Austrospirachtha carrijoi

Austrospirachtha carrijoi is a species of rove beetle that is native to northern Australia. It has an enlarged abdomen that extends over its entire body and that appears remarkably like a termite, and uses that disguise to steal food from true termites.[1][2]

Austrospirachtha carrijoi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Staphylinidae
Genus: Austrospirachtha
Species:
A. carrijoi
Binomial name
Austrospirachtha carrijoi
Zilberman & Pires-Silva, 2023

The type species of the genus, A. mimetes, also has an elongated abdomen that is bent over the body with appendages that give it a termite like appearance. They are thought to live within the nests of termites of the genus Nasutitermes.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ Pallardy, Richard (6 September 2023). "Beetle grows 'termite' on back to steal food". Science.org.
  2. ^ Zilberman, Bruno; Pires-Silva, Carlos M. (2023-08-23). "A new species and morphological notes on the remarkable termitophilous genus Austrospirachtha Watson from Australia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae)". Zootaxa. 5336 (3): 424–432. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5336.3.8. ISSN 1175-5334.
  3. ^ Watson, J. A. L. (1973). "Austrospirachtha mimetes, a new termitophilous Corotocine from Northern Australia (Coleoptera: Staphylindae)". Australian Journal of Entomology. 12 (4): 307–310. doi:10.1111/j.1440-6055.1973.tb01678.x. ISSN 1326-6756.