Odontolabis cuvera


Odontolabis cuvera, the golden stag beetle, is a beetle of the family Lucanidae, stag beetles.

Etymology

The Latin species name Cuvera comes from a mythical king of riches who lived in the Himalayas.

List of subspecies

Odontolabis cuvera alticola Möllenkamp, 1902Odontolabis cuvera boulouxi Lacroix, 1984Odontolabis cuvera cuvera Hope, 1842 Odontolabis cuvera fallaciosa Boileau, 1901 Odontolabis cuvera gestroi Boileau, 1902 Odontolabis cuvera lunulata Lacroix, 1984Odontolabis cuvera mandibularis Möllenkamp, 1909Odontolabis cuvera sinensis Westwood, 1848

Description

Odontolabis cuvera can reach a length of about in male, of about in females. Moreover, males have a conspicuously elongated and large pair of mandibles. The basic color of the body is black. Elytra have broad orange margins on the outer edge. The female closely resembles the male in coloration but it lacks long mandibles.
The remarkably disparity between male and females evolved through sexual selection for securing mating females. The males have also three morphological forms with variations in the size of their mandibles. These three alternative phenotypes in the types of male weapons are considered conditional reproductive strategies. In Lucanidae, there has only been two species described with this trimorphic characteristic as of 2017, with the other one being Dorcus rectus.
In the subspecies Odontolabis cuvera sinensis elytra are almost completely black, with a small orange border. These beetles can reach a length of about.

Life cycle

The females lay their eggs into leaf litter substrate and rotten wood. Larvae build their cave system and stay inside it, feeding for several years on rotting wood.

Distribution

This beetle is native to southeast Asia and it is present in Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam.

Monograph