Chalcosoma atlas

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Coleopterida
Ordo: Coleoptera
Subordo: Polyphaga
Infraordo: Scarabaeiformia
Superfamilia: Scarabaeoidea

Familia: Scarabaeidae
Subfamilia: Dynastinae
Tribus: Dynastini
Genus: Chalcosoma
Species: Chalcosoma atlas
Name

Chalcosoma atlas (Linnaeus, 1758)
Original combination: Scarabaeus atlas

References

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiæ: impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. i–ii, 1–824 pp DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.542: 345. Reference page.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Atlaskäfer
English: Atlas beetle
français: Scarabée Atlas
ไทย: ด้วงกว่างสามเขาแอตลาส, ด้วงกว่างสามเขาเขาใหญ่
中文: 南洋大兜蟲

The Atlas beetle (Chalcosoma atlas) is a very large species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae, found in Southeast Asia. Males have three prominent horns. The species is named for Atlas, the giant of Greek mythology who supported the skies.

Description

Chalcosoma atlas, like other beetles of the genus Chalcosoma, is remarkable for its size. As is common in the Scarabaeidae, males are larger than the females, reaching a length of about 60–120 millimetres (2.4–4.7 in); females are about 25–60 millimetres (0.98–2.36 in). Males have specialised horns on their head and thorax that they use to fight with each other, to gain mating rights with females. The Atlas beetle differs from other Chalcosoma species (such as C. caucasus) by the broader end of the cephalic (head) horn.
Larvae

The larva of the Atlas beetle is known for its fierce behavior, including biting if touched. Unverified reports exist of larvae that live together fighting to the death if they have insufficient space or food.
Distribution

Chalcosoma atlas is found in Southeast Asia.
Parasitoids

The species is the host of a parasitoid, the giant scoliid wasp Megascolia procer, which has a paralysing venom.[1]
Subspecies

Chalcosoma atlas atlas (Linnaeus, 1758)- Sulawesi
Chalcosoma atlas butonensis Nagai, 2004- Buton island
Chalcosoma atlas keyboh Nagai, 2004- Malaysia and Sumatra
Chalcosoma atlas mantetsu Nagai, 2004- Thailand and Vietnam
Chalcosoma atlas simeuluensis Nagai, 2004- Simeule island
Chalcosoma atlas sintae Nagai, 2004- Peleng islands
Chalcosoma atlas hesperus (Erichson, 1834)- Philippines

References

Piek, Tom (22 October 2013). Venoms of the Hymenoptera: Biochemical, Pharmacological and Behavioural Aspects. Elsevier. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-4832-6370-0.