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Pleocoma Trifoliata
''Pleocoma'' is the only Extant taxon, extant genus of rain beetles (family Pleocomidae) and is endemic to the Pacific states of North America. Fossil remains of ''Pleocoma'' have been found in the Yixian Formation in China, suggesting beetles in this genus have existed in something like their present form since at least the Cretaceous period. There are 27 described species in ''Pleocoma''. Possessing a robust oval body form similar to other scarabaeiforms, their ventral side is densely covered with fine, long hairs (genus name derives from Greek (', abundant) and (', hair), extending to the legs and to the margins of thorax and elytra. The back is hairless and glossy. Overall colors range from black to a reddish-brown, while the hairs may range from yellow to red to black. The antenna (biology), antennae are 11-segmented, with a club of four to eight lamella (zoology), lamellae, more than in any other group of the Scarabaeoidea. The mandible (insect), mandibles are not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extant Taxon
Neontology is a part of biology that, in contrast to paleontology, deals with living (or, more generally, '' recent'') organisms. It is the study of extant taxa (singular: extant taxon): taxa (such as species, genera and families) with members still alive, as opposed to (all) being extinct. For example: * The moose (''Alces alces'') is an extant species, and the dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct species. * In the group of molluscs known as the cephalopods, there were approximately 600 extant species and 7,500 extinct species. A taxon can be classified as extinct if it is broadly agreed or certified that no members of the group are still alive. Conversely, an extinct taxon can be reclassified as extant if there are new discoveries of living species ("Lazarus species"), or if previously-known extant species are reclassified as members of the taxon. Most biologists, zoologists, and botanists are in practice neontologists, and the term neontologist is used large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |