False stag beetle

Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox The false stag beetles (Diphyllostoma) are a group of three species of rare beetles known only from California. Almost nothing is known of their life history beyond that the adults are diurnal and females are flightless; larvae have not been observed.

Their length ranges from 5 to 9 mm; bodies are elongate, with a generally dull brown to reddish-brown color. Both body and legs are covered with longish hairs.

Originally classed with the Lucanidae, Diphyllostoma have a number of characteristics not shared with any other type of stag beetle, and so in 1972 Holloway proposed a separate family Diphyllostomatidae, which has since been accepted.

A possible close relative has been reported from mid-Cretaceous aged Burmese amber in Myanmar, dating to around 100 million years ago.

Species

• Diphyllostoma fimbriatum (Fall, 1901)
• Diphyllostoma linsleyi Fall, 1932
• Diphyllostoma nigricolle Fall, 1912

References

• Mary Liz Jameson and Brett C. Ratcliffe, "Diphyllostomatidae", in Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, American Beetles (CRC Press, 2001), vol. 2