''Megasoma mars'', also known as the mars beetle or mars rhino beetle, is the largest species in the ''

Megasoma ''Megasoma'' is a genus of rhinoceros beetles. Commonly known as the elephant beetles, ''Megasoma'' species are found from the southern half of North America to most of South America. Appearance ''Megasoma'' are generally large in size (as indic ...

'' genus. It is distributed primarily in the west-central

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

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 ...

, ranging down into

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, and Uraguay.

Description

''Megasoma mars'' is a large, horned beetle which typically ranges between 80 - 120 mm long, but has been observed to reach up to 140mm long. It is black and has smooth, shiny elytra. A lack of dorsal vestiture, or hairlike scales on its back, sets it apart from similar & related beetles such as M. actaeon. As with all Megasoma species, ''M. mars'' has strong legs with large claws in order to aid in holding onto tree branches.

Diet

While there are no recorded observations of ''M. mars'' feeding in the wild, in captivity larvae will eat decayed wood and leaves in the families of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

, and

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

, and adults will eat fruit.

Lifecycle

''Megasoma mars'' can live approximately 24 months from egg to adult. Eggs will incubate for 1 month, and once they hatch they will spend a majority of their life in larval form, eating and growing. They will then pupate for some 3 months, and after emerging will take 2 additional months to mature to a full adult. Adult ''M. mars'' beetles have been observed living for about 8 months in captivity.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q644141 Scarabaeidae Insects of Brazil Arthropods of Colombia Insects of Uruguay Invertebrates of Paraguay Insects described in 1852 Taxa named by Louis Jérôme Reiche