Polposipus herculeanus
Encyclopedia
Polposipus herculeanus is a flightless, nocturnal species of beetle
in family Tenebrionidae. It is endemic to Seychelles
. It grows to be about 20-30 mm long, and is the largest beetle in the Tenebrionidae family. It has a hard, rounded abdomen covered with tubercles
. When in danger, chemicals will secrete from the defensive glands in the posterior of the beetle, which have a musky smell and stains the skin purple. They live under the bark of trees and bushes, and come out at night to eat.
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
in family Tenebrionidae. It is endemic to Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
. It grows to be about 20-30 mm long, and is the largest beetle in the Tenebrionidae family. It has a hard, rounded abdomen covered with tubercles
Tubercle
A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection, but it has slightly different meaning depending on which family of plants or animals it is used to refer to....
. When in danger, chemicals will secrete from the defensive glands in the posterior of the beetle, which have a musky smell and stains the skin purple. They live under the bark of trees and bushes, and come out at night to eat.
Source
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. Polposipus herculeanus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 August 2007.
- ARKive Images
- Nature Seychelles 2005. Giant Tenebrionid Beetle. Downloaded on 10 October 2009.