Phalacrognathus muelleri

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: Lucanidae
Subfamilia: Lampriminae
Genus: Phalacrognathus
Species: Phalacrognathus muelleri
Name

Phalacrognathus muelleri (Macleay, 1885)
Synonyms

Lamprima muelleri Macleay, 1885
Phalacrognathus muelleri (Macleay, 1885) Macleay, 1885b
Phalacrognathus westwoodi Shipp, 1893

References
cited sources

Macleay, W.J. 1885: Revision of the genus Lamprima of Latreille, with descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 10: 129–140. BHL
Macleay, W.J. 1885b: A new genus of the sub-family Lamprimides of Lacordaire. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 10: 473–474. BHL
Shipp, J.W. 1893: On a new species of the genus Phalacrognathus, McLeay. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1893: 223–225.

Additional references

Karube, H. 2002: A hemi-fossil of Phalacrognathus muelleri (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) found near Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Gekkan Mushi, 378: 34. [not seen]
Okushima, Y. 2004: Phalacrognathus muelleri (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) collected from Okayama Prefecture, western Honshu, Japan. Bulletin of the Kurashiki Museum of Natural History, 19: 87–88. ISSN: 0913-1566 [not seen]
Wood, G.A.; Hasenpusch, J.; Storey, R.I. 1996: The life history of Phalacrognathus muelleri (Macleay) (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Australian entomologist, 23 (2): 37–48. PDF

Links Wikipedia:Phalacrognathus muelleri

Australian Faunal Directory
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Vernacular names
English: king stag beetle
日本語: ニジイロクワガタ

Phalacrognathus muelleri, colloquially the rainbow stag beetle,[1] is a species of beetle in the family Lucanidae. It is found in northern Queensland, Australia and New Guinea. It can come in red, green, black, and blue forms. It is the only species in its genus, Phalacrognathus, which is closely related to the genus Lamprima.

Phalacrognathus muelleri has been the official symbol of the Entomological Society of Queensland since 1973.[2][3]

Etymology

This species is commonly known as golden, rainbow, magnificent, Mueller's and king stag beetle.[2] In 1885 the species was named Phalacrognathus muelleri by Sir William Macleay in honour of Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, the Victorian Government Botanist,[2] the genus Phalacrognathus created at the same time.
Description

Males of Phalacrognathus muelleri are the largest members of the family Lucanidae in Australia. Males range from 24 to 70 mm (0.94 to 2.76 in) in length, whereas the smaller females range from 23 to 46 mm (0.91 to 1.81 in).[1] their beautiful colours fade after death and are difficult to photograph.

Breeding

This species breeds in wet tropical areas. Up to 50 eggs can be laid by a female and these will take 10 to 14 days to hatch. The larva can be seen in the egg before emerging. The larvae are found in wet and rotting wood often in close proximity to white rot fungi[2] and can take up to three years to mature.

Examples of fungi found proximate to breeding sites are: Ganoderma applanatum (Pers.) Patouillard, Nigrofomes melanoporus (Mont.) Murr., Phellinus nr. glaucescens (Petch) Ryvarden; Phellinus robustus (P. Karst) Baird, & Galz., Phellinus - 3 spp., and Pycnoporus sp.[2]
Subspecies

The species is divided into the following two subspecies:

Phalacrognathus muelleri muelleri — Queensland, Australia
Phalacrognathus muelleri fuscomicans — New Guinea

References

"Rainbow Stag Beetle (Phalacrognathus muelleri)". Naturesfaceart: Fine Art Photography. January 30, 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
Wood, G A; J Hasenpusch; R I Storey (September 1996). "The Life History of Phalacrognathus muelleri (Macleay) (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)" (PDF). Australian Entomologist. 23 (2). Retrieved 4 March 2013.
"Entomological Society of Queensland". Retrieved 4 March 2013.