging to the genus Chalcosoma. The Moellenkampi beetles belong to the beetle family Scarabaeidae along with other rhinoceros beetles. They are characterized by having two large, forward-projecting horns on the pronotum or thorax, and another large, forward and upward-projecting horn on the head. They also have a distinct metallic lustre, which is the reason behind their genus name, which derives from Greek, chalko-, and is the combining form of chalkós, meaning copper.
Sulcophanaeus is a genus of dung beetles belonging to the family Scarabaeidae. Most species in this genus are from tropical and subtropical South America, but a few are found in Central America and Mexico, and S. carnifex is from Jamaica. Sulcophanaeus are mostly coprophagous, but some are also necrophagous. They are paracoprids, meaning that adults dig tunnels into the soil under the food source and move parts of the food source to a nest chamber where the eggs are laid, and their activity pattern varies depending on species.
Megasoma anubis is a species of beetles belonging to the family Scarabaeidae.
The Guianan squirrel monkey is a species of squirrel monkey from Guiana, Venezuela and Brazil. S. sciureus formerly applied to Humboldt's squirrel monkey and Collins' squirrel monkey, but genetic research in 2009 and 2015 revealed that these are distinct species.
Megasoma mars, also known as the mars beetle or mars rhino beetle, is the largest species in the Megasoma genus. It is distributed primarily in the west-central Amazon basin of Brazil, ranging down into Colombia, Paraguay, and Uraguay.
