The false stag beetles (Diphyllostoma) are a group of three species of rare beetles known only from California. Almost nothing is known of their life history beyond that the adults are diurnal and females are flightless; larvae have not been observed.

False stag beetle
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Scarabaeiformia
Superfamily: Scarabaeoidea
Family: Diphyllostomatidae
Holloway, 1972
Genus: Diphyllostoma
Fall, 1901[1]
Species

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Their length ranges from 5 to 9 mm; bodies are elongate, with a generally dull brown to reddish-brown color. Both body and legs are covered with longish hairs.

Originally classed with the Lucanidae, Diphyllostoma have a number of characteristics not shared with any other type of stag beetle, and so in 1972 Holloway proposed a separate family Diphyllostomatidae, which has since been accepted.

A possible close relative has been reported from mid-Cretaceous aged Burmese amber in Myanmar, dating to around 100 million years ago.[2]

Species

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Notes

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  1. ^ Fall, H.C. (1901). "Two new species of Lucanidae from California". The Canadian Entomologist. 33 (11): 289–293.
  2. ^ Yamamoto, Shûhei (June 2024). "First fossil record of false stag beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Diphyllostomatidae): Evolutionary and biogeographical implications". Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology. 27 (2): 102259. doi:10.1016/j.aspen.2024.102259.

References

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  Data related to False stag beetle at Wikispecies