| Sikhotealinia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Jurodidae |
| Genus: | Sikhotealinia Lafer, 1996 |
| Species: | S. zhiltzovae |
| Binomial name | |
| Sikhotealinia zhiltzovae Lafer, 1996 | |
Sikhotealinia is a genus of beetle containing a single species, known from a single specimen, Sikhotealinia zhiltzovae, which is considered to be the only living representative of the family Jurodidae, with the other members of the family being known only from fossils uncovered in Transbaikal. It was discovered in 1996 along the environs of the Sikhote-Alin mountain range in Outer Manchuria within Russia's Far East region. This "living fossil" is apparently unique in having three ocelli on its forehead, a condition otherwise unknown in the entire order Coleoptera, whether extinct or living – though it is common in other orders, and generally considered a groundplan character for neopteran insects. Sikhotealinia and its extinct relative Jurodes are considered as a sister group to all other archostematan beetles. [1] However, the claims that Sikhotealinia belongs to Archostemata, and that it has three ocelli, have not been independently confirmed. [2]
Its uncovering within the Sikhote-Alin has been a rare discovery within the family Jurodidae, which has been called "most mysterious representatives of beetles." [3] [ irrelevant citation ] 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. [4]