Agathidium vaderi is a species of round fungus beetle in the family Leiodidae. It is found in North America.[1][2] The beetle was named after the fictional character Darth Vader by Cornell University entomologists due to its shiny helmetlike head that resembles that of the Star Wars villain.[3][4]
Agathidium vaderi | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Coleoptera |
Family: | Leiodidae |
Genus: | Agathidium |
Species: | A. vaderi
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Binomial name | |
Agathidium vaderi Miller, K.B. & Q.D.Wheeler, 2005
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Range
editAgathidium vaderi has been observed in the mountains of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia, including the Great Smoky Mountains.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Agathidium vaderi Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ^ "Agathidium vaderi". GBIF. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ^ "Slime-mold beetles named for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld -- but strictly in homage". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
- ^ Duntley, Sonja Meyer (March 5, 2014). "ESF president's favorite insect, the Darth Vader beetle: CNY Science". The Post-Standard. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ Miller, Kelly B.; Wheeler, Quentin D. (2005). "Slime-mold beetles of the genus Agathidium Panzer in North and Central America, Part II. Coleoptera: Leiodidae". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 2005 (291): 87–88. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2005)291<0001:SBOTGA>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/459. S2CID 85624633.
Further reading
edit- Miller, Kelly B.; Wheeler, Quentin D. (2005). "Slime-mold beetles of the genus Agathidium Panzer in North and Central America, Part II. Coleoptera: Leiodidae". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 2005 (291): 1–95. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2005)291<0001:SBOTGA>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/459. S2CID 85624633.
- Wheeler, Quentin D.; Miller, Kelly B. (2005). "Slime-mold beetles of the genus Agathidium Panzer in North and Central America, Part I. Coleoptera: Leiodidae". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 2005 (290): 1–95. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2005)290<0001:SBOTGA>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/458. S2CID 198159576.