Megadytes ducalis

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] Until recently, the species was 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] In 2019, a study reported 10 additional specimens (including the first female of the species), all collected from the end of the 19th century, discovered incidentally in various historical collections. While the original holotype lacked any location data, the new specimens all indicate that they were collected in Santo Antonio da Barra (now known as Condeuba) in the southern part of Bahia, Brazil. Villagers in the region were involved in insect trade, capturing the much sought after specimens of Hypocephalus armatus found around the region.[3] As a consequence of the lack of recent records, the IUCN lists it as extinct.[4] Considering the absence of information about the species and the limited studies conducted on water beetles in Brazil, it might still survive.[2]

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

References
  1. G.N. Foster; D.T. Bilton (2014). "The Conservation of Predaceous Diving Beetles: Knowns, Unknowns and Anecdotes". In D.A. Yee (ed.). Ecology, Systematics, and the Natural History of Predaceous Diving Beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). pp. 437–462. ISBN 978-94-017-9109-0.
  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. Hendrich, Lars; Manuel, Michael; Balke, Michael (2019-04-18). "The return of the Duke—locality data for Megadytes ducalis Sharp, 1882, the world's largest diving beetle, with notes on related species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)". Zootaxa. 4586 (3): 517–535. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4586.3.8. ISSN 1175-5334.
  4. World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. Megadytes ducalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 August 2007.


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