''Hypocephalus armatus'', the mole beetle, is a species of

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

in the family

Vesperidae The Vesperidae are a small family of beetles, normally classified within the family Cerambycidae, of heterogeneous aspect but all characterised by larval stages related to roots of herbaceous plants or trees Morphology Adult The nocturnal adult ...

. It is the only species in the genus ''Hypocephalus''. Both the genus and species were first described by

Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest (6 March 1784 – 4 June 1838) was a French Zoology, zoologist and author. He was the son of Nicolas Desmarest and father of Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest. Desmarest was a disciple of Georges Cuvier and Alex ...

in 1832. It is found in Brazil and is popular in museums and collections for its curiosity value and adaptations to digging in soil that make them appear outwardly similar to the

mole cricket Mole crickets are members of the insect family Gryllotalpidae, in the order Orthoptera (grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets). Mole crickets are cylindrical-bodied, fossorial insects about long as adults, with small eyes and shovel-like fore ...

Description

''Hypocephalus armatus'' can reach a body length of about . This rare species has an evident

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

, as the very strong legs of the males are more developed than in females. It is similar in appearance to a

through

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

. In both sexes the flight wings are absent, the prothorax is ovoid and shiny black, the dark brown elytra are fused together and the hind legs are much heavier than the others and adapted for digging. Adult males can be found from November to March, usually after the rains, when they dig into the soil. The exceptional adaptations and taxonomic features have puzzled taxonomists since its description in 1832. It has been placed in the past in a family of its own, Hypocephalidae, followed by placement within the Cerambycidae. It is now placed within the family Vesperidae although molecular studies have not confirmed its placement.

Distribution

This species is found in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, in the north of Minas Gerais and southern Bahia. It has a

fossorial A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees. Prehistoric eviden ...

habit and lives in underground galleries.

References

External links

BioLib

Worldwide Cerambycoidea Photo Gallery

Coleoptera-atlas

Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservacao da Biodiversidade
* Charles Leonard Hogue
Latin American Insects and Entomology
Vesperidae {{Chrysomeloidea-stub