''Geodorcus philpotti'' is a large flightless species of

stag beetle Stag beetles are a family of about 1,200 species of beetles in the family Lucanidae, currently classified in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections ...

in the family Lucanidae. It was named by Major Thomas Broun after Mr A. Philpott, who discovered it at Hump Ridge near

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Description

Including their large mandibles, male specimens range in length from 20.5 to 29 mm. Females range in length from 17.0–23.6 mm. They have a dull to slightly glossy exoskeleton. Their elytra have obvious ridges.

Distribution

This beetle is found in the south-west of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

from the coast adjoining the

Hump Ridge Track The Hump Ridge Track, also called the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track, is a 61 km walking track that is partly in Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. The track was opened in 2001 and is run privately on behalf of the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Tra ...

in the south to 1400m above sea level in the regions' mountains. Its northernmost record is from the

Grebe River The Grebe River is a river in Fiordland, New Zealand. It arises north-west of Lake Monowai in an area once part of the lake but cut off by an enormous landslide about 13,000 years ago. The river now flows north, between the Townley Mountains to ...

, near Lake Manapouri.

Habitat

This species has been observed under ''

Astelia ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southern ...

'' plants and on vegetation at night.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q427486 Lucaninae Beetles described in 1914 Beetles of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic insects of New Zealand