Taveuni beetle

Taxobox
name = Taveuni beetle
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Coleoptera
subordo = Polyphaga
familia = Cerambycidae
subfamilia = Prioninae
genus = "Xixuthrus"
species = X. terribilis
binomial = "Xixuthrus terribilis"
binomial_authority = Thomson, 1877
synonyms = "Xixuthrus heyrovskyi" Tippmann, 1945

The Taveuni beetle "(Xixuthrus terribilis)" is known from the island of Taveuni in the Fiji, and is one of the largest living insect species, with specimens around 14 cm long, excluding legs, antennae, or mandibles.

It is closely related to the giant Fijian long-horned beetle. These beetles have powerful jaws, and should be handled with care when alive.

This species has been mistakenly classified under the name "Xixuthrus heyrovskyi" since 1945, when it was unwittingly re-described, and this name still appears in much of the scientific literature. [ [http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2004f/zt00777.pdf] YANEGA D., D. OLSON D., SHUTE S., KOMIYA Z., 2004 - The "Xixuthrus" species of Fiji (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae)]

Bibliography

External links

* [http://www.cerambycoidea.com/specieric.asp?Tipo=R&RIC=(xixuthrus)+terribilis "Xixuthrus terribilis" pictures]