Macrodontia cervicornis

Macrodontia cervicornis

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: Cucujiformia
Cladus: Phytophaga
Superfamilia: Chrysomeloidea

Familia: Cerambycidae
Subfamilia: Prioninae
Tribus: Macrodontiini
Genus: Macrodontia
Species: Macrodontia cervicornis
Name

Macrodontia cervicornis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms

Basionym: Cerambyx cervicornis Linnaeus, 1758

References
Primary 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: 389. Reference page.

Links

IUCN: Macrodontia cervicornis (Vulnerable)
ZooBank: 7657AC10-66AA-42FD-9061-11501F1D94F4

Vernacular names
日本語: オオキバウスバカミキリ
русский: Крупнозуб оленерогий

Macrodontia cervicornis (Linnaeus, 1758), 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,[2][3] and the longest known beetle excluding either jaws or horns is Titanus giganteus, at 16.7 cm.[4]

Most of this species’ life is spent in the larval stage, which can last up to 10 years, while its adult phase is likely to last no more than a few months during which time dispersal and reproduction take place. The female lays eggs under the bark of dead or dying softwood trees, and once hatched, the larvae burrow into the rotting wood, creating extensive galleries over a metre long and 10 cm wide.
Distribution

This species is known from the rain forests of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, the Guianas, and Brazil.
References

World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Macrodontia cervicornis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T12591A3362999. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T12591A3362999.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
Ratcliffe, B.C.; Cave, R.D. (2015). "The dynastine scarab beetles of the West Indies (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae)". Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum. 28: l–346.
Richard A.B. Leschen, Rolf G. Beutel: Morphology and Systematics: Phytophaga, Vol. 3: Coleoptera, Walter de Gruyter, 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-027446-2. Page 136 (Googlebooks)

Beccaloni, G. (2010) Biggest Bugs (Life-Size!) Firefly Books, 84 pp.

World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Macrodontia cervicornis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T12591A3362999. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T12591A3362999.en. Retrieved 9 January 2018. Listed as Vulnerable (VU A1c v2.3)
Hogue, C L, and J Hogue. 1993. Latin American Insects and Entomology. University of California Press. p. 280–281. Accessed online 5/13/18. https://books.google.com/books?id=3CTf8bnlndwC.