Lissotes latidens, commonly known as the Wielangta stag beetle or broad-toothed stag beetle, is a species of stag beetle which is only found in an area centred in Wielangta Forest in eastern Tasmania. It is one of the rarest animals in Australia.
| Lissotes latidens | |
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| Species: | L. latidens
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| Lissotes latidens Westwood, 1871
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The broad-toothed stag beetle has been recorded at less than 40 sites, scattered across an area of 280 square kilometres (110 sq mi), since it was first discovered in 1871. It lives and breeds in moist decaying wood underneath logs on the ground. It has no wings, and it is likely that it moves no further than tens of metres throughout its life. Stag beetles are an ancient lineage thought to have evolved with the dinosaurs over 200 million years ago.[1] In a 2006 study some 121 logs were rolled, only 2 broad-toothed stag beetles were observed, out of a total of some 106 beetles.[2] It is threatened by bulldozing and burning, because this disturbs leaf litter and logs, removes old trees and dries out the forest by removal of the canopy. It was listed as a threatened species on 3 December 2002.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Wielangta Stag Beetle". Bob Brown—Wielangta Landmark Trial. Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
- ^ Simon Grove; Karen Richards; Chris Spencer; Belinda Yaxley (2006). "What lives under large logs in Tasmanian eucalypt forest?" (PDF). The Tasmanian Naturalist. 128: 86–93. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Bob Brown (31 May 2005). "Wielangta Stag Beetle" (PDF). On-trial. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
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