Rhinoceros beetle
Encyclopedia
The Rhinoceros Beetles or Rhino Beetles are a subfamily (Dynastinae) of the scarab beetle
Scarabaeidae
The family Scarabaeidae as currently defined consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide. The species in this large family are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family is fairly unstable, with numerous competing theories, and new proposals appearing quite...

 family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 (Scarabaeidae). Other common names – some for particular groups of rhino beetles – are for example Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles or horn beetles. There are over 300 known species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of rhino beetles.

Many rhino beetles are well-known for their bizarre shapes and large size. Famous species are for example the Atlas Beetle
Atlas beetle
The Atlas beetle, Chalcosoma atlas, is a species of beetle found in southern Asia, especially Malaysia, remarkable for its size...

 (Chalcosoma atlas), Common Rhinoceros Beetle (Xylotrupes ulysses), Elephant Beetle
Elephant beetle
Elephant Beetles, Megasoma elephas, are part of the Scarabaeidae family and the subfamily Dynastinae. They are classified with the Neotropical rhinoceros beetles.-Appearance:...

 (Megasoma elephas), European Rhinoceros Beetle
European Rhinoceros Beetle
The European rhinoceros beetle is a large flying beetle that inhabits the Palaearctic region. It is the only representative of the Dynastinae family found in Northern Europe....

 (Oryctes nasicornis), Hercules Beetle
Hercules beetle
The Hercules beetle, Dynastes hercules, is the most famous and largest of the rhinoceros beetles. It is native to the rainforests of Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles . Their title is well deserved, with some males reaching 6.75 inches in length...

 (Dynastes hercules), Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle
Japanese rhinoceros beetle
The Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Japanese horned beetle, or , Allomyrina dichotoma, is a species of rhinoceros beetle found in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China...

 or kabutomushi (Allomyrina dichotoma), Ox Beetle
Ox beetle
The ox beetle, Strategus aloeus, is a species of rhinoceros beetle. The "major" males of this species have three large horns on the thorax, resembling the Triceratops. The "minor" males have horns as well, but the two back ones are small and the frontal horn is much shorter than the horn in major...

 (Strategus aloeus) and the Unicorn Beetle
Unicorn beetle
Dynastes tityus, the eastern Hercules beetle, is a species of rhinoceros beetle that lives in the Eastern United States. The adult's elytra are green, gray or tan, with black markings, and the whole animal, including the male's horns, may reach in length...

 (Dynastes tityus).

Description and ecology

They are among the largest of beetles, reaching 150+ millimeters in length, but are completely harmless to humans because they cannot bite or sting. They have been documented to support items that are up to 850 times their own weight. Their common names refer to the characteristic horns borne only by the males of most species in the group. They have a horn on the thorax and another horn pointing forward from the center thorax. The horns are used in fighting other males during mating season, and for digging.

The body of an adult rhino beetle is covered by a thick exoskeleton
Exoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...

. A pair of thick wings lay atop another set of membranous wings underneath, allowing the rhinoceros beetle to fly, although not very efficiently, owing to its large size and large horns. The best protection they have from predators
Predation
In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...

 is their size and stature. Additionally, since they are nocturnal, they avoid many of their predators during the day. When the sun is out, they hide under logs or in vegetation to camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...

 themselves from the few predators big enough to want to eat them. If rhino beetles are disturbed, some can release very loud hissing squeaks. The hissing squeak is created by rubbing their abdomen against the ends of their wing covers. Rhino beetles are rather well-protected, and the adults usually live 2-4 months, occasionally longer.

A rhino beetle's larval stage
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

 can be several years long, and is very time consuming. The larvae feed on rotten wood and the adults feed on nectar, plant sap
Sap
Sap may refer to:* Plant sap, the fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant* Sap , a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia...

 and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

. First, the larvae hatch from eggs and later develop into pupae before they reach adult status
Adult
An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....

 (see picture at left). The females lay 50 eggs on average. Contrary to what their size may imply, adult rhino beetles do not eat large amounts, unlike their larvae, which eat a significant amount of rotting wood.

Use by humans

Rhino beetles are popular as pets in parts of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. This is in part due to their being clean, easy to maintain and safe to handle. Also in Asia, male beetles are used for gambling fights
Insect fighting
Insect fighting is an activity involving insects . It is practiced in areas in China, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand. Insect fighting is a traditional Chinese pastime that dates back to the Tang Dynasty of 618-907 and had long been mainly practiced by aristocrats, senior officials and wealthy...

. Since males naturally have the tendency to fight each other for the attention of females they are the ones used for battle. In order to get the two male beetles to lock in combat, a female beetle or a small noisemaker is used to duplicate the female's mating call.

Entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...

 Séverin Tchibozo suggests the larvae
Larvae
In Roman mythology, lemures were shades or spirits of the restless or malignant dead, and are probably cognate with an extended sense of larvae as disturbing or frightening...

 contain much more protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 (40%), than chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

 (20%) and beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

 (approximately 18%) and that larvae could become a protein source for a large [human] population
Entomophagy
Entomophagy is the consumption of insects as food. Insects are eaten by many animals, but the term is generally used to refer to human consumption of insects; animals that eat insects are known as insectivores...

.

Some species can become major pests e.g. in tree plantations. Usually however, rhino beetle population densities are not as high as in some other pest insects, and food trees which are typically already sick or dying from some other cause are preferred. Some species' larvae, however, will attack healthy trees or even root vegetable
Root vegetable
Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetables. Here "root" means any underground part of a plant.Root vegetables are generally storage organs, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrates. They differ in the concentration and the balance between sugars, starches, and other types of...

s, and when they occur in large numbers can cause economically significant damage.

Tribes, with selected genera and species

Agaocephalini Burmeister, 1847 (disputed)
  • Aegopsis
  • Agaocephala


Cyclocephalini Laporte 1840
  • Cyclocephala


Dynastini MacLeay, 1819
  • Allomyrina Arrow, 1911 (including Trypoxylus)
    • Allomyrina dichotomaJapanese Rhinoceros Beetle
      Japanese rhinoceros beetle
      The Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Japanese horned beetle, or , Allomyrina dichotoma, is a species of rhinoceros beetle found in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China...

  • Chalcosoma Hope, 1837
    • Chalcosoma atlasAtlas Beetle
      Atlas beetle
      The Atlas beetle, Chalcosoma atlas, is a species of beetle found in southern Asia, especially Malaysia, remarkable for its size...

  • Dynastes
    Dynastes
    Dynastes is a genus of large beetles, mostly from Central America and South America, the males of which bear two long horns forming a plier...

  • Megasoma
    Megasoma
    Megasoma is a rhinoceros beetle genus. Commonly known as the Elephant Beetle, Megasoma species are found from the southern half of North America to most of South America.-Appearance:...

    Kirby, 1825
  • Xylotrupes
    Xylotrupes
    Xylotrupes is a genus of beetles.*Xylotrupes ulysses, the common rhinoceros beetle*Xylotrupes gideon, the Siamese rhinoceros beetle...



Hexodontini (disputed)
  • Hexodon
  • Hyboschema


Oryctini Mulsant, 1842
  • Coelosis Hope, 1837
  • Enema (beetle) Hope,1837
  • Heterogomphus Burmeister, 1847
  • Megaceras Hope, 1837
    • Megaceras briansaltini
      Megaceras briansaltini
      Megaceras briansaltini, named in honor of Brian Saltin, son of entomologist Jochen-P. Saltin, is a Peruvian rhinoceros beetle with a horn surprisingly similar to that of the character Dim from Pixar's animated film, A Bug's Life , previously unseen in nature...

  • Oryctes Illiger, 1798
    • Oryctes nasicornisEuropean Rhinoceros Beetle
      European Rhinoceros Beetle
      The European rhinoceros beetle is a large flying beetle that inhabits the Palaearctic region. It is the only representative of the Dynastinae family found in Northern Europe....

  • Strategus Hope, 1837
    • Strategus aloeusOx Beetle
      Ox beetle
      The ox beetle, Strategus aloeus, is a species of rhinoceros beetle. The "major" males of this species have three large horns on the thorax, resembling the Triceratops. The "minor" males have horns as well, but the two back ones are small and the frontal horn is much shorter than the horn in major...

  • Trichogomphus Burmeister, 1847


Oryctoderini
  • Chalcocrates
  • Oryctoderus


Pentodontini Mulsant, 1842
  • Bothynus Hope, 1837
  • Pentodon Hope, 1837
  • Pericoptus
    Pericoptus
    Pericoptus is a genus of large scarab beetles found in New Zealand. As many as five species are recognized.-Species:* Pericoptus frontalis* Pericoptus nitidulus* Pericoptus punctatus* Pericoptus stupidus* Pericoptus truncatus...

  • Thronistes Burmeister, 1847


Phileurini Burmeister, 1847
  • Homophileurus Kolbe, 1910
  • Phileurus Latreille, 1807

Further reading

  • Endrödi S. 1985. The Dynastinae of the World. Dr. W. Junk Publishers
  • Dechambre (R.-P.) & Lachaume (G.) The Beetles of the World
    The Beetles of the World
    The Beetles of the World is a series of books devoted to the study of the Coleoptera, worldwide. Sciences Nat published the 24 first volumes; the following volumes and the supplements were published by Hillside Books, Canterbury....

    , volume 27, The genus Oryctes (Dynastidae), Hillside Books, Canterbury
    Hillside Books, Canterbury
    - Origin :It was established in 1989 and was directed by Lydie Leforestier.The name comes from they were initially located Hillside Avenue at Canterbury.Then, they were situated in Lindfield, West Sussex, U.K.- Activities :...

    http://www.insects.demon.co.uk/cm/cm-27-english.html

External links

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