Platycerus caraboides

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Platycerus caraboides
Lucanidae - Platycerus caraboides 1.JPG
Platycerus caraboides. Male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Scarabaeiformia
Family: Lucanidae
Genus: Platycerus
Species:
P. caraboides
Binomial name
Platycerus caraboides
Synonyms
  • Platycerus cribratusMulsant & Rey, 1863
  • Systenocerus cribratus (Mulsant & Rey, 1863)
  • Platycerus primigenius E. Weise, 1960

Platycerus caraboides is a species of stag beetle belonging to the family Lucanidae, subfamily Lucaninae.

Contents

Subspecies

Subspecies include: [1]

Distribution

Platycerus caraboides Lucanidae - Platycerus caraboides-1.JPG
Platycerus caraboides

These beetles are present in most of Europe (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, [2] Luxembourg, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and United Kingdom), in Asia (China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Syria, Turkey) and in North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) [3]

Description

Platycerus caraboides can reach a body length of about 9–13 mm (0.35–0.51 in). These beetles have flat body, metallic black, steel blue or greenish. Antennae are geniculate, with a club of 3 items, Jaws are denticulate at the inner edge and also in the male they are shorter than the head. [4] This species can be easily distinguished as a stag beetle by its geniculate (elbowed) antennae.

This species is very similar to Platycerus caprea (De Geer, 1774).

Video clip of P. caraboides on beech

Biology

Adults can mostly be encountered from May through July, flying around during the day in deciduous forests or staying on the ground on rotten branches. The predominantly host-plants are broadleaf plants, but also conifers (mainly Pinus species). The larvae usually live on decayed wood of oak and beech. [4]

References

  1. Biolib
  2. Scaccini, Davide; Bartolozzi, Luca; Zilioli, Michele; Di Giulio, Andrea; Ruzzier, Enrico (28 June 2024). "Distribution of the genus Platycerus Geoffroy (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) in Italy". Biodiversity Data Journal. 12: e127088. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.12.e127088 . PMC   11226855 . PMID   38974673.
  3. Fauna Europaea
  4. 1 2 Scarabeidi (in Italian)