Megadytes ducalis

Megadytes ducalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Clade:Euarthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Coleoptera
Family:Dytiscidae
Genus:Megadytes
Species: M. ducalis
Binomial name
Megadytes ducalis
Sharp, 1882

Megadytes ducalis is a species of water beetle in the family Dytiscidae. With a length of 4.75 cm (1.9 in), it is the largest species in the family.[1] The species is only known from a single specimen that was collected in the 1800s from an unknown locality in Brazil,[2] although rumors indicate it was found in the bottom of a canoe in the Amazon.[1] As a consequence of the lack of recent records, the IUCN lists it as extinct.[3] Considering the almost complete absence of information about the species (even the location where the type was collected) and the limited studies conducted on water beetles in Brazil, it might still survive.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 G.N. Foster; D.T. Bilton (2014). "The Conservation of Predaceous Diving Beetles: Knowns, Unknowns and Anecdotes". In D.A. Yee. Ecology, Systematics, and the Natural History of Predaceous Diving Beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). pp. 437–462. ISBN 978-94-017-9109-0.
  2. 1 2 Adriano Pereira Paglia (2007). Espécies ameaçadas da fauna brasileira: análise dos padrões e dos fatores de ameaça (PDF). Instituto de Ciências Biológicas - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
  3. ↑ World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. Megadytes ducalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 August 2007.


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