Xylotrupes
gideon
Range: southeast Asia,
Indonesia, and northern Australia
Size: 35 - 70 mm
Widespread across the southeast Asian tropics
is Xylotrupes gideon, a very common rhinoceros beetle that is completely
black in color, and has a very shiny texture. The horn design of
Xylotrupes
is extremely similar to that of the genus Dynastes of North and
South America. One major difference however, is that the cephalic
horn is bifurcated at the tip, whereas that of Dynastes is not.
Along with Augosoma centaurus of western Africa, X. gideon
represents a case of parallel evolution, as all three of these genera have
developed very similar horn and body shapes. |