Giraffe weevil

Giraffe weevil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Superfamily: Curculionoidea
Family: Attelabidae
Genus: Trachelophorus
Species: T. giraffa
Binomial name
Trachelophorus giraffa
Jekel, 1860

The giraffe weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) is a weevil endemic to Madagascar.[1] It derives its name from an extended neck much like that of the common giraffe. The giraffe weevil is sexually dimorphic, with the neck of the male typically being 2 to 3 times the length of that of the female. Most of the body is black with distinctive red elytra covering the flying wings. The total body length of the males is just under an inch (2.5 cm), among the longest for any attelabid species. The extended neck is an adaptation that assists in nest building and fighting[2]. When it comes time to breed, the mother-to-be will roll and secure a leaf of the host plant, Dichaetanthera cordifolia and Dichaetanthera arborea (a small tree in the family Melastomataceae), and then lay a single egg within the tube. She will then snip the roll from the remaining leaf in preparation of the egg hatching.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Flannery, T. (2004). "Diversity with a difference". Nature. 428 (6983): 605. Bibcode:2004Natur.428..605F. doi:10.1038/428605a.
  2. ↑ BBC (2011-02-04). "Bizarre Giraffe-Necked Weevils Fight for a Mate - Madagascar, Preview - BBC Two". Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  3. ↑ Wills, Christopher (2010). The Darwinian Tourist: Viewing the World Through Evolutionary Eyes. ISBN 978-0-19-958438-3.


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