Austrospirachtha carrijoi is a species of rove beetle that is native to northern Australia. It has an enlarged abdomen that extends over its entire body and that appears remarkably like a termite, and uses that disguise to steal food from true termites.[1][2]
| Austrospirachtha carrijoi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Staphylinidae |
| Genus: | Austrospirachtha |
| Species: | A. carrijoi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Austrospirachtha carrijoi Zilberman & Pires-Silva, 2023
| |
The type species of the genus, A. mimetes, also has an elongated abdomen that is bent over the body with appendages that give it a termite like appearance. They are thought to live within the nests of termites of the genus Nasutitermes.[3]
References
edit- ^ Pallardy, Richard (6 September 2023). "Beetle grows 'termite' on back to steal food". Science.org.
- ^ Zilberman, Bruno; Pires-Silva, Carlos M. (2023-08-23). "A new species and morphological notes on the remarkable termitophilous genus Austrospirachtha Watson from Australia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae)". Zootaxa. 5336 (3): 424–432. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5336.3.8. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ^ Watson, J. A. L. (1973). "Austrospirachtha mimetes, a new termitophilous Corotocine from Northern Australia (Coleoptera: Staphylindae)". Australian Journal of Entomology. 12 (4): 307–310. doi:10.1111/j.1440-6055.1973.tb01678.x. ISSN 1326-6756.
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