Xylotrupes meridionalis

Xylotrupes meridionalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Scarabaeiformia
Family:	Scarabaeidae
Genus:	Xylotrupes
Species:	X. meridionalis
Binomial name
Xylotrupes meridionalis Prell, 1914
Synonyms
Xylotrupes gideon meridionalisEndrödi, 1957 Xylotrupes gideon socratesEndrödi, 1985 Xylotrupes meridionalis meridionalisRowland, 2003

Xylotrupes meridionalis, commonly known as forked horns rhinoceros beetle, is a species of rhinoceros beetle found in India and Sri Lanka. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Description

Male has prolonged anterior legs whereas female has normal anterior legs. Basal joints of posterior tarsi are cylindrical in shape. Propygidium lack a stridulatory area. Male has a single thoracic horn. Elytra coriaceous. Male has large tambour shaped phallobase. Adult beetles feed on young bark, seedlings, shoots, and twigs. Host plants included: Acacia mearnsii , Hevea brasiliensis and Toona australis . ^[6]

Subspecies

Two subspecies recognized. ^[7]

• Xylotrupes meridionalis meridionalisPrell, 1914 – India
• Xylotrupes meridionalis taprobanesPrell, 1914 – Sri Lanka

References

1. "The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora". Ministry of Environment in Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
2. Rowland, J. Mark (2003). "Male horn dimorphism, phylogeny and systematics of rhinoceros beetles of the genus Xylotrupes (Scarabaeidae : Coleoptera)". Australian Journal of Zoology. pp. 213–258. doi:10.1071/zo02013 . Retrieved 2021-07-27.
3. "Xylotrupes meridionalis Prell, 1914". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
4. "New Distribution of Rhinoceros Beetle Xylotrupes Taprobanes Ganesha(Silvestre, 2003) in Tamilnadu, India". International Journal of Scientific Research 2(1):157-159. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
5. Rowland, J. Mark (2011-05-06). "0176. Notes on nomenclature in Xylotrupes Hope (Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Dynastini)". Insecta Mundi. pp. 1–10. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
6. "Studies on Rhinoceros Beetles (Coleoptera— Scarabaeidae—Dynastinae) from Madhya Pradesh, central India" (PDF). Colemania, Number 34, pp. 1-9. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
7. "RARE OCCURRENCE OF RHINOCEROS BEETLE (XYLOTRUPES TAPROBANES GANESHA SILVESTRE, 2003) IN TAMILNADU, INDIA". Mun. Ent. Zool. Vol. 14, No. 2, June 2019. Retrieved 2021-07-26.